EB-1B Requirements

Overview

For an EB-1B visa, both the petitioning employer and the alien beneficiary must work together to present information that will prove the overarching claim of the petition, i.e. that the alien is an outstanding member of and contributor to his or her respective field as either a researcher or professor. Since the employer is the petitioner in EB-1B cases, it is paramount that the alien beneficiary and his or her attorney have the full support of the employer throughout the entire process.

Initial Criteria

To be eligible as an EB-1B beneficiary, aliens must first fulfill three basic qualifications:

  1. They must have earned international recognition for outstanding achievements in a particular academic field.

  2. They must have accrued at least three years of relevant research or teaching experience in that particular academic field.

  3. They must have secured a permanent job offer for a research position or a tenured or tenure-track teaching position from their sponsoring employer.

Specific Requirements and Documentary Evidence

After fulfilling the basic criteria above, prospective EB-1B beneficiaries must additionally satisfy at least two of the following six requirements:

  1. Evidence of receipt of major prizes or awards for outstanding achievement

  2. Evidence of membership in associations that require their members to demonstrate outstanding achievements

  3. Evidence of published material in professional publications written by others about the alien's work (i.e. more than merely citing the alien’s work)

  4. Evidence of participation, either on a panel or individually, as a judge of the work of others in the same or in an allied academic field

  5. Evidence of original scientific or scholarly contributions in the field

  6. Evidence of authorship of scholarly books or articles in academic or scholarly journals with international circulations in the field

In order to establish that he or she has fulfilled two or more requirements from the above list, an alien’s petition should include compelling and detailed documentation. Adjudicating officers at U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) look favorably upon the following types of documentary evidence:

  • Peer-reviewed articles in scholarly journals
  • Entries in citation indices citing the alien’s work as authoritative
  • Any documentation that demonstrates the alien’s participation as a reviewer for peer-reviewed scholarly journals
  • Any documentation that demonstrates the alien’s peer-reviewed presentation(s) at symposia
  • Testimonials from scholars describing the alien's work as authoritative

With respect to that last bullet point, testimonials generally take the form of recommendation letters written by experts in the alien’s field. These letters should include:

  • The writer’s qualifications to demonstrate why he or she can accurately judge, evaluate, or otherwise lend an opinion on the alien’s work
  • Descriptions of the alien's background and achievements, as well as commentary highlighting the fact that the alien‘s achievements are original contributions to the relevant scientific or scholarly field
  • Observations on the significance of the alien‘s publications, awards, and/or memberships in professional associations

If you feel that you meet the above-listed requirements and would like to file an employment-based petition for permanent residence, you should consider filing a petition under the "Outstanding Researcher or Professor" category. As with any petition for permanent residence, our attorneys can help you determine which type of petition is most suitable for you.

For more information on the EB-1B visa, refer to the following links:

Our experienced immigration attorneys are here to assist you in your EB-1 application. For more detailed information on the EB-1 category, including minimum requirements and USCIS policies, refer to the following links:

Updated 04/05/2017