There are essentially two main paths to attaining a visa that supports lawful permanent residence in the United States: immigration through family and immigration through employment. In order for a foreign national to be eligible for immigration through family process, he must be sponsored by a citizen or lawful permanent resident of the United States. The process is essentially three steps: the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services approves an immigrant visa petition, Form I-130 Petition for Alien Relative; the State Department issues an immigrant visa number; and once an immigrant visa number is available the immigrant, if already in the U.S. must adjust his status, or if outside the U.S. must complete the process at his local U.S. Consulate. In order to immigrate through employment, the foreign national must be sponsored by an employer in the U.S. who as been awarded a labor certification from the Employment and Training Administration (ETA) of the Department of Labor. The employer must also sponsor the an immigrant visa petition, Form I-140, which is submitted to the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS). In order to be eligible for permanent residence through employment the foreign national must fit into one of the following categories: EB-1 priority workers; EB-2 professionals with advanced degrees or persons with exceptional ability; EB-3 skilled or professional workers; or EB-4 special immigrants.