1. The Analysis
of Six
Criteria for EB1 Outstanding Researcher or Professor Petition
1)
Receipt of Major Prizes or Awards for Outstanding Achievements:
This criterion is intended for the prestigious awards. It is important to include not just proof of the award, but proof that the award is important in the field. This may include the judging criteria or evidence of media coverage, and some degree of
prestige must attach to the given award.
2) Membership in Associations in the Academic Field:
Specialized scholars frequently belong to associations. However, most scholars with the appropriate degree are
eligible for such associations upon payment of a membership fee. For a membership to have weight in this
category, there must be a higher selective standard for admission to the association.
The alien applicant should
submit evidence of selective membership criteria along with evidence of membership in the association.
3) Published Material about the Person:
To satisfy this criterion, the published material should be at the national or international level. Articles in
local newspapers or internal company reports do not qualify. Moreover, standard
academic citations do not count as published material about the alien beneficiary.
4) Participation as a Judge of the Work of Others:
Reviewing grants or articles can satisfy this criterion, if the review request is directed particularly to the
alien beneficiary. Generic letters or requests passed down from an advisor or mentor
can not be accounted.
5) Original Scientific or Scholarly Research Contributions to the Academic Field:
Evidence submitted in this category must address the international reputation standard. Simply publishing or
presenting an alien’s work or receiving grant funding is common in research, and does not indicate that the academic
community has taken notice of the alien's work. Patents or patent applications carry little weight unless they demonstrate an international reputation in
the field, and petitioner should document the widespread use or application of the patent.
6) Authorship of Scholarly Books or Articles:
The publications must be in peer-reviewed academic journals, preferably those with international circulation.
When submitting evidence under this category, the petitioner must demonstrate that the publication record rises
above that of the average scholar. One method of doing so is showing that the
alien beneficiary’s papers have been
widely cited by independent researchers in the field.
2. USCIS' Policy
of "Two-Part
Evaluation" for Form I-140 Petitions
On August 18, 2010, U.S. Citizenship and
Immigration Services (USCIS) issued a Policy Memorandum to provides guidance regarding the analysis that Immigration Service Officers
(ISOs) must use in adjudicating Form I-140, Immigrant Petition for Alien Worker,
filed for:
- EB1-Extraordinary Ability;
- EB1-Outstanding
Professors or Researchers; and;
- EB2-Aliens
of Exceptional Ability, including EB2 National Interest Waiver (NIW).
The purpose of the Policy Memorandum
is to
ensure that U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) processes Form
I-140 petitions filed under these employment-based immigrant classifications
with a consistent standard. USCIS Immigration Service Officers
(ISOs) will follow the amended procedures in the adjudication of all Form I-140 petitions filed for
EB1-Outstanding
Professors or Researchers. In general, the petition must be accompanied by initial
evidence that:
a) evidence submitted satisfies the preponderance of the evidence standard and meets at least two criteria.
b) the alien is recognized internationally as outstanding in a specific academic
area.
The evidence provided in support of EB1-Outstanding Researcher or Professor petitions must demonstrate that the alien is recognized internationally as outstanding in the academic field specified in the petition. Thus, the universe against which the beneficiary is compared is measured solely against the particular academic field of which the beneficiary claims outstanding achievement.
In addition, the petition must be accompanied by an offer of permanent, tenured, or tenure-track employment (limited to “permanent positions” in the case of research positions) from a qualifying prospective employer and evidence that the alien has had at least three years of experience in teaching or research in the "academic field" in which the alien will be engaged.
The determination in Part One of the analysis is limited to determining whether the evidence submitted satisfies the preponderance of the evidence standard and meets at least two criteria. While ISOs must consider the quality and caliber of the evidence to determine whether a particular regulatory criterion has been met, the ISO should not make a determination relative to the alien’s claimed international recognition in Part One of the case analysis.
Meeting the minimum requirement by providing at least two types of this evidence does not, in itself, establish that the alien in fact meets the requirements for classification as an Outstanding Researcher or Professor.
In Part Two of the analysis in each case, ISOs will consider all of the evidence to make a final merit determination of whether or not the petitioner has, by a preponderance of the evidence, demonstrated that the alien is recognized internationally as outstanding in a specific academic area.
3.
Restrictions and Advantages of Applying
for EB1 Outstanding
Researcher or Professor
There are some restrictions for EB1 Outstanding Researcher or Professor
petition. The first restriction is the "academic field". The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services
(USCIS)
regulations define the
term of academic field as "a body of specialized knowledge
offered for study at an accredited United States university or institution of
higher education."
The second restriction is the "permanent job
offer". The term "permanent" in reference to a position means "either tenured, tenure-track, or for a term of
indefinite or unlimited duration, and in which the employee will ordinarily have
an expectation of continued employment unless there is good cause for
termination."
For a
person who may qualify for EB1 Outstanding Researcher or Professor, applying for this immigration category is a
much better choice than the Labor Certification.
The EB1-OR petition does not require the Labor Certification. As
many people know, the
Labor Certification is a long process. Therefore, bypassing the Labor Certification
process is an advantage of EB1-OR, and it makes EB1-OR much faster than
other immigration categories requiring the Labor Certification. Furthermore,
an immigration visa number is almost available to submit the Form I-485
application of status adjustment, for EB1 categories in most cases.
Without
the requirement of Labor Certification,
an EB1-OR applicant also enjoys some freedom in employment. The
applicant does not need to meet some very strict conditions set otherwise in the
Labor Certification, such as change
job description, job title, job location, and salary requirement.
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