U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services today announced updated guidance for adjudicating EB-2 and EB-3 Schedule A petitions for registered nurses, physical therapists, and aliens of exceptional ability.

The update does not change any policy, but does clarify how USCIS adjudicators should apply Department of Homeland Security and Department of Labor (DOL) regulations when deciding these Schedule A petitions. Generally, EB-2 and EB-3 petitioners must obtain a labor certification from DOL that verifies that there are no qualified U.S. workers available for the petition. However, for certain occupations, known as Schedule A, DOL has pre-certified this so the petitioners do not need to obtain a labor certification from DOL. Instead, EB-2 and EB-3 Schedule A petitioners file the Form I-140, Immigrant Petition for Alien Workers, and uncertified labor certification directly to USCIS. Current Schedule A occupations are registered nurses, physical therapists, and aliens of exceptional ability.