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EB-1 OR Criteria
- Thread starter leroythelion
- Start date
This is another useful article. Hopefully it will help for those who wants to do DIY petition.
From We Greened Dot Com.
Make your Petition Letter More Convincing — How Should you Argue your EB1-A Case?
by Victoria Chen, Esq., J.D. 03/15/2011
A petition letter plays an essential role in EB1-A application. A good petition letter which displays supporting evidence in a clear and convincing way will save the time and energy of adjudicating officers, which in turