The U.S. restaurant industry is still dealing with a staffing squeeze that affects daily operations, service quality, and growth plans.
In the latest Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey (JOLTS) data, Accommodation and Food Services had 837,000 job openings in November 2025, and the job openings rate was 5.5%, which signals persistent demand for workers even as many employers struggle to recruit consistently.
The challenge is not only hiring, but also retention, because restaurants often experience above-average turnover compared to other industries.
In November 2025, Accommodation and Food Services recorded 694,000 quits (people voluntarily leaving jobs) and a 4.8% quits rate, which helps explain why restaurants can feel like they are “always hiring” even when business is steady.
The U.S. Chamber of Commerce tracks worker availability across states using BLS-based data, and its Worker Shortage Index shows that many states have fewer available workers than open jobs. For example, Alabama is shown as having 65 available workers for every 100 open jobs, highlighting why local hiring alone may not meet restaurant demand.
This is where how EB-3 visas help restaurants hire staff becomes practical and measurable, because EB-3 is a lawful pathway for permanent, full-time hiring when U.S. workers are not available.
The U.S. government’s official EB-3 guidance explains that this category includes “other workers” for roles that require less than two years of training or experience, and it is intended for permanent (not temporary or seasonal) jobs which aligns well with year-round restaurant roles like kitchen helpers, dishwashers, and other entry-level positions when structured correctly.
For employers, the EB-3 process is built around protecting U.S. workers while giving businesses a compliant option to fill hard-to-staff roles, and it starts with the Department of Labor’s PERM labor certification step.
The Department of Labor states that PERM allows an employer to hire a foreign worker to work permanently in the United States, and in most cases the employer must test the labor market before moving forward, this is the safeguard that connects EB-3 hiring to real labor shortages and documented recruitment outcomes.
In simple terms, when BLS data shows large numbers of openings and high quits in restaurant-related sectors, EB-3 can serve as a long-term staffing strategy that reduces churn by offering workers stable employment tied to a green card pathway, while employers follow the required U.S. recruitment rules.
The U.S. Restaurant Industry Is Facing Persistent Labor Shortages
The U.S. restaurant industry continues to face persistent and well-documented labor shortages, making it one of the most understaffed sectors of the American economy.
According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), the Accommodation and Food Services industry consistently records one of the highest numbers of job openings of any sector, with more than 837,000 open positions nationwide in late 2025, even as overall hiring slowed in other industries.
This data highlights that restaurants are not experiencing a short-term disruption, but a long-term imbalance between labor supply and demand.
At the same time, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce reports that many states now have significantly fewer available workers than open jobs, a condition that disproportionately affects service-based employers such as restaurants.
Using BLS workforce data, the Chamber’s America Works Data Center shows that several states have fewer than 70 available workers for every 100 open jobs, making it mathematically impossible for restaurants to hire entirely from the domestic labor pool.
Positions most affected include cooks, servers, dishwashers, and kitchen assistants, which are essential for daily operations but increasingly difficult to staff consistently.
High turnover further intensifies the problem and limits long-term growth for restaurant businesses.
BLS data shows that Accommodation and Food Services has one of the highest quit rates in the U.S. economy, with a monthly quits rate of approximately 4.8% in late 2025, compared to a national average closer to 2.3% across all industries.
This means restaurants are not only struggling to hire new workers, but are also replacing existing staff at a rapid pace, driving up training costs and reducing service stability.
As a result, many restaurant owners are now exploring long-term workforce solutions, including employment-based immigration programs, to stabilize staffing and support sustainable growth.
Understanding the EB-3 Visa and Its Role in Restaurant Staffing
The EB-3 visa is a permanent employment-based immigration category administered by U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) that allows U.S. employers to sponsor foreign nationals for full-time, permanent jobs when qualified U.S. workers are not available.
According to USCIS, the EB-3 category is divided into Skilled Workers (positions requiring at least two years of training or experience), Professionals (positions requiring a U.S. bachelor’s degree or foreign equivalent), and Other Workers, which covers roles that require less than two years of training and are often classified as entry-level or unskilled.
Each year, Congress allocates approximately 40,000 EB-3 visas, plus unused visas from higher employment-based categories, making it a structured but limited pathway that prioritizes documented labor needs rather than short-term staffing gaps.
For restaurants, the EB-3 “Other Workers” subcategory plays a particularly important role because it aligns with the types of positions that are hardest to fill in the domestic labor market.
The Department of Labor confirms that EB-3 sponsorship is available for permanent, full-time roles when employers can demonstrate, through the PERM labor certification process, that there are not enough able, willing, qualified, and available U.S. workers for the job.
