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.
Masters degree and chances of EB1A application
Published Jul 5,2013
By GCforPhD
Question:
Are you still actively doing this ? Self help for green card etc ?
Response:
Yes we are. We generally help phd petitioners with their questions. They use the self-help packets to petition on their own.
Question:
I have a masters so EB1A will be tough I guess. No PhD. Should I even try on my own using the self-help packets ?
Response:
Please take a look at the USCIS requirements for the EB1A category. For the EB1A, have a master or PhD is not one of the requirement. However most PhDs during the course of their work have significant accomplishments which can be used as evidence towards the USCIS requirements mentioned in the above link. Even with a masters degree if you have achievements that can be used as evidence towards these requirements then you can self-petition in this category. Another category of interest to self-petition applicants is EB2-NIW.
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Sridharinder
5 years ago
Can you please comment on my chances of success for an EB1A Application?
Master’s in technology Management from a mediocre University
1. 5+ reviews across open access journals
2. High salary (Above 90% among my peers and DOL for my job classification)- USCIS EB1A citeria
3. Several internal awards and couple of nationally recognized awards from in my areas of expertise
4. References from CEOs and technical managers from clients across the word
5. The company is ready to provide evidence that I am indispensable and the company is a big boutique consulting firm (With over $300 M in yearly revenue)- USCIS EB1A citeria
6. Multiple talks and invited judge for Startup challenges, reviews from Big Universities, Interviews in many magazines
7. Did a small survey analysis in Healthcare and that was used by many physicians across the world (Incorporated it to be used in their practice to avoid needlestick injuries)
8. Few research papers (But without sufficient citations); Expertise is in business and not in research
It is hard to evaluate your case, because (1) I do not have much information about successful business-related EB1A cases and (2) it is harder to quantify such cases, comparing to, e.g., research, where the metrics are well established. For instance, I am not aware of the current quantile you need to belong to in order to establish the “significantly high remuneration” USCIS criterion. Reviews from universities, interviews in magazines, nationally recognized awards and references will help you (but not guarantee) to establish “business-related contributions of major significance to the field”. Being an invited judge and reviewing papers will help you in establishing the “evidence that you have been asked to judge the work of others”. Research papers will establish “your authorship of scholarly articles in professional or major trade publications” (they have to belong to the area you choose for EB1A though). Now, the difficult part is the second part of the two-part USCIS evaluation approach, where you will have to prove that you are at the very top of your field and that your work has sustained national or international acclaim and recognition. From the information you provided this is not obvious. I think it makes sense for you to talk to an immigration attorney, who had successful business-related cases in the past. The first consultation is usually free, which is what you need.
I think you have a good chance of success. Based on your description there is a good chance you satisfy the 3 statutory EB1a requirements. Like Tigran pointed out below, the trick is to show you are among top of your field and there is sustained interest for your work/skills. If you pool a good set of letters and other evidence that you describe, this should also be possible.
Alternative to EB1EA is you can apply under EB1-executive, which is primarily business focused. Packets from greencardforphd are primarily focused on EB1a and not tuned for this category. If your company is willing to apply for you in this category, that would be easier than a self-petition.
Best wishes
Kishore
Netz K
1 year ago
Hello,
I have two masters degree, plenty of citations (3000+), 10+ journal publications (none first author) in Nature, Lancet and so on. I work at one of the top universities and have a decent record of international exposure. What are my chances with EB1A approval?
Three questions:
(1) Can you prove (in your petition) that you played a key or significant role in producing results for at least several of those publications? Are these articles published in peer-reviewed journals?
(2) Have you been a referee for other publications in your field? Is yes, how many times?
(3) Do you currently pursue a PhD?
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.
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Can you please comment on my chances of success for an EB1A Application?
Master’s in technology Management from a mediocre University
1. 5+ reviews across open access journals
2. High salary (Above 90% among my peers and DOL for my job classification)- USCIS EB1A citeria
3. Several internal awards and couple of nationally recognized awards from in my areas of expertise
4. References from CEOs and technical managers from clients across the word
5. The company is ready to provide evidence that I am indispensable and the company is a big boutique consulting firm (With over $300 M in yearly revenue)- USCIS EB1A citeria
6. Multiple talks and invited judge for Startup challenges, reviews from Big Universities, Interviews in many magazines
7. Did a small survey analysis in Healthcare and that was used by many physicians across the world (Incorporated it to be used in their practice to avoid needlestick injuries)
8. Few research papers (But without sufficient citations); Expertise is in business and not in research
Hi Sridharinder,
It is hard to evaluate your case, because (1) I do not have much information about successful business-related EB1A cases and (2) it is harder to quantify such cases, comparing to, e.g., research, where the metrics are well established. For instance, I am not aware of the current quantile you need to belong to in order to establish the “significantly high remuneration” USCIS criterion. Reviews from universities, interviews in magazines, nationally recognized awards and references will help you (but not guarantee) to establish “business-related contributions of major significance to the field”. Being an invited judge and reviewing papers will help you in establishing the “evidence that you have been asked to judge the work of others”. Research papers will establish “your authorship of scholarly articles in professional or major trade publications” (they have to belong to the area you choose for EB1A though). Now, the difficult part is the second part of the two-part USCIS evaluation approach, where you will have to prove that you are at the very top of your field and that your work has sustained national or international acclaim and recognition. From the information you provided this is not obvious. I think it makes sense for you to talk to an immigration attorney, who had successful business-related cases in the past. The first consultation is usually free, which is what you need.
Hi
I had a chance to review two successful Business cases with minimal or no significant research focus. You can find some background of a business consultant in the link below.
https://www.greencardforphd.com/eb1a/approved-examples-eb1a#.XEYA4lxKgVs
I think you have a good chance of success. Based on your description there is a good chance you satisfy the 3 statutory EB1a requirements. Like Tigran pointed out below, the trick is to show you are among top of your field and there is sustained interest for your work/skills. If you pool a good set of letters and other evidence that you describe, this should also be possible.
Alternative to EB1EA is you can apply under EB1-executive, which is primarily business focused. Packets from greencardforphd are primarily focused on EB1a and not tuned for this category. If your company is willing to apply for you in this category, that would be easier than a self-petition.
Best wishes
Kishore
Hello,
I have two masters degree, plenty of citations (3000+), 10+ journal publications (none first author) in Nature, Lancet and so on. I work at one of the top universities and have a decent record of international exposure. What are my chances with EB1A approval?
Hi Netz,
Three questions:
(1) Can you prove (in your petition) that you played a key or significant role in producing results for at least several of those publications? Are these articles published in peer-reviewed journals?
(2) Have you been a referee for other publications in your field? Is yes, how many times?
(3) Do you currently pursue a PhD?