EB-1: Priority Workers

Preview

The Permanent Resident employment category EB-1 Priority Worker includes:

• EB-1A: Aliens of Extraordinary Ability
• EB-1B: Outstanding Professor or Researcher
• EB-1C: Multinational Executives and Managers

In an EB-1 petition, Labor Certification is not required at all. In an EB-1A petition, a permanent job offer is not required, and an alien may petition for immigration by herself. However, in EB-1B and EB-1C petitions, a permanent job offer is required. In other words, a US employer must be the petitioner for EB-1B or EB-1C cases.

EB-1A: Aliens of Extraordinary Ability

Extraordinary ability means a level of expertise found in a small percentage of persons who have risen to the top of their respective fields.

Eligibility Criteria

• Alien's extraordinary achievements must have resulted in sustained national or international acclaim in the field.
• Alien will enter the U.S. to work in the field in which he/she has earned extraordinary status.
• USCIS determines that the alien's admission as a permanent resident will substantially benefit the U.S.

There are two ways to satisfy the requirements for an EB-1 immigrant visa for extraordinary ability. The first is receiving a major, internationally recognized award. Fortunately for those who haven't won any world famous prizes yet, the second set of standards is not as difficult to achieve. If you have fulfilled at least three of the following ten standards, you may also qualify:

1. Receipt of a lesser nationally or internationally recognized prize for achievement in the field.
2. Membership in associations in alien's field that require “outstanding achievement” of their members as judged by acknowledged experts.
3. Material published about the alien in major trade publications or other major media.
4. Selection of the alien to judge others in the same or allied field.
5. Original contributions of importance in the alien's field.
6. Authorship of scholarly articles in professional/trade publications or other major media.
7. Display of the alien's work in exhibitions or showcases.
8. Performance of leading or critical role for distinguished organizations or institutions.
9. High salary or other remuneration in relation to others in the alien's field.
10. Commercial success in the performing arts.

Documentation Needed

The petitioner should present information as following to prove his/her claims:

• Peer-reviewed presentations at symposia.
• Peer-reviewed articles in scholarly journals.
• Entries in a citation index that cite alien's work as authoritative.
• Any documentation of participation as a reviewer for peer-reviewed scholarly journals.
• Testimonials from scholars describing the alien's work as authoritative.

Recommendation Letters

An alien applicants needs to have five or more recommendation letters from experts in a field attesting to the alien's significant contributions to the field and national or international reputation in the field. The reference letters included in the EB1-Extraordinary Ability petition and written by field experts should include the following: 

1) Writer's qualifications to issue his/her opinion, and the position of the writer in the field;

2) How the writer knows of the alien's work, and commentary on alien's background and achievements as well as original contributions of major significance;

3) Commentaries on the significance of the alien's publications, awards, and any memberships in professional associations, if any;

4) The alien applicant possesses unique knowledge, abilities, or experience that sets him/her apart from the professional peers.

Cover Letters

The EB1-Extraordinary Ability petition should include a petition cover letter, which should be used as a summary letter discussing the following items:

1) Describes the alien's work and how it affects the field, it’s potential for broader applications;

2) Explains the alien's current work and its future applications, both academically and in the private sector; 

3) Describes how the alien is essential or intimately connected to the work, the effects of this work on the U.S. and its people. 

EB-1C: Multinational Executives and Managers

Some executives and managers of foreign companies who are transferred to the US may qualify. A multinational manager or executive is eligible for priority worker status if he or she has been employed outside the US in the three years preceding the petition for at least one year by a firm or corporation and seeks to enter the US to continue service (in a managerial or executive capacity) to that firm or organization. The employment must have been outside the United States in a managerial or executive capacity and with the same employer, an affiliate, or a subsidiary of the employer.

The petitioner must be a US employer, doing business for at least one year, that is an affiliate, a subsidiary, or the same employer as the firm, corporation or other legal entity that employed the foreign national abroad.

No labor certification is required for this classification, but the prospective employer must provide a job offer and file a petition with the USCIS.

The requirement of “Managerial Capacity”:

1. Manages the organization, department, component, or function;
2. Supervises and controls the work of other supervisory, managerial, or professional personnel;
3. Has authority to make personnel hiring/firing decisions; and
4. Exercises discretion over day-to-day operations or function.

The requirement of “Executive Capacity”:

1. Directs management of an organization, major component, or function;
2. Establishes goals and policies;
3. Exercises wide latitude in discretionary decision-making; and
4. Receives only general supervision from higher executives, the board of directors, or stockholders.

EB-1B: Outstanding Professor or Researcher

The “Outstanding Professor or Researcher” category is available to professors and researchers who are recognized internationally as being outstanding in a specific academic area, with an established, peer recognized research record.

An alien applicant must have at least three years experience in teaching or research in the academic area, and enter the US in a tenure or tenure track teaching or comparable research position at a university or other institution of higher education. If the employer is a private company rather than a university or educational institution, the department, division, or institute of the private employer must employ at least three persons full time in research activities and have achieved documented accomplishments in an academic.

Eligibility Criteria

• An offer of employment for a tenured or tenure-track position or a comparable “permanent” research position. The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services defines a “permanent” position as one that is “for a term of indefinite or unlimited duration, and in which the employee will ordinarily have an expectation of continued employment unless there is good cause for termination.” Visiting and employee-in-training appointments and Research Fellows are not considered permanent.
• Three years of teaching and/or research experience in the academic field, generally beyond the Ph.D.
• National and international recognition as being “outstanding” in the academic field. The employee must meet at least two of six criteria set forth in USCIS regulations.

The alien must meet at least two of the following six criteria that includes evidence of:

• Receipt of major prizes or awards for outstanding achievement in the academic field.
• Membership in associations in the academic field which require outstanding achievements of their members.
• Published material in professional publications written by others about the scholar's work in the academic field.
• Participation, either individually or on a panel, as the judge of the work of others in the same or an allied academic field.
• Original scientific or scholarly research contributions to the academic field.
• Authorship of scholarly books or articles (in scholarly journals with international circulation) in the academic field.

No labor certification is required for this classification, but the prospective employer must provide a job offer and file a petition with the USCIS.

“Permanent Employment” in EB-1B

A “permanent position” in EB-1B is defined as “for a term of indefinite or unlimited duration, and in which the employee will ordinarily have an expectation of continued employment unless there is good cause for termination.” Visiting and employee-in-training appointments and Research Fellows are not considered permanent.

What service can we provide to you?

Once you retain us, we will provide following service to you:

1. Evaluate your background and qualifications to design petition approach: EB-1A, EB-1B, or EB-2 NIW;

2. Review and edit your draft recommendation letters;

3. Guide you to collect and organized required documents;

4. Draft the petition letter;

5. Submit the completed petition package to USCIS;

6. Guide you prepare supplemental documents if required;

7. Contact with USCIS for inquiry when the petition is pending.