Disclaimer: The contents in this web site are only for your information and are not intended to be legal advice. While many of our applicants successfully obtain their I-140 approvals, the information here should not be considered as a guarantee of your green card application outcome.
EB1A
Published Sep 11,2016
By Naveed Shaik
Hello,
Am a postdoc at UF in clinical pharmacology, I have completed my PhD from US in Pharmacology and I have 10 publications, 80+ citations and 3 book articles/chapters. Am a editor with couple of new journals without impact factor, I have reviewed 28 manuscripts for 10 different journals. Am on F-1 visa OPT STEM extension (24 month, new) valid till next year November. I will be soon (Next February) looking for jobs and expect that the company will be providing me a visa (either H1/O1) and probably negotiate to file for EB1B, but many of the companies usually have at least 1 year waiting time.
I want to apply for EB1A, so as I can travel to India (home country) with my family and come back without going through visa stamping process. In your opinion, what are the realistic chances of me getting approved in EB1A category. I can get quite a few reference letters from around the globe.
I do not know if 80+ citations is a small or large number in your field. If it is a lot, you can explain it in your petition. Reference letters from around the globe will help you to show sustained international acclaim and the fact that you are in a small percentage of people risen to the very top of the field. It also should not be a problem to explain how your work in clinical pharmacology will be important for the country and will result in immediate applications. Please refer to our DIY packets for more details.
Thanks for the reply, all the papers I have published and reviewed are of internationally recognized with good impact factor in the field (unfortunately in our field IF remains less than 8, except reviews). The citations are moderate in number, I should be able to make up with reference letters. I will be finishing up my postdoc soon and will start looking for a job, usually the organizations in our field file for GC in a year or so, in case my self petition is denied I have a chance through the company. Only issue would be not to travel within the next two years or so. In either case I will give it a shot around Feb next year (will increase citations and reviews by then), thanks for going through my query and responding, is there a way that I can share my CV etc for you to evaluate.
Thank you for the email. Your CV indicates that you will satisfy at least three of the USCIS criteria for EB1A. Some of the strongest points you have are the first/second-author publications and being an active referee in internationally recognized journals that are the best in the field (being a referee in 11 journals and an editor is rare). The absolute value of the impact factor plays no role. What is important is the relative position of the journals in the IF table in your field. It is your role to teach the immigration officer about the specifics of your field. Same holds with the number of citations – different fields have different number of researchers and hence different citation rate. If it is moderate for your field, then you can put less emphasis on the citations and, as you mentioned, you can make up with reference letters. The reference letters should be showing that you are one of a small group of people who reached the top of the field (please refer to the “do it yourself” packages for the details).
Regarding traveling, please consider an option of getting H1B with your prospective employer. This visa will allow you to travel even if I-140 is filed, since it’s a dual intent visa.
Naveed Shaik
7 years ago
Thank you Tigran, I really appreciate your feedback on my CV and credentials. I will start with your DIY packet in coming months, will focus on getting a job first.
Disclaimer: The contents in this web site are only for your information and are not intended to be legal advice. While many of our applicants successfully obtain their I-140 approvals, the information here should not be considered as a guarantee of your green card application outcome.
This website uses cookies so that we can provide you with the best user experience possible. Cookie information is stored in your browser and performs functions such as recognising you when you return to our website and helping our team to understand which sections of the website you find most interesting and useful.
Strictly Necessary Cookies
Strictly Necessary Cookie should be enabled at all times so that we can save your preferences for cookie settings.
If you disable this cookie, we will not be able to save your preferences. This means that every time you visit this website you will need to enable or disable cookies again.
Dear Naveed,
It seems that you should be able to satisfy at least 3 USCIS criteria for EB1A, if the journals in which you publish are internationally recognized in the field (same for the journals you referee).
http://www.greencardforphd.com/eb1a/extraordinary-ability-eb1a-and-uscis-criteria
I do not know if 80+ citations is a small or large number in your field. If it is a lot, you can explain it in your petition. Reference letters from around the globe will help you to show sustained international acclaim and the fact that you are in a small percentage of people risen to the very top of the field. It also should not be a problem to explain how your work in clinical pharmacology will be important for the country and will result in immediate applications. Please refer to our DIY packets for more details.
Please also take into account that the priority date for Indian nationals were recently shifted to 2010, but will be back to Current in October, see the link below.
https://travel.state.gov/content/visas/en/law-and-policy/bulletin.html
Dear Tigran,
Thanks for the reply, all the papers I have published and reviewed are of internationally recognized with good impact factor in the field (unfortunately in our field IF remains less than 8, except reviews). The citations are moderate in number, I should be able to make up with reference letters. I will be finishing up my postdoc soon and will start looking for a job, usually the organizations in our field file for GC in a year or so, in case my self petition is denied I have a chance through the company. Only issue would be not to travel within the next two years or so. In either case I will give it a shot around Feb next year (will increase citations and reviews by then), thanks for going through my query and responding, is there a way that I can share my CV etc for you to evaluate.
Regards
Naveed
Dear Naveed,
Thank you for the email. Your CV indicates that you will satisfy at least three of the USCIS criteria for EB1A. Some of the strongest points you have are the first/second-author publications and being an active referee in internationally recognized journals that are the best in the field (being a referee in 11 journals and an editor is rare). The absolute value of the impact factor plays no role. What is important is the relative position of the journals in the IF table in your field. It is your role to teach the immigration officer about the specifics of your field. Same holds with the number of citations – different fields have different number of researchers and hence different citation rate. If it is moderate for your field, then you can put less emphasis on the citations and, as you mentioned, you can make up with reference letters. The reference letters should be showing that you are one of a small group of people who reached the top of the field (please refer to the “do it yourself” packages for the details).
Regarding traveling, please consider an option of getting H1B with your prospective employer. This visa will allow you to travel even if I-140 is filed, since it’s a dual intent visa.
Thank you Tigran, I really appreciate your feedback on my CV and credentials. I will start with your DIY packet in coming months, will focus on getting a job first.
Thanks
Naveed