This makes EB-3 especially relevant for restaurant positions such as line cooks, kitchen assistants, dishwashers, food prep workers, servers, and other back-of-house or front-of-house roles, which consistently appear among occupations with high vacancy and turnover rates in Bureau of Labor Statistics data.
By offering a lawful path to permanent residency, EB-3 allows restaurants to stabilize staffing in roles that are essential to daily operations but increasingly difficult to fill through local hiring alone.
The Labor Certification (PERM) and Visa Process
To sponsor a worker under the EB-3 visa category, restaurants must first complete the PERM labor certification process, which is administered by the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) and designed to protect U.S. workers while allowing employers to address genuine labor shortages.
According to the DOL, PERM requires employers to conduct good-faith recruitment to test the local labor market and confirm that there are no able, willing, qualified, and available U.S. workers for the position at the prevailing wage.
This recruitment typically includes placing job advertisements, documenting responses, and demonstrating that any U.S. applicants were lawfully considered.
Employers must then file Form ETA-9089, which details the job duties, wage, work location, and recruitment results, and must also prove their ability to pay the offered wage, a requirement enforced by USCIS using financial records such as tax returns or audited statements.
Once the DOL certifies the PERM application, the restaurant proceeds to the immigration petition stage by filing Form I-140, Immigrant Petition for Alien Worker, with U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), formally requesting EB-3 classification for the foreign worker.
After I-140 approval, the worker must wait for an immigrant visa number to become available under the EB-3 annual quota, which is capped at approximately 40,000 visas per year, plus any unused numbers from higher employment-based categories.
Visa availability can vary significantly by country of chargeability due to per-country limits, which is why employers and workers closely monitor the monthly Visa Bulletin.
This structured, multi-step process ensures that EB-3 hiring is tied to real labor market need, while giving restaurants a compliant path to secure permanent staff for essential, year-round roles.
How Restaurants Can Use the EB-3 Program for Growth
If you’re a restaurant owner or HR manager wondering how EB-3 visas help restaurants hire staff, follow this simple step-by-step strategy:
Step 1: Assess Workforce Needs
Identify which roles are hardest to fill locally. Focus on positions with high turnover or chronic vacancies.
Step 2: Partner with an Immigration Specialist
Because the EB-3 process can be complex, work with experienced advisors who understand PERM, USCIS requirements, and prevailing wage rules.
Step 3: Complete Labor Market Recruitment
Conduct required recruitment and advertising to show no qualified local worker is available for the job.
Step 4: File PERM Labor Certification
Submit the ETA-9089 form and wait for approval from the DOL.
Step 5: File the I-140 Petition
Once PERM is certified, file Form I-140 with USCIS to establish eligibility for your foreign worker.
Step 6: Manage Visa Availability and Adjustment of Status
Track visa bulletin dates, and assist your employee either with Adjustment of Status (if they are in the U.S.) or Consular Processing (if they are abroad).
For updates on current visa availability and priority dates, reference the Visa Bulletin.
Internal Resources to Help You Get Started
Restaurants exploring EB-3 sponsorship benefit from using reliable, centralized resources that explain both the immigration rules and the real-world labor context driving the program.
Given that Accommodation and Food Services continues to report one of the highest job openings totals in the U.S., over 837,000 open roles nationwide in late 2025, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), having clear guidance on qualifying roles is essential for planning.
Reviewing current EB-3 job openings allows employers to see which restaurant and entry-level roles are already structured to meet EB-3 and Department of Labor requirements, helping businesses benchmark wages, job duties, and eligibility criteria against real, active listings.
In addition, restaurants can deepen their understanding of compliance and process by reviewing detailed EB-3 visa services, which outlines how employers navigate PERM labor certification, prevailing wage determinations, and USCIS filings in line with the Department of Labor and U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services rules provide practical explanations of which entry-level restaurant jobs qualify and how permanent job offers must be structured.
Using these internal resources together helps restaurant owners align staffing plans with federal requirements, reduce compliance risk, and build a more predictable pipeline of long-term workers in an industry where turnover and labor shortages remain persistent challenges.
Common Restaurant Roles That Qualify Under EB-3
Many restaurant positions qualify for EB-3 sponsorship because they are essential, full-time roles that do not require extensive formal education or long-term training, yet remain difficult to fill consistently in the U.S. labor market.
According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), food preparation and serving occupations employ more than 13.2 million workers nationwide, but they also experience some of the highest annual replacement needs due to turnover, retirements, and job switching.
