EB-1, Outstanding Researchers or Professors

In order to apply for permanent residency as an outstanding researcher or professor, an applicant must demonstrate that they are internationally recognized for outstanding achievements.  In addition, the applicant must obtain the full support of an employer, through an offer of full-time, permanent employment.  The employer need not necessarily be a university or educational institution, so long as the employer employs at least three (3) full-time employees, who are performing the same duties that the applicant will be performing upon becoming a permanent resident.

Basic requirements

The basic requirements for classification in this category are as follows:

• The applicant must be internationally recognized as outstanding in their specific academic field;
• The applicant must have a minimum of three (3) years of experience in teaching and/or research in their field; and
• The applicant will enter or remain in the United States in a tenure or tenure-track teaching or comparable research position at a university or other institution of higher education, or in a comparable research position with a private employer under certain circumstances.

International recognition as an outstanding researcher or professor

In order to document that the applicant is outstanding in their specific academic field, the applicant must provide at least two (2) of the following criteria:

• Evidence of the applicant's receipt of major prizes or awards;
• Evidence of the applicant's memberships in associations in the field that require outstanding achievements of their members;
• Evidence of material about the applicant published in professional journals;
• Evidence that the applicant has judged others in the field;
• Evidence of the applicant's original scientific or scholarly research contributions to the field; or
• Evidence of the applicant's authorship of scholarly books or articles in journals with international circulation in the field.

How to apply

The petitioning employer must file Form I-140, Immigrant Petition for Alien Worker, with the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services center that has jurisdiction over the place of the applicant’s intended employment.  Upon approval of the petition, the applicant will be eligible to become a permanent resident.