EB-1 Visa Guide

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First Preference Employment-Based Immigration includes three different categories: Extraordinary Ability (EB-1A), Outstanding Professors and Researchers (EB-1B), and Multinational Managers or Executives (EB-1C).

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Extraordinary Ability (EB-1A)

This category is for individuals with extraordinary abilities in science, arts, education, business, or athletics. There is no offer of employment required for an EB-1A. An EB-1A can be self-petitioned but you must have evidence that you will continue to work in your field of expertise in the US. 

Qualifying Criteria

In order to demonstrate extraordinary ability in the sciences, arts, education, business, or athletic through sustained national or international acclaim, you must either have evidence of a one-time achievement such as a major internationally recognized award (i.e. the Nobel Prize) or meet at least 3 of the 10 criteria below:

• Evidence of receipt of lesser nationally or internationally recognized prizes or awards for excellence: This includes awards from well-known national institutions, doctoral dissertation awards, or awards recognizing presentations at nationally or internationally recognized conferences. USCIS considers the criteria used to grant the awards, the national or international significance of such awards, the number of awardees, and limitations on competitors. 
• Evidence of your membership in associations in the field which demand outstanding achievement of their members: This can be memberships in professional associations or a fellowship in an organization. USCIS requires that the membership is highly selective and requires outstanding achievements in the field for acceptance. A general membership in an international organization for engineering and technology professionals would not meet the requirements.
• Evidence of published material about you in professional or major trade publications or other major media: USCIS considers whether the published material is about the person, relating to the person’s work in the field, not just about the employer or an organization’s work.
• Evidence that you have been asked to judge the work of others, either individually or on a panel: This can be peer reviewing for a scholarly journal, peer review of abstracts or papers at scholarly conferences in your field, serving as a member of a PhD dissertation committee, and peer review for government research funding programs.
• Evidence of your original scientific, scholarly, artistic, athletic, or business-related contributions of major significance to the field: These include published material about the significance of someone’s original work, testimonials and letters about the original work, documentation that the original work was cited a level of major significance in the field, and patents or licenses deriving from the person’s work.
• Evidence of your authorship of scholarly articles in professional or major trade publications or other major media: This includes publications in professionally-relevant peer-reviewed journals and published conference presentations at nationally or internationally recognized conferences.
• Evidence that your work has been displayed at artistic exhibitions or showcases
• Evidence of your performance of a leading or critical role in distinguished organizations: Examples of lead or critical roles include senior faculty or research positions for distinguished academic programs, senior research positions at a private company, member of a key committee within a distinguished organization, founder or co-founder to a startup business with a distinguished reputation. For this criteria, letters from persons with personal knowledge of the significance of the person’s role is helpful.
• Evidence that you command a high salary or other significantly high remuneration in relation to others in the field: Evidence of meeting this criteria can include tax returns, pay slips, job offer letter, employment contract, and comparative wage data for the person’s field in the relevant geographic area
• Evidence of your commercial successes in the performing arts

For the EB-1A, it is important to have letters of support from experts in your field, which discuss your achievements. 

Examples of Successful EB-1A Cases filed by Verma Law Firm

• Senior Engineer and Expert in the field of material science and engineering as applied to the semiconductor manufacturing industry, with the following qualifications:
  • 18 scholarly articles, published in internationally circulated journals, which were cited at least 268 times;
  • a patent application,
  • peer-reviewer for internationally circulated journals;
  • 3 reference letters regarding his leading or critical role at previous organizations;
  • evidence of commanding a high salary in the top % in his job category in the area of employment.
• Computer Hardware Engineer in the field of Semiconductor Development and Manufacturing, with the following qualifications:
  • 10 scholarly articles, published in leading industry journals and conferences/workshops and cited at least 208 times;
  • 2 reference letters from distinguished organizations on his leading or critical role;
  • Evidence of top 10% salary for his position in the area of employment.

Please see the USCIS Policy Manual for more information on EB-1A eligibility: https://www.uscis.gov/policy-manual/volume-6-part-f-chapter-2 

Outstanding Professor or Researcher (EB-1B)

This category is for a professor or researcher with outstanding achievements in their particular academic field. An EB-1B requires an offer of employment from the prospective US employer and the private employer must show its accomplishments and that it employs at least 3 full-time researchers.