Roles such as line cooks, prep cooks, dishwashers, kitchen assistants, servers, bussers, counter staff, baristas, front-of-house hosts, and cleaning or maintenance workers are foundational to daily restaurant operations, yet they are frequently among the hardest positions to staff on a long-term basis because of demanding schedules, physical work, and limited advancement opportunities.
These roles typically fall under the EB-3 “Other Workers” category, which U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) defines as jobs requiring less than two years of training or experience and offered on a permanent, full-time basis.
From a labor market perspective, this classification aligns closely with restaurant employment patterns identified by the BLS, which shows that many foodservice occupations have median annual wages below the national average and experience constant churn, increasing employers’ reliance on repeated hiring cycles.
By structuring these common restaurant roles to meet EB-3 requirements, employers can legally sponsor dependable workers for permanent residency, reducing turnover while maintaining compliance with Department of Labor recruitment standards and USCIS eligibility rules.
FAQ (Frequently Asked Questions)
What makes EB-3 different from H-2B visas?
The most important difference between EB-3 and H-2B visas is permanence. The H-2B visa is limited to temporary or seasonal employment, meaning workers can only stay in the U.S. for a short, defined period and must leave when the job ends.
This creates repeated hiring cycles for restaurants that operate year-round. By contrast, the EB-3 visa is an employment-based immigrant visa that leads to lawful permanent residency (a green card), allowing restaurants to hire workers for ongoing, full-time roles without an end date.
This distinction is critical in an industry with chronic labor shortages and high turnover, where long-term workforce stability is often more valuable than short-term staffing flexibility.Do employers pay for the EB-3 process, and how long does it take?
Yes, under federal regulations, employers are responsible for covering costs related to labor market recruitment, the PERM labor certification process, and the Form I-140 immigrant petition, which ensures that foreign hiring does not disadvantage U.S. workers.
While the full EB-3 process generally takes 12 to 36 months, timelines vary based on Department of Labor processing, USCIS review, and immigrant visa availability under annual numerical limits tracked in the U.S. Department of State Visa Bulletin
Although the process requires patience and upfront planning, many restaurants view EB-3 sponsorship as a long-term investment that reduces repeated recruitment, training costs, and service disruptions caused by constant staff turnover.Can restaurants sponsor cooks, servers, and other frontline staff?
Yes. Many essential restaurant positions qualify under the EB-3 “Other Workers” category, which USCIS defines as jobs requiring less than two years of training or experience, provided the role is full-time and permanent.
This includes positions such as cooks, prep staff, dishwashers, servers, bussers, hosts, and kitchen assistants, which are consistently among the hardest roles to fill in the domestic labor market.
According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, food preparation and serving occupations experience some of the highest replacement needs in the U.S. economy due to turnover and job switching.
By sponsoring these roles through EB-3, restaurants can lawfully build a more dependable workforce while remaining compliant with U.S. labor and immigration laws.
Final Thoughts
For U.S. restaurants facing ongoing staffing challenges, understanding how EB-3 visas help restaurants hire staff has become increasingly important as labor shortages persist nationwide.
The Accommodation and Food Services sector consistently reports hundreds of thousands of open positions each month, with job openings remaining above 837,000 nationwide in late 2025, even as other industries began to cool.
This imbalance between available workers and open jobs makes it difficult for restaurants to maintain normal operations, expand hours, or grow into new locations using domestic hiring alone.
At the same time, turnover continues to erode workforce stability across the industry. The BLS reports a quits rate of approximately 4.8% in Accommodation and Food Services, the highest of any major sector in the U.S. economy, meaning restaurants are constantly replacing staff rather than building long-term teams.
High turnover drives up recruitment, onboarding, and training costs, while also affecting service quality and customer experience.
The EB-3 visa addresses this structural problem by allowing restaurants to sponsor workers for permanent, full-time roles, creating a stronger incentive for retention and long-term employment commitment.
From a compliance perspective, the EB-3 program is designed to balance employer needs with protections for U.S. workers.
Through the PERM labor certification process, restaurants must demonstrate genuine recruitment efforts and confirm that no qualified U.S. workers are available before hiring internationally, ensuring the program responds to real labor market shortages rather than replacing domestic labor.
This structured process, combined with oversight from U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services and visa availability tracked by the U.S. Department of State Visa Bulletin, makes EB-3 a regulated and transparent pathway for long-term staffing solutions.
For restaurant owners ready to plan ahead, EB-3 sponsorship can become a strategic investment in workforce stability and growth, rather than a short-term fix.
By aligning staffing needs with permanent job offers, restaurants can reduce churn, improve consistency across shifts, and better support expansion goals in a tight labor market.
