Frequently Asked Questions for EB1-B (Outstanding professors and researchers)

An outstanding professor or researcher petition must satisfy three requirements:

1. The foreign national must be recognized internationally as outstanding in a specific academic field.
2. The beneficiary must have at least three years of teaching or research experience in the academic field.
3. The beneficiary must receive an offer of a tenured or tenure-track teaching or research position at a university, or a comparable research position with a private employer that employs at least three full-time researchers and has documented accomplishments in the research field.

The employer files the preference petition with USCIS, and the foreign national is the beneficiary.

Every EB-1 petition is filed on Form I-140.

No EB-1 category requires labor certification before the I-140 is filed.

Yes. This category requires a job offer, and the professor or researcher needs an employer sponsor to file the petition.

1. No labor certification is required.
2. All visas are current, so a green card is available much faster in this category than in others.

In EB1-B cases the burden of proof rests solely on the petitioner, who must provide substantial evidence of the two of the six regulatory criteria that the professor or researcher seeks to satisfy. For a qualified professor or researcher, the odds of approval depend largely on how the case is presented: relevant, well-organized evidence and persuasive argument should lead to routine approval. Over the last 5 years, the EB1-B approval rate has exceeded 90 percent.

An I-140 petition for an outstanding professor or researcher should include the following documents:

1. The petition must identify which of the six regulatory criteria the foreign national seeks to satisfy and the supporting evidence for each one.
2. Evidence that the foreign national has at least three years of teaching and/or research experience in the academic field.
3. A copy of the actual job offer the petitioner issued to the beneficiary. This letter or contract must state the title and the terms and conditions of the position offered.
4. Documentation as outlined above for each position the beneficiary has held since first being hired.

An EB1-B petition must contain substantial evidence that the qualifications are satisfied. A petition for an outstanding professor or researcher must be accompanied by evidence of the six regulatory criteria the petition seeks to satisfy, with supporting evidence for each criterion:

1. documentation that the beneficiary has received major prizes or awards for outstanding achievement in the academic field;
2. documentation of the beneficiary's membership in academic-field associations that require outstanding achievements of their members;
3. published material in professional publications, in any language if translated into English, written by others about the beneficiary's work in the academic field; the documentation must include the title, date, and author of the material;
4. evidence that the beneficiary has served, individually or on a panel, as a judge of the work of others in the same or an allied academic field;
5. evidence of the beneficiary's original scientific or scholarly research contributions to the academic field; or
6. evidence of the beneficiary's authorship of scholarly books or articles in scholarly journals with international circulation in the academic field.

The petition should also include evidence of the beneficiary's at least three years of teaching or research experience and of the tenured or tenure-track position.

Yes. Under USCIS regulations, the three-year experience requirement can be satisfied through a combination of teaching and research.

Teaching or research performed while pursuing an advanced degree generally does not count. It counts only if the foreign national has earned the degree and either had full responsibility for the classes taught or conducted research toward the degree that is recognized as outstanding within the academic field.

Evidence of teaching and/or research experience must come in letters from current or former employers and must state the writer's name, address, and title, along with a specific description of the duties the beneficiary performed.

A tenured or tenure-track job has no definite termination date. It may be a 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.

Because many university research positions are not tenured or tenure-track, USCIS rules allow a job offer to qualify for first preference when the university offers a “permanent research position“ to the beneficiary. A “permanent“ position has an indefinite or unlimited term, and the employee ordinarily expects continued employment unless there is good cause for termination.

USCIS reasons that because private employers ordinarily do not grant tenure, a “comparable“ position for this category is one whose job description and duties parallel those of a researcher in an academic setting, that is, someone offered a “permanent“ position under the rules.

USCIS clarifies that federal, state, and local government agencies do not fall within the definition of an employer for EB1-B purposes unless the agency is a U.S. university or an institution of higher learning. The burden of proof rests on the petitioner (the employer), not on the beneficiary (the foreign national).

Because this classification requires no labor certification, the job offer must take the form of a letter from:

1. a U.S. university or institution of higher learning offering the professor or researcher a tenured or tenure-track teaching position in his or her academic field;
2. a U.S. university or institution of higher learning offering the professor or researcher a permanent research position in his or her academic field; OR
3. a department, division, or institute of a private employer offering the professor or researcher a permanent research position in his or her academic field; that unit must show that it employs at least three persons full-time in research positions and has documented accomplishments in an academic field.

