No employer. No lottery. No half-million-dollar investment. Two U.S. immigrant categories let you file on your own record — what you have already built. The only question that matters is whether your record carries one of them, and that answer exists in two weeks.
23 minutes, reading the American regulation with you.
Get the assessmentAn individual reading of your record, in writing, within 14 days.
Not for someone starting out. For someone with a record that can be documented — and that, more often than not, is worth more than they think it is.
Professors, researchers and doctoral candidates with publications, thesis committees or peer review work.
Founders, executives and specialists with a product in market, a patent, revenue or a team under management.
Writers, musicians, directors and artists with released work, awards, published criticism or international circulation.
Physicians, engineers and licensed professionals with certifications, publications or standing in a professional body.
Almost everyone who reaches us arrives with one of these three beliefs. Each one of them, on its own, costs years.
True for the ordinary employment categories. Not true for EB-1A and EB-2 NIW, which are self-petitions: you are the petitioner, and no employer holds your case.
The legal standard is a body of evidence, not a single prize. The regulation lists ten criteria and asks for three. Most people meet more of them than they realize, and have simply never put the record in one place.
The most expensive route of all. Without knowing which category you are building for, you gather the wrong documents — and the ones that decide a case are the ones that depend on other people, which take months to obtain.
Three stages, and you decide whether to continue at each one.
You complete a questionnaire about your record and we talk on video. Within 14 days you receive, in writing, which categories make sense in your case, what your record already supports criterion by criterion, and what is missing.
We build the body of evidence: organize it, index it, translate what needs translating and chase what is missing. It is the longest stage and the one that decides the outcome.
A U.S.-licensed attorney reviews the case independently, decides whether to file, signs the petition and is responsible for the proceeding before USCIS.
Most people do not need a case filed. They need to know whether they have one — and how long it would take to have it.
Paid in U.S. dollars. No subscription, no recurring charge.
Not sure whether you have a case? Answer eight questions about your record and within two business days we tell you which criteria it speaks to. Three minutes, at no cost and with no commitment.
Meritus is a services company. We handle what actually decides a merit-based case: understanding your record, assembling the body of evidence, organizing and translating it, and carrying the preparation through from beginning to end.
The legal work belongs to a U.S.-licensed attorney, retained directly by you under a separate agreement, who reviews the case independently, signs the petition and is responsible for it. Two agreements, two fees — you know exactly what you pay to whom, from the first conversation.
No, and be wary of anyone who does. The decision belongs to the U.S. government. What can be done is to build the strongest case the record allows — and to say honestly when the record does not carry one.
No. We are a case preparation company. Legal representation before USCIS is provided by a U.S.-licensed attorney retained directly by you, who signs the petition and is responsible for the proceeding.
Any. EB-1A and EB-2 NIW are defined by what your record shows, not by where you were born. The assessment and the preparation are conducted in English; the conversation can also be held in Portuguese if you prefer.
It depends on the category and on the state of your documentation, and an honest number only exists after the assessment. What can be said upfront is the structure: our fee, the attorney's fee and the government filing fees are three separate amounts, and you see all three before signing anything.
No. Both categories can be petitioned from abroad. If you are already in the U.S. on another status, that changes the path after approval — and it is one of the points the assessment examines, because the practical consequences are serious.
The assessment is delivered within 14 days. Building the evidence file usually takes two to six months, depending on what already exists and what has to be obtained. Government processing times after filing vary and are outside anyone's control.
You will be told so, in writing, and you will save a great deal of money. That is exactly what the assessment is for: so the decision is made with information, rather than after spending tens of thousands of dollars.
Two weeks to know whether your own record carries a petition.
Get the assessment — US$ 197Rather start without paying? Answer the eight questions and get the preliminary reading within two business days.