EB-1B: Outstanding Professors and Researchers

Introduction

The EB-1B Outstanding Professor/Researcher category requires an offer of a permanent job from a qualifying employer but not labor certification. A permanent job may be grant funded under some circumstances, and some for-profit employers qualify. The beneficiary must also have three years of full-time teaching or research experience at the time of petition; work towards the PhD normally does not count unless found to be outstanding.

EB-1B Standards

An outstanding professor or researcher must be able to show "sustained acclaim" on a national or international level. This can be shown if the beneficiary has – and is able to document -- at least two of the following:

• Major prizes or awards for outstanding achievement in the academic field;
• Membership in associations in the academic field which require outstanding achievements of their members (national academies and the like);
• Published material in professional publications written by others about the alien's work in the academic field;
• Evidence of participation, either individually or on a panel, as the judge of the work of others in the same or an allied academic field;
• Evidence of original scientific or scholarly research contributions to the academic field; or
• Evidence of authorship of scholarly books or articles (in scholarly journals with international circulation) in the academic field.

EB-1B cases require documentation from both employer and beneficiary showing each meets the requirements for the category. Individuals considering an EB-1B petition should evaluate their credentials and the nature of the job offer with an experienced immigration attorney knowledgeable about recent decisions to see if the case is approvable. Our immigration attorneys and dedicated science team have many years of experience assisting foreign scientists in submitting approvable EB-1B petitions. Please don't hesitate to email your CV for a confidential pre-evaluation of your immigration options or call 847-763-8500 to schedule a consultation.