EB1: Outstanding Professor or Researcher

(Employer required but PERM/Labor not required.)

This employment-based, first preference (EB1) is for “outstanding” academicians – professors and researchers who are internationally recognized for their high level or degree of achievement in their respective academic fields.

This category is available to individuals who can prove that they are “recognized internationally as outstanding in a specific academic area,” have at least three years of teaching or research experience in that field, and intend to teach or carry out research in that particular field in the United States.

The individual must have an offer of employment in his/her field. Employment from an accredited university must be for a tenure-track position. The employment can also be for a permanent research position with an employer who has at least three full-time researchers and has documented accomplishments in that field.

In order to qualify for this subcategory of EB1 priority workers, it is necessary to produce at least two of the following:

1. Published material in professional publications written by others about the foreign national’s work in the academic field.

2. Receipt of major prizes or awards for outstanding achievement in the academic field.

3. Membership in associations in the academic field, which require outstanding achievements of their members.

4. Original scientific or scholarly research contributions to the academic field.

5. Authorship of scholarly books or articles (in scholarly journals with international circulation) in the academic field.

6. Participation, either individually or on a panel, as a judge of the work of others in the same or allied academic field.

Two-Step Analysis to Determine for Outstanding Researchers and Professors

Many types of cases, including EB1 outstanding researcher / professor petitions, are adjudicated by the USCIS based on the two-step analysis described in the USCIS policy memorandum entitled, Evaluation of Evidence Submitted with Certain Form I-140 Petitions. As described in the memo, USCIS adjudicators first count the evidence to determine if the applicant meets at least three of the regulatory criteria. Then the adjudicators make a final merits determination looking at the totality of the evidence provided to decide whether the applicant is an outstanding researcher or professor.

The Murthy Law Firm has filed many petitions, which have been successfully adjudicated in this category by satisfying the USCIS that the applicant is indeed an “outstanding professor or researcher.”

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