Qualifying Criteria

In order to demonstrate international recognition of your achievements in your field, you must first meet the basic requirements: at least 3 years of experience in teaching or research in said field, entering the United States to pursue tenure, tenure track teaching, or a comparable research position at a university, institution of higher learning, or private employer.

To demonstrate you are an outstanding professor or researcher, you must meet at least 2 of the 6 criteria below:

• Evidence of receipt of major prizes or awards for outstanding achievement: This includes awards from well-known national or professional associations, certain doctoral dissertation awards, and awards recognizing presentation at nationally or internationally recognized conferences. USCIS will consider the criteria used to grant the awards, the number of award recipients, and the pool of competitors.
• Evidence of membership in associations that require their members to demonstrate outstanding achievement: This can be memberships in professional associations or a fellowship in an organization. USCIS requires that the membership is highly selective and requires outstanding achievements in the field for acceptance. A general membership in an international organization for engineering and technology professionals would not meet the requirements.
• Evidence of published material in professional publications written by others about the noncitizen's work in the academic field: USCIS considers whether the published material is about the person, relating to the person’s work in the field, not just about the employer or an organization’s work.
• Evidence of participation, either on a panel or individually, as a judge of the work of others in the same or allied academic field: This can be peer reviewing for a scholarly journal, peer review of abstracts or papers at scholarly conferences in your field, serving as a member of a PhD dissertation committee, and peer review for government research funding programs.
• Evidence of original scientific or scholarly research contributions in the field: These include published material about the significance of someone’s original work, testimonials and letters about the original work, documentation that the original work was cited a level of major significance in the field, and patents or licenses deriving from the person’s work.
• Evidence of authorship of scholarly books or articles (in scholarly journals with international circulation) in the field: This includes publications in professionally-relevant peer-reviewed journals and published conference presentations at nationally or internationally recognized conferences

Examples of Successful EB-1B Cases filed by Verma Law Firm

• Polymer Development Engineer, specializing in polymer development, with the following qualifications:
  • PhD
  • Original research in the field of polymer chemistry
  • 4 patents
  • 12 research articles published, cited more than 25 times
  • Peer reviewer on internationally prestigious science journals

Please see the USCIS Policy Manual for more information on EB-1B eligibility:

https://www.uscis.gov/policy-manual/volume-6-part-f-chapter-3 

Multinational Manager or Executive (EB-1C)

This category is for multinational managers or executives. An EB-1C requires a US employer to petition for you and intend to employ you in a managerial or executive capacity. The petitioner must have been doing business in the US for at least 1 year, as a legal entity with a qualifying relationship to the entity that employed you abroad in a managerial or executive capacity. 

Qualifying Criteria

You must have been employed outside the US for at least 1 year within the last 3 years immediately preceding the EB-1C petition or the most recent lawful nonimmigrant admission into the US (if you are already working in the US). 

Your must be working in a managerial capacity, either as a “personnel manager” or “function manager”. 

For personnel managers, your role must include:

• managing an organization, department, subdivision, function, or component of the organization, 
• supervising and controlling the work of other supervisor, professional, or managerial employees;
• possessing authority to hire and fire or recommend those and other personnel actions (such as promotion and leave authorization) for employees supervised; and
• exercising discretion over the day-to-day operations of the activity or function for which the employee has authority.

For function managers, your role must include:

• managing the organization, department, subdivision, function, or component of the organization;
• managing the essential function within the organization;
• functioning at a senior level within the organizational hierarchy or with respect to the function managed;
• exercising discretion over the day-to-day operations of the activity or function for which the employee has authority.

Examples of Successful EB-1C Cases filed by Verma Law Firm

• Senior Director, managing 3 direct reports in the US and managed 3 direct reports in the foreign country;
• Technical Program Manager, managing 3 direct reports in the US and managed 6 direct reports in foreign country.

Please see the USCIS Policy Manual on EB-1C eligibility:

https://www.uscis.gov/policy-manual/volume-6-part-f-chapter-4 

Please contact us today at (408) 560-4622 if you are interested in scheduling a consultationto discuss your business immigration needs!