Qualification for EB-1(a) 3/4

Posted on June 26, 2007 by Warren Wen | Category: Immigration

Qualification for Aliens of Extraordinary Ability 3/4

In the previous article, we mentioned that for those young students who come to the United States to study in the field of science and who have a lot of articles published in their fields of study, it is not as easy for them to prove that they have “performed in a leading or critical role for organizations or establishments that have a distinguished reputation.”  For them, it is also challenging to prove that they have participated “as a judge or a referee of the work of others in the same or an allied field of specification for which classification is sought, either individually or on a panel.”  Then, what qualification requirements should they look for in order to take the advantages of EB-1(a)?

According to our years of experience, the following requirements are somewhat easier to be met by students or scholars:

  • Evidence of the alien’s authorship of scholarly articles in the field, in professional or major trade publications or other major media;
  • Evidence of the alien’s original scientific, scholarly, artistic, athletic, or business- related contributions of major significance in the field;
  • Published material about the alien in professional or major trade publications or other major media, relating to the alien’s work in the field for which classification is sought. Such evidence shall include the title, date, and author of the material, and any necessary translation.

It seems that the first requirement is easy to satisfy for those applicants who have doctoral degree in the United States and have published a lot of papers.  However, the USCIS has some requirements on those published works. Generally speaking, the works that have reached only the standard level in a professional area is not enough. Normally, the USCIS will ask for evidence that the publication is well-known in the professional area or that it has been used as reference or been quoted by other publications in the professional area. Thus, if the works is self-paid publication, it will be not be as persuasive. Furthermore, if the publication quoted the alien’s works without an evaluation or it only appeared on the list, it will not be persuasive, either. Therefore, when preparing materials for evidence, applicants should try their best to prove that the publication’s significance in the professional area which will, then, make the application more persuasive.

The second requirement is to prove the alien’s original scientific, scholarly, artistic, athletic, or business-related contributions of a major significance in the field. Normally, we provide articles or patents to prove this.  We must note that having quantitative articles only or articles that illustrate the original contribution but without any evidence is not enough. The USCIS will evaluate the influence of the article in the area.  So, when preparing material, providing evidence that the article had a great influence in the area is more effective than the evidence that simply states the article’s originality and positive contribution.  For example, the applicant can provide positive comments or reference letters from influential publications or from someone in the filed or peers, etc.  As for patent, the USCIS will also assess its importance so that the applicants would better provide evidence to prove its significant impact in scientific research or commercial use.

Additionally, these achievements must be reached before the application is filed. Any evidence or achievements that were received after the application was filed are not as persuasive.

This article is only for your reference. Please do not apply mechanically to any exact cases. You are welcome to consult our attorneys at Liu & Associates, P.C. For contact information, please click here.