Learning About the U.S. Immigration System: The EB-1 Visa

Lei Mei is a professor at a Boston area university. She is a citizen of China and came to the United States after a successful career as a scientist in China, where her research helped discover a new drug that helps ease the pain of arthritis. Lei Mei entered the United States with a temporary H-1B visa. Her visa will expire in 2010 and she is trying to think of ways that she can make the United States her permanent home.

Juan is currently living in Worcester, Massachusetts. He is a citizen of Mexico and came to the United States after a lucrative career as a famous sculptor in Mexico. Juan works for an art museum in Worcester, but is not happy with his job and is thinking of looking for new employment.

Marco is a teacher in Brazil. He has been approached by a Massachusetts town interested in hiring him. Marco has helped school systems around South America make drastic changes that have helped increase graduation rates dramatically. Marco has family that already immigrated to the United States and is interested in living in the United States permanently.

Amélia owns a large company in Cape Verde. Her company was on the brink of bankruptcy before she was hired. Amélia has successfully made the company into one of the world’s most successful companies in its field. She is interested in opening an office in Boston and would like to move to Boston to oversee the company’s operations.

Liu is a soccer coach from Taiwan. She coached many Taiwanese teams to league championships, but never coached any teams internationally. Liu has been approached by an American university interested in hiring her to coach its women’s soccer team. Liu is considering moving to the United States permanently.

Lei Mei, Juan, Marco, Amélia, and Liu may seem like they do not have much in common other than that they are non-U.S. Citizens. However, they are all similar in that they all may be eligible to obtain their U.S. Lawful Permanent Residency, otherwise known as a green card, through the EB-1 visa.

The EB-1 visa is reserved only for those people who are able to demonstrate an extraordinary ability in the sciences, the arts, education, business, or athletics. People wanting to apply for an EB-1 visa must prove that they are at the very top of their field or endeavor. They also must prove that they have achieved national or international recognition.

The EB-1 visa is somewhat unique in that it lets a person self-petition. Therefore, Juan, who no longer wants to work at the art museum in Worcester, does not need the museum to help him with his immigration case and can instead petition for himself. Similarly, Amélia can self-petition as she works to open her company’s Boston office. By allowing people to self-petition, the EB-1 visa helps to ease the applicant’s stress in finding an employer to petition for them and also helps reduce costs, as it allows applicants to bypass the costly labor certification process that are required for other employment-based visas.

There are some drawbacks to applying for an EB-1 visa. First, applicants are required to submit a lot of documents showing that they have extraordinary ability because it is held to a very high standard. Second, the U.S. government prefers to give EB-1 visas to people who came to the U.S. on the O visa, which is a temporary visa for persons with extraordinary ability. However, a person is not required to have an O visa to apply for an EB-1 visa. Third, there are strict requirements for the type of proof that an applicant must submit to prove extraordinary ability. Hiring an immigration lawyer helps significantly with all of these potential problems for an EB-1 applicant and greatly increases an applicant’s chances for success.

Lei Mei, Juan, Marco, Amélia, and Liu can greatly benefit from the EB-1 visa. If they can prove that they possess extraordinary ability, these non-U.S. Citizens will soon find themselves as permanent residents of the United States.

Keith A. Pabian, Esq. is an Immigration Attorney at Pabian & Russell, LLC. Mr. Pabian can be reached at (617) 951-3100 or by email at kpabian@pabianrussell.com if you would like to schedule a consultation or are in need of immigration assistance or advice.