US Business Visas

EB-1 Extraordinary Ability Green Cards

EB-1 Extraordinary Ability Green Cards are intended to offer persons who have achieved superlative recognition in their fields the opportunity to obtain lawful permanent resident status in the United States.

Three Sub-Categories of EB-1 Green Cards

• Extraordinary Ability Persons

• Outstanding Professors and Researchers

• Multinational Managers and Executives

Exemption from Labor Certification

All EB-1 green cards are exempt from having to apply for a permanent labor certification before the U.S. Department of Labor. This alleviates the documentary requirements and accelerates the EB-1 process compared to other green card processes, such as the EB-2 or EB-3 green card categories.

Extraordinary Ability Persons

This category is sometimes known as the “Nobel Prize” visa. It is intended to offer a path to lawful permanent residence to persons who have achieved national or international acclaim for excellence in their field. There are no restrictions on which field that achievement was attained. An applicant must meet 3 out of the 10 listed criteria below to prove extraordinary ability in the field:

• Evidence of receipt of a Nobel Prize or 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 of a leading or critical role in distinguished organizations.

• Evidence of high salary or other significantly high remuneration in relation to others in the field.

• Evidence of commercial successes in the performing arts.

Outstanding Professors and Researchers

EB-1 green cards have a special category for Outstanding Researchers or Professors. The visa application requires evidence that the foreign worker has outstanding ability and should also include a permanent job offer letter, as well as evidence of three years of teaching or research experience.

The visa petition must include documents proving at least 2 of the 6 requirements set out below, and also include a job offer from a U.S. employer:

• Evidence of receipt of major prizes or awards for outstanding achievement.

• Evidence of membership in associations that require their members to demonstrate outstanding achievement.

• Evidence of published material in professional publications written by others about the alien’s work in the academic field.

• Evidence of participation, either on a panel or individually, as a judge of the work of others in the same or allied academic field.

• Evidence of original scientific or scholarly research contributions in the field.

• Evidence of authorship of scholarly books or articles (in scholarly journals with international circulation) in the field.

Multinational Manager or Executive Category

The EB-1 also includes a sub-category of green cards for Managers and Executives of Multinational Companies. This green card category is intended to make it easier for multinational companies to transfer high-ranking foreign executives and managers to the U.S. To establish that the U.S. employer is a multinational company, the visa petition must include information that proves the following:

• The U.S. employer must have been doing business for at least 1 year, as an affiliate, a subsidiary, or as the same corporation that employed the beneficiary abroad.

• The beneficiary must be employed in a managerial or executive position as a full-time employee of the foreign company for at least 1 year in the 3 years prior to the visa petition.

• Executive duties usually require that the employee engage in policy-making for a company and have a role in determining the goals and strategy of a company. Managerial functions include management of professionals or other managers, or management of an essential function of the organization.