EB-1 Employment-based First Preference Immigrant Petition Outstanding Researcher/Professor

An Outstanding Researcher or Professor, or EB-1B, classification applies to foreign nationals who are internationally recognized as outstanding or exceptional in the sciences, business, and arts. Unlike the 2nd and 3rd preference petitions discussed in this section, the EB1B does NOT require a Labor Certification from the Department of Labor and therefore, lessens the processing time.

The Beneficiary should:

  1. Be internationally recognized for outstanding achievements in a scientific or academic field.
  2. Have at least three years of relevant research or teaching experience
  3. Have a job offer for a permanent research position or a tenured or tenure-track teaching position from the sponsoring employer.
Additionally, the beneficiary must be at least two of the following six criteria:
  1. Evidence of receipt of major prizes or awards for outstanding achievement
  2. Evidence of membership in associations that require their members to demonstrate outstanding achievements
  3. Evidence of published material in professional publications written by others about the alien's work
  4. Evidence of participation, either on a panel or individually, as a judge of the work of others in the same or an allied academic field
  5. Evidence of original scientific or scholarly contributions in the scientific or academic field
  6. Evidence of authorship of scholarly books or articles in academic or scholarly journals with international circulations in the field

Please note that even though the regulations call for at least two of the six criteria listed above, our office has had a better success rate when the case is filed with at least four of the six criteria, and therefore, we strive to file the petition with sufficient evidence to warrant a grant of the benefit sought.

The petition is filed directly to the USCIS (Texas Service Center). The processing time is currently 12 months. (Subject to change without notice.) A petition may be filed with a request for Premium Processing for 15 days processing for a fee of $2500.

The employee may concurrently file the I-485, Adjustment of Status (Green Card) application with the I-140, Petition for Immigrant Worker if his/her priority date is current. To check DATES FOR FILING OF EMPLOYMENT-BASED VISA APPLICATIONS, click here.

For more information, please contact Immigration Services at immigration@tamu.edu or 979-862-1719.

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