In a June 1992 memorandum, the former INS stated that the following evidence would make a strong case that a professor or researcher is outstanding:

1. Peer-reviewed presentations at academic symposia;
2. peer-reviewed articles in scholarly journals;
3. testimony from other scholars on the alien beneficiary's contribution to the field;
4. a number of citation-index entries citing the beneficiary's work as authoritative; or
5. the beneficiary's service as a reviewer for a peer-reviewed scholarly journal.

Outstanding researchers and professors would normally be expected to hold Ph.D. degrees, but neither the statute nor the regulations require a doctorate. A foreign national who qualifies as an outstanding professor may also be offered a research position, and vice versa.

Yes. The evidence types listed in the regulations are only guidelines for the adjudicator and the petitioner; the evidence must ultimately establish that the beneficiary is a researcher or professor recognized internationally as outstanding. Evidence addressing two listed criteria does not by itself guarantee approval, because the adjudicator must weigh and evaluate it. If USCIS finds the evidence insufficient for the classification, it may request more.

No specific minimum number of publications is required; USCIS decides on a case-by-case basis.

In 2010, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit reviewed the denial of an EB1-A petition in the Kazarian case. The AAO reads Kazarian as setting out a two-part approach: Part One - counting the types of evidence provided; Part Two - final merits determination. An August 2010 USCIS memorandum now requires this two-step analysis for EB1-A Aliens of Extraordinary Ability, EB1-B Outstanding Professors and Researchers, and EB-2 Foreign Nationals of Exceptional Ability.

1. Part 1: The adjudicator determines whether the petition includes evidence meeting the criteria for the immigration classification sought, as the USCIS rules require.
2. Part 2: The adjudicator considers all submitted evidence as a whole to decide whether the foreign national meets the level of expertise the category requires. In this phase, the adjudicator weighs all the evidence and determines whether, cumulatively, it proves by a preponderance of the evidence that the I-140 beneficiary satisfies the category's general definition.

Yes, but you must file a separate Form I-140 petition for each visa category you request, with the required fee and supporting documentation. Do not check more than one category on a single Form I-140.

Form I-140 may be filed electronically or by mail, but supporting evidence must be sent to a service center.

No because all visas are current.

Yes. The petitioner or the Form G-28 representative may send USCIS a letter requesting withdrawal of the I-140 petition.

The petitioner or the Form G-28 representative may send USCIS a letter requesting withdrawal of the I-140 petition.

Withdrawal requests should include:

1. A statement indicating that the Form I-140 petitioner wishes to withdraw the petition;
2. The Form I-140 petition receipt number;
3. The name, address and phone number of the petitioner;
4. The name of the alien beneficiary;
5. The alien registration number of the alien beneficiary, if known;
6. The petitioner's signature or the Form G-28 representative.

The law sets no waiting period for filing a new EB1-B petition after a prior rejection. A rejected petition does not bar you from filing again later under any classification. Still, unless your circumstances have improved, resubmitting a similar petition is inadvisable, since approval is unlikely.

Use these tips to organize the evidence:

1. Submit all required documentation and evidence with the petition. USCIS may deny a Form I-140 without issuing a request for evidence when the evidence the instructions and regulations require is not provided up front.
2. Photocopies must be clear and legible.
3. Foreign-language documents must be filed with an English translation. The translator must be competent to translate and must certify in writing that “the translation is true and accurate to the best of the translator's abilities.“ Stapling the English translation to the foreign-language document is helpful.
4. When documenting the beneficiary's publications or citations to the beneficiary's work, highlight the beneficiary's name in the relevant articles. You need not send the full text of a dissertation, thesis, or research paper written by the beneficiary, or of a work that cites it. Include the title page, the portion(s) that cite the beneficiary's work, and the “works cited“ or bibliography.
5. Tab and label exhibits at the bottom of each exhibit's first page. For petitions supported by substantial documentation, include an exhibit list showing the eligibility criteria each exhibit establishes; identify any exhibit offered for more than one criterion.

A letter of recommendation, also called a reference letter, is written by an expert in the foreign national's field or by another authoritative person in an allied or supporting field. Such letters are essential in petitions for employment-based immigration benefits. Because adjudicating officers are rarely experts in an academic field, they must rely on the objective evidence submitted to decide whether you meet the legal standard (outstanding). Recommendation letters are among the most important pieces of that evidence.

USCIS takes the position that someone with international recognition should be able to produce ample unsolicited material reflecting that acclaim. Letters from independent, outside sources therefore carry more weight, because they evidence the foreign national's accomplishments. If an individual's contributions are not widely praised beyond his or her current and former acquaintances, sustained international recognition cannot be found. For that reason, the government gives less weight to letters from an individual's immediate circle of colleagues offered to support the criterion of original contributions of major significance in the field.

