That’s false. You can apply for EB visas from outside the US. After the approval of the I-140 (application for employment-based visa), instead of “adjustment” of your visa status in the US, you perform immigrant visa processing at your local consulate to get your green card.
You can still travel after filing the I-140 but not after filing the I-485 (adjustment) without advance parole.
Not sure why this comment is being downvoted. It's exactly right: you can apply for EB visas (or any other permanent resident classification you're eligible for) without any prior connection to the US and get an "immigrant visa" in your passport to travel to the US.
While your greencard is processed you can indefinitely renew your current visa (eg HB1 you get it for 3 years and can renew only once, with application pending you can keep renewing it).
Also, Green Card has different stages with their own limitations PERM -> I140 -> I485 -> green card.
Okay, let's try this another way. 8 US Code § 1153, "Allocation of immigrant visas," has the section for EB (employment-based) immigrants. (b) (1) begins: "Visas shall first be made available...to qualified immigrants who are aliens described in any of the following subparagraphs (A) through (C): (A) Aliens with extraordinary ability, (B) Outstanding professors and researchers, (C) Certain multinational executives and managers".
Is this section of the U.S. code talking about EB-1s when it says "Visas shall be made available," and, if not, what is it talking about?
It's not common for people with no prior connection to the US get one of these, but it is 100% possible. You can look up statistics on the number of employment green card visas issued here: https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/legal/visa-law0/v... In the PDF you need to search for E1, E2, etc.
you're missing the point. the immigration "visa" is actually the green card. while your greencard, under EB-X category is processing, you still need a "proper" dual-intent visa like HB1.
You don’t need to be the US while applying for a green card. You can be living in, like, France, and apply for an EB1 green card with USCIS and then when it’s approved go to the US Embassy for a EB1 visa stamp and move to the US. This is what I meant.
In this case you don’t need a non immigrant visa because you don’t live in the US while it’s processing.
You can still travel after filing the I-140 but not after filing the I-485 (adjustment) without advance parole.