(EB1-B or EB1-OR) Outstanding Professors and Researchers
Introduction
EB1-B is a subcategory of priority worker. To qualify, the petition must show international recognition as outstanding in a specific academic area, and the foreign national must have at least three years of experience in teaching or research in that area. In addition, while no labor certification is required, the sponsoring employer must offer ongoing employment. For a college or university teacher or researcher, the job must be for a tenured or tenure-track position.
Self-Petition Not Allowed
The U.S. employer must file the petition with the USCIS as petitioner; the foreign person is the beneficiary of the petition.
Qualifications of EB1-B
A foreign national is eligible for classification as an outstanding professor or researcher by satisfying all three of the following requirements:
- Recognition Internationally as outstanding in a specific academic field, and
- at least three years of teaching or research in the field and
- (a) an offer of a tenured or tenure-track teaching position, or of a comparable research position, OR (b) an offer of a research position with no fixed term, in which the employee will ordinarily expect permanent employment, OR (c) an offer of a comparable research position with a private employer that has at least three full-time researchers and documented accomplishments in the research field.
Proof of International Recognition
An EB1-B petition must establish that the foreign person is recognized internationally as outstanding in a specific academic field. USCIS rules permit expert support letters as proof that the professor or researcher is internationally recognized as outstanding. Such expert testimonials must address the foreign national's original scientific or scholarly contributions of major significance to the field.
Click here to read (What Expert Testimonials Will Help an EB1-B Case? ).
Calculation of “Three Year“ Experience in Teaching or Research
The foreign national must have at least three years of teaching or research experience in the academic field. Teaching or research performed while working on an advanced degree is acceptable only if the foreign person has acquired the degree and either had full responsibility for the class taught or produced research recognized within the academic field as outstanding.
Evidence of teaching and/or research experience must take the form of letters from current or former employers and must include the name, address, and title of the writer, along with a specific description of the duties the applicant performed.
A Tenure, Tenured-track or Comparable Position
The final qualification of an EB1-B beneficiary is a job offer: a tenured or tenure-track teaching or research position at a university, or a comparable research position with a private employer that has at least three full-time researchers and documented accomplishments in the research field.
A Permanent Research Position
Recognizing that many university research positions are neither tenured nor tenure-track, USCIS rules allow a job offer to qualify for first preference consideration when the university offers the applicant a “permanent research position.” A “permanent” position is one with a term of indefinite or unlimited duration, in which the employee will ordinarily expect continued employment unless there is good cause for termination.
A Comparable Position with a Private Employer
The USCIS has also taken the position that, because private employers do not ordinarily give tenure to employees, a “comparable” position for purposes of this category is one whose job description and duties are analogous to those of a researcher in an academic setting—that is, a position offered on a “permanent” basis as the rules define it.
A Qualified “Employer“
Government agencies at the federal, state, or local level do not fit within the definition of employer for EB1-B purposes unless the agency is a U.S. university or an institution of higher learning.
The Criteria of “Outstanding“
To qualify as an outstanding professor or researcher, the petitioner must satisfy at least two of the criteria listed below:
- documentation that the applicant has received major prizes or awards for outstanding achievement in the academic field
- documentation that the applicant belongs to associations in the academic field whose membership requires outstanding achievement
- published material about the alien's work in the academic field, in any language so long as it is translated into English, appearing in professional publications written by others--this documentation must include the title, date, and author of the material
- evidence that the alien has participated, either individually or on a panel, as the judge of the work of others in the same, or an allied, academic field
- evidence that the applicant has made original scientific or scholarly research contributions to the academic field
- evidence that the applicant has authored scholarly books or articles in scholarly journals with international circulation in the academic field
The Standard of Review by the USCIS
Like EB1-A petitions, two part analysis applies to EB1-B cases. The USCIS makes a totality determination to decide whether a foreign person is “outstanding“: the types of evidence listed in the regulations serve only as guidelines for the adjudicator and the petitioner. Ultimately, the evidence must establish that the beneficiary is a researcher or professor who is internationally recognized as outstanding. Merely presenting evidence that relates to two of the listed criteria does not necessarily mean the priority worker petition will be approved, since the adjudicator must weigh and evaluate the evidence. If the USCIS determines that the evidence submitted does not meet the standard for classification, additional evidence may therefore be requested.
In a June 1992 memorandum on the subject, the former INS indicated that the evidence below would make a strong case that the professor or researcher is outstanding:
- Peer-reviewed presentations at academic symposia
- peer-reviewed articles in scholarly journals
- testimony from other scholars about the contribution the applicant has made to the field
- a number of entries in a citation index that cite the applicant's work as authoritative
- participation by the applicant as a reviewer for a peer-reviewed scholarly journal