Beyond being an expert in your field, the person writing your letter should know your research and contributions well enough to address them specifically. A prominent figure in your field is therefore a better choice than an acquaintance, but the ideal writer is an expert who is familiar with your work. A letter from your current or prospective employer is also appropriate.

A recommendation letter should include the following:

1. Qualifications of the recommender: A recommendation letter should describe the writer. If the writer comments on the foreign national's achievements or research, the letter should include a statement establishing that person's qualifications to judge the applicant's work.
2. Helpful testimonials from experts: Expert testimonials about your accomplishments are crucial to your petition, but they must bolster the argument that you meet the legal standard - that the beneficiary is internationally recognized. Evidence that merely shows the beneficiary's competence, or that fails to distinguish him or her from others in the field, does not help the case: it carries little weight and may even be used to deny the petition.
3. Substantive information: A good letter should highlight the applicant's unique, high-level expertise. A letter from an employer or professor should specify the work the foreign national is responsible for and the requirements of the job. An employer letter may cite the position to show that few individuals can fill it and that the foreign national is one of them. By contrast, letters that briefly describe the beneficiary's activities and call him or her knowledgeable, without specific information on how those contributions significantly and consistently influenced the field, are insufficient.

USCIS sets no specific number. An EB-1 case should generally include three to seven recommendation letters.

Recommendation letters are difficult to draft, yet strong letters substantially improve your chances of approval. Once you retain us, our firm helps you obtain them step by step:

1. We explain recommendation letters in detail and walk you through their purpose, format, and content.
2. We discuss potential candidates to write your recommendation letters.
3. You provide detailed information on each recommender's authority and expertise, your connections, and how their work relates to yours.
4. Our attorneys and legal team then draft the recommendation letters for you.
5. You send the letters to the recommenders for review and signature.
6. Before filing, we review any letters that changed substantially to determine whether the recommender must sign an updated version.

If the beneficiary changes employers while the I-140 is pending, a new petition must be filed.

EB1-B and NIW have different requirements, and preparing the two applications differs significantly. A foreign national seeking NIW classification may self-petition, while an EB1-B applicant needs an employer sponsor. Once the I-140 is approved, however, the two classifications are much the same for the later I-485 application.

You may file an EB1-B and an NIW petition at the same time. Some applicants file two I-140 petitions simultaneously, in EB-1 and NIW; nothing in the law prohibits multiple filings. In fact, multiple filings increase your chances.

Unlike the extraordinary ability category, the outstanding professors and researchers category requires a job offer. Outstanding professors and researchers therefore cannot self-petition; a U.S. employer must sponsor them.

Even with the added job-offer requirement, the standard for outstanding professors and researchers is lower than that for aliens of extraordinary ability. The latter must show a major internationally recognized award or documentation under at least three of ten specified categories, while outstanding professors and researchers need only show international recognition as outstanding in their academic field by meeting at least two of the six criteria set out above.

Foreign nationals may also find this category easier to qualify for because they can use experience gained as students. A professor or researcher may qualify even if the three years of qualifying experience were earned while enrolled in a Ph.D. or teaching program, provided he or she had full control over the courses taught. Outstanding researchers may also count research performed as part of their education if they can show that the research was “outstanding.“

Yes. No rule requires published articles to apply for or win approval of an EB1-B petition, though in many cases publications improve the odds. Publications can help establish the beneficiary's original scientific or scholarly research contributions and authorship of scholarly articles in the academic field. A petitioner may also support the case with evidence satisfying other criteria listed in the law.

You may still apply for an EB1-B without awards in your field. No rule requires awards to apply for or win approval of an EB-1 petition, though awards often help by satisfying one of the criteria listed in the law. The petitioner can also support the case with evidence satisfying other criteria.

Yes. You may apply for the EB1-B now and obtain the J-1 waiver later. Even with an approved I-140, you remain subject to the two-year foreign country residency requirement and must obtain the J-1 waiver before adjusting status to permanent resident.

You need not obtain a J-1 waiver before filing an I-140 petition. The two-year foreign residency requirement bars adjustment of status from J-1 to permanent resident, but it does not bar filing the I-140. You may prepare the I-140 and the J-1 waiver concurrently. If the I-140 is approved before the waiver, you must wait for the waiver before filing Form I-485 for adjustment of status.

The current I-140 filing fee is $715.

An asylum program fee also applies: the full amount is $600. A petitioning employer that is a small entity with 25 or fewer full-time employees pays $300, and a nonprofit petitioning employer pays $0.