What are the most recent criteria for the EB-1 green card?
EB-1 Visa, what you need to now?
These are the most important facts if you want to apply for an “EB-1 visa“ as a highly cited researcher.
Citation requirement for EB1 Visa/Green card
During the last years, there has been a significant interest in the EB-1 visa. One of the important requirements for this category is citation count, and the minimum citations for EB1. If you are interested in how to get more citations and how to improve your h-index, you can refer to the previous posts.
How will my application be evaluated for the EB-1 visa?
The adjudicator must consider all of the submitted evidence in totality to make a determination as to whether the foreign national meets the requisite level of expertise for the EB-1 category. However, according to our previous experiences, the applicant must meet 3 out of the 10 listed criteria below to prove extraordinary ability in the field:
Evidence of receipt of lesser nationally or internationally recognized prizes or awards for excellence
Evidence of membership in associations in the field, which demand outstanding achievement of their members
Evidence of published material about you in professional or major trade publications or other major media
Evidence of judging the work of others, either individually or on a panel
Evidence of original scientific, scholarly, artistic, athletic, or business-related contributions of major significance to the field
Evidence of authorship of scholarly articles in professional or major trade publications or other major media
Evidence that work has been displayed at artistic exhibitions or showcases
Evidence of performance in a leading or critical role in distinguished organizations
Evidence of a high salary or other significantly high remuneration in relation to others in the field
Evidence of commercial successes in the performing arts
As can be inferred, high-quality publications with acceptable citation counts can be a game-changer document to provide for EB-1 visa.
What is the advantage of EB-1 compared to EB-2 and EB-3?
For a university scholar, such as a senior PhD student nearing graduation or a post-doc researcher, navigating the U.S. immigration system for permanent residency can be a formidable task. While the EB-2 and EB-3 employment-based green card categories are common routes, the EB-1 category offers distinct and substantial advantages, primarily centered on a significantly faster and less burdensome application process. The most critical advantage of the EB-1 visa is the circumvention of the PERM labor certification. This process, mandatory for most EB-2 and EB-3 petitions, requires an employer to prove a lack of qualified U.S. workers, a procedure that can delay a petition by many months.
For academics aiming for an EB-1A (Extraordinary Ability) or EB-1B (Outstanding Professor or Researcher) visa, this requirement is waived. This is particularly beneficial for a post-doc researcher or professor whose unique, high-level work is not easily comparable in the general labor market. Instead of testing the market, the focus shifts to demonstrating the applicant's high standing in their field. This exemption directly leads to faster processing times. A common concern for applicants is the visa backlog, where the number of applicants exceeds the available visas. The EB-1 category historically has more favorable "priority dates" in the State Department's Visa Bulletin compared to the heavily oversubscribed EB-2 and EB-3 categories, especially for nationals of certain countries. This means a university scholar qualifying for EB-1 can often file their final residency application much sooner, avoiding years of waiting in a queue. Furthermore, within the EB-1A subcategory, an applicant can self-petition, eliminating the need for employer sponsorship. This provides significant autonomy for a researcher who may have multiple job offers or wishes to maintain flexibility. To qualify, meeting the high standards is essential. While there is no rigid citation requirement for EB-1, applicants must demonstrate sustained international acclaim. For any PhD student or researcher aspiring to this category, a strategic focus to increase citation counts and gather other forms of evidence of significant contributions—such as publications, awards, and review work—is a crucial part of building a successful petition. If you are interested in paid citation services for EB-1, feel free to ask for a quote from Citepal.
