EXTRAORDINARY ABILITIES & ADVANCED DEGREES EB-1 & EB-2

Whether you are outside of the United States, or in the United States on a valid nonimmigrant visa, we can potentially help you to obtain your Green Card if you are either: elite at what you do for a living, or if you are an Advanced Degree Professional. In fact, there are two ways to be elite at what you do – and likewise, there are two ways to satisfy the advanced degree requirement. If you are elite at what you do, you can either be EXTRAORDINARY (harder to satisfy), or simply EXCEPTIONAL. Similarly, if you don’t actually have an Advanced Degree, but you have a University-level Degree and at least 5 years of the right work experience in your field, you may qualify for the Advanced Degree-based Immigrant Visa. Whatever the situation may be, we would love to help you apply for your Green Card-eligible visa.

Don’t have a job offer? That’s okay! With these Green Card pathways we are about to describe, you don’t need a job offer, and you can even apply on your own. Sound too good to be true? Trust us, it isn’t. However, because these immigrant/Green Card visas are reserved for the very best, it is very difficult to apply for them. Thus, you should allow us to represent you through this process, so that you may have the best chance of having your Green Card Immigrant Visa application granted.

SO THE FIRST QUESTION IS, ARE YOU EXTRAORDINARY?

What this means is that you can demonstrate sustained national or international acclaim in the SCIENCES, ARTS, EDUCATION, BUSINESS, OR ATHLETICS. Additionally, while you do not need a job offer, you must plan to work in your field of extraordinary ability in the United States to be eligible. Still don’t know whether you qualify? Are you starting to feel only exceptional? Either way, that is okay! Immediately below, you will find the basic eligibility requirements for the EB-1 Immigrant Visa for Extraordinary Ability.  If after going through the requirements you don’t feel like you meet the requirements for extraordinary ability, do not get discouraged! You may very well meet the requirements for the EB-2 Immigrant Visa for Exceptional Ability. This visa and its requirements are also outlined below.

EB-1 Immigrant Visa for Extraordinary Ability: Have you received a major internationally recognized award, such as a Pulitzer, Oscar, Olympic Medal, or Nobel Prize? If so, you are likely immediately eligible for a Green Card Immigrant EB-1 Visa for Extraordinary Ability. If not, you may stay eligible if you can satisfy at least 3 of the following factors:

• You are the recipient of lesser national or international awards;
• You are a member of an organization or organizations in the field you work in, in which membership in such organization(s) requires outstanding achievement;
• There has been material published about your work in professional, major trade publications, or other major media;
• You have been called upon or asked to judge the work of others in your particular field(s);
• You are responsible for original work of major significance in your field(s);
• You have authored and published scholarly work in your field(s);
• You have been employed in a critical or essential employment role with an organization of distinguished reputation;
• You have a high salary in your field or you will have a high salary in your field in the future;
• You have commercial success in the performing arts.

EB-2 Immigrant Visa for Exceptional Ability: After reading about the EB-1 visa, are you feeling only EXCEPTIONAL? It’s okay if you’re only exceptional. Very few people can satisfy the rigorous requirements for the EB-1 Visa for Extraordinary Ability. The good news is that many more people are eligible for Green Cards under the EB-2 Visa for being exceptional at what they do. This visa is available for those people that are exceptional in the ARTS, SCIENCES, or BUSINESS, that could potentially substantially benefit the national economy or culture of the United States if they are allowed to work here. Exceptional Ability for purposes of U.S. Immigration law does not mean that you have to be the best. It just means that you have to be better at what you do than the majority of people in your profession.

If you feel that you meet at least 3 of the following requirements, you probably have a good chance of qualifying for this Green Card pathway:

• You could show an official academic record showing a degree, diploma, certificate, or similar award from a college, university, school, or other institution of learning relating to your area of exceptional ability;
• You have at least 10 years of full-time experience in the occupation where you have exceptional ability and could document this by providing letters from current or past employers;
• You have a license to practice the profession or a certification;
• You have commanded a salary or received other remuneration for your services that demonstrates your exceptional ability;
• You are a member of professional associations relating to the field in which you have exceptional ability;
• You have been recognized for achievements and significant contributions to your field or industry by peers, governmental entities, or professional or business organizations;

