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Self-petition · First preference

EB-1A — Extraordinary Ability

The first-preference green card for people who are already at the top of their field. No employer files it. You do.

What EB-1A actually asks

EB-1A is for someone with extraordinary ability in the sciences, arts, education, business or athletics — a level of expertise the regulation describes as being among the small percentage at the very top of the field. You do not need an employer, a job offer or a labor certification. You petition on your own behalf, which is why it is one of only two employment-based green cards a person can pursue without a company behind them.

The trap is that people read the standard as a threshold and treat the filing as a paperwork exercise. It is not. It is an argument about evidence, and it is decided in two stages.

Stage one: three of ten

Unless you have a one-time major international award — an Olympic medal, a Nobel, an Oscar — you qualify by satisfying at least three of the ten criteria in 8 CFR 204.5(h)(3). Check what already exists in your record:

The ten regulatory criteria 8 CFR 204.5(h)(3)

0 / 10 · three is the regulatory minimum

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Stage two: the final merits determination

Meeting three criteria does not approve a petition. Since Kazarian v. USCIS, USCIS applies a second step: it steps back and asks whether the evidence, taken as a whole, actually shows sustained national or international acclaim and a place among the very top of the field.

This is where cases that looked safe on paper fall apart. Three criteria documented thinly lose to three criteria documented well. A prize counts for little if nothing in the file establishes what the prize is, who else has won it and how it is regarded in the field. A leading role means nothing unless the organization's distinguished reputation is itself proven.

So the work is not collecting ten things. It is proving the weight of a few.

What tends to be documented badly

Almost every weak EB-1A record we see has the same gaps:

  • Press that mentions you but is not about you. Criterion (iii) asks for published material about the person. A quote in an industry article usually is not it.
  • Citations presented as a raw number. A count means nothing without the comparison: what is normal in your subfield, and where you sit against it.
  • Membership in an association that anyone can join by paying dues. The criterion requires outstanding achievement as a condition of entry, judged by recognized experts.
  • Recommendation letters that praise. Letters that assert excellence carry far less weight than letters that explain a specific contribution and how the field changed because of it.
  • A salary claim with no benchmark. High compared to whom, in what market, from what source.

How long it takes

The I-140 petition itself can be filed with premium processing, which puts USCIS on a fixed decision clock. What comes after depends on your country of birth and on visa bulletin movement — for applicants born in India or China, that wait can be substantial, and it is worth understanding before you begin rather than after.

Building the record is usually the longer part, and it is the part you control. Expert letters, evidence of impact and third-party documentation take weeks to gather properly.

Common questions

Questions people actually ask

Do I need a job offer or a U.S. employer?

No. EB-1A is a self-petition. You may already work in the U.S. or have never set foot in it — neither changes who files.

Is a PhD required?

No. The regulation never mentions degrees. It asks about acclaim and evidence. Athletes, artists, entrepreneurs and journalists qualify under the same ten criteria as researchers.

What happens if I get a Request for Evidence?

An RFE is common and is not a denial. Our work on the response is included in the fee. The U.S. attorney's own fee for an RFE is quoted separately, and we tell you the number before it applies.

Who signs the petition?

A U.S.-licensed immigration attorney, who appears on the Form G-28 as counsel of record before USCIS. You are told who that is before anything is filed.

What if the assessment says my record is not there yet?

Then that is what it says, in writing, and it costs you nothing. Where a record is close, we say what would have to change and roughly how long that takes.

Find out where your record stands

The assessment is free and reads your record against the standard USCIS applies. You get a written answer — including when the answer is that this is not your pathway yet.

Start the free assessment