Eligibility Requirements for EB-1 Visas

Employment-based applications are reserved for people of extraordinary ability. There are three categories of people with extraordinary ability. The most common types of EB-1 visas are for outstanding professors and academics, athletes, and artists. An experienced immigration attorney has the ability to help individuals through the application process to ensure that everything is filled out correctly. It is extremely important that these applications are done correctly so that the person can prove that they are eligible for an EB-1 visa.

If you are an individual that has demonstrated extraordinary ability in science, art, education, business, or athletics; you can be an outstanding professor and researcher, or you can be a multinational manager or executive in an international firm. Those are the different categories of the EB-1 visa, and the evidentiary requirements for each of them are very rigorous. If you are applying for an employment based visa, you will need an experienced immigration attorney who understands eligibility requirements for EB-1 visas.

Common Types of EB-1 Visas

Academics

The most common type of the EB-1 visa to be issued is the outstanding professors and researchers category because the evidentiary requirements are more straightforward. In order to qualify in this category, you have to have at least three years of experience in teaching or research in the specific academic area that you are going to practice once you enter the U.S. You also have to be entering the U.S. explicitly to pursue a teaching position here. It has to be a tenure-track teaching position and it has to be at a university or another institution of higher education; a high school teacher would not qualify. This visa is more straightforward and there are more people that fit into this category than the other two types of EB-1 visas.

Athletes and Artists

There are a lot of people who apply for the other two extraordinary ability visa categories as well, but they need to prove that they have sustained national or international acclaim and must submit extensive documentation to prove that they are among the best in their field worldwide. Other than professors and researchers, the EB-1 visa could include people as diverse as a professional athlete or an artist who has been exhibited in galleries worldwide, to a scientist who has won an international award. The extraordinary ability category is very broad in terms of the types of people it can include, but it is also very narrow in the fact that you truly have to be at the top of the field in order to qualify.

Proving Extraordinary Ability

The process of proving that you have an extraordinary ability can draw upon a number of types of evidence and can depend heavily on what your ability is. If you are a baseball player, the list of evidence that you can submit will be much different than if you were a molecular biologist. It definitely depends on the field that you’re in, but essentially they will consider whether you have received any nationally or internationally recognized prizes or awards and whether you have membership in certain associations.

For example, if there are associations in your field that have stringent criteria in order for members to be accepted and you are a member, you could use that. You can use published material about yourself, including anything that has been put in newspapers, magazines, or online. You can submit how much money you make, so if you are a baseball player gaining a top salary or an artist who is selling paintings for millions of dollars, you can submit your salary as representative of your extraordinary ability. If you have ever been a judge or part of a jury in any type of competition in your field, you can submit that, as well as any scholarly articles you have published.

Benefits of an Attorney

An immigration attorney can definitely help with the EB-1 visa application process. The documentary requirements are very rigorous, and they can help submit an application that is more likely to be approved because an experienced attorney will know what needs to be submitted and how the requirements can best be filled.