Persons qualifying in the EB1 category of "outstanding professor/ researcher" are granted a waiver of the labor certification requirement for the green card application but must have an offer of employment.

To qualify, an applicant must be internationally recognized as outstanding in a specific academic area; and have at least three years of experience in teaching or research in their particular area of expertise, and must seek to enter the U.S. for:

• a tenure-track position within a university or institution of higher education to teach in his/her area of expertise;
• a comparable, permanent position within a university or institution of higher education to conduct research in his/her area of expertise, or
• a comparable position to conduct research in his/her area of expertise with a department, division, or institute of a private employer, if that employer employs at least 3 persons full-time in research activities, and has achieved documented accomplishments in an academic field.

This category requires an offer of employment (employer-sponsor). In addition, a petition for an outstanding professor or researcher must be accompanied by:

1.  Evidence that applicant is recognized internationally as outstanding in his or her field of expertise. This should consist of at least two of the following:

• Evidence of authorship of scholarly books or articles (in scholarly journals with international circulation) in the field of expertise. In recent years, the Service has begun to require lists of citations of articles by others in the applicant's field of expertise. NOTE: To succeed in this type of case, applicant must be able to show that s/he has had sustained acclaim in his field of expertise through his publications; the Service looks for evidence of this in independent citations of the applicant's work.
• Documentation of receipt of major award or prize for outstanding achievement in field of expertise (documentation must include information on the significance of the award as well as criteria for choosing recipients of the award).
• Evidence of original scientific or scholarly research contributions to 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.
• Membership in associations in the field that require members to have outstanding achievements (this does not include organizations that merely require membership dues, no matter how prestigious).
• Published material in professional publications written by others about the alien in the academic field (this does not include citations of your work).

2.  Evidence of at least 3 years of experience in teaching and/or research in applicant's field of expertise. Experience in teaching or research while working on an advanced degree is only acceptable if applicant has acquired the degree, and if the teaching duties were such that s/he had full responsibility for classes taught, or if the research conducted toward the degree has been recognized within the academic field as outstanding. And,

3.  An offer of employment that is indefinite in duration from:

• A U.S. university or institution of higher learning offering a tenured or tenure-track position in the field of expertise.
• A U.S. university or institution of higher learning offering a permanent (unlimited by a particular term) research position in the field of expertise. Or,
• A department, division, or institute of a private employer offering a permanent research position in the field of expertise field.  The department, division, or institute must show that it employs at least 3 full-time persons in research positions, and that it has achieved documented accomplishments in an academic field.
  

Please note that standards for the outstanding professor/researcher category have risen considerably in the past two years. Note also that quality of evidence is of more importance than quantity.

If you would like an evaluation of your chances in this category, please send an email to us at info@immigration-lawyer.com. With this, please be sure to include:

• your CV;
• list of publications;
• citations of publications on that list from a citation index; include citations for each of your articles, indicating which of these are self citations, group citations, or "independent" citations, as USCIS requires such information to determine whether you have "sustained acclaim" for your work in your field;
• information on the journals in which you have published, such as the impact factor of that journal, as USCIS deems it important to publish in distinguished journals of international circulation;
• if you have received awards, please include information on the significance of the award you have received and on the criteria used to determine who is the winner of such an award;
• press about you that has appeared in major media or scientific/professional journals;
• include any other information you deem relevant to your petition;
• if your field is in the performing arts, please provide information on critical reviews, a listing of sound recordings or comparable evidence;
• if your field is the visual arts, please include information on exhibits of your work.

Please note that we will accept a oustanding professor/researcher case only if we feel it has a high chance of success after examining the prospective client's credentials and subjecting them to an analysis of the regulations and the latest trends in adjudication of this case type.