There is one more catch, with regards to this visa for exceptional ability. If you do not have a job offer, you will need to prove your eligibility for something called a National Interest Waiver. To qualify for this, you will basically need to have some sort of plan for how you are going to continue to work in your area of exceptional ability in the United States. This plan for your future work in your area of exceptional ability needs to have “substantial merit” and be of potential “national importance.” The merit in your plan could be intrinsic like you want to help people with your work in your area (say you’re a medical researcher). The potential national importance of your proposed work/plan in the United States could be that you plan to change things for the better in the United States (you plan to find a cure for a disease through your medical research). Or it could be that you plan to use your Business Skills to work for a non-profit organization in a leading role, that would enable you to help the American people, for example. There are many creative ways that exceptional people can do exceptional things for the United States. However, this can be the challenging part of the petition, and thus retaining an experienced Immigration Attorney can be essential to making this argument successfully. Finally, you will also have to demonstrate that you are well-positioned to advance your plan as an exceptional person; and that, considering everything, it would be beneficial to the United States to waive the requirement of a job offer in your specific case. These arguments are sometimes a little easier than making the argument that your proposed plan has substantial merit and national importance, but the assistance of an attorney can again prove invaluable here.

EB-2 Immigrant Visa for those with Advanced Degrees: Are you a highly educated individual? Do you have a degree that is higher than a University-Level Degree, such as either a U.S. or a Foreign Equivalent of: a Master’s, Ph.D./Doctorate, Medical Doctorate, Law Degree, or Juris Doctor, or other higher degree? If so, you are likely valuable to the United States and there may be a Green Card for you. Even if you don’t have an Advanced Degree, if you have a University Level Degree (a U.S. Bachelor’s or a Foreign Equivalent), you may still qualify if you have at least five years of the right type of work experience in addition to that University-level degree.  As with the EB-2 Visa for Exceptional Ability described above, if you meet the degree requirement, but don’t have a job offer in the United States, you will need to prove that you qualify for the National Interest Waiver (described immediately above).

Still not sure which visa is right for you? Please feel free to play around with our innovative Visa Eligibility Quiz to figure out which visa is the best fit for you!

FEELING EXTRAORDINARY OR EXCEPTIONAL, BUT DON’T WANT TO MOVE TO THE U.S. PERMANENTLY?

Are you extraordinary in the sciences, arts, education, business, or athletics, but you aren’t quite ready to commit to permanently living in the United States? Do you only want to come to live in the United States for a temporary period (temporary can even mean for a couple of years)? Well if that is the case, then there is a non-immigrant visa called an O-Visa, which is very similar to the EB-1 Visa for Extraordinary Ability. In fact, because it is a  Non-Immigrant Visa and not an Immigrant Visa like the EB-1, it is typically easier to obtain than the EB-1 but has similar evidentiary requirements. For more information about the O-Visa, please click the button below:

Are you a Performer or an Athlete? Are you internationally recognized, and want to come to the United States to live work, perform, or compete, but you aren’t quite ready to commit to living permanently in the United States? If you are an athlete who is not “extraordinary,” but you are nevertheless distinguished and internationally recognized, you may be an excellent candidate for the non-immigrant P-Visa. This visa although considered technically a temporary non-immigrant visa, allows you under certain circumstances to stay and live in the United States for years (up to 5 years plus possible extensions).

If you are a professional athlete and you’re not looking to move to the United States, but only to come here temporarily for a competition (where the only money you would make is potential prize money), you can generally do that without a visa (if you’re from a Visa Waiver Country), or with a B1- Tourist Visa. If you’re a performer and you are desiring to come to the United States to live and work as such, for a period not to exceed a year, the P-Visa may also be the right visa for you. For more information about the P-Visa, please click the button below:

Contact Attorney Igor Litvak

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The U.S. immigration process is very complicated, so your best opportunity to get it right is by filing your applications with the help of an experienced Immigration Attorney.  At Zontlaw, we are experienced in putting together compelling applications for EB-1 and EB-2 visas based on our client’s Extraordinary/Exceptional abilities, and/or their educational backgrounds. We work very hard at what we do, and we are extremely good at it. Each EB-1/EB-2 application we file is tailored to our client’s unique background and/or abilities, and we will make the best case possible on your behalf to USCIS. 

Your citizenship or your residency status is something you should entrust to a professional. Call the top New York Immigration Attorneys toll-free at 1-888-ZONTLAW / 1-888-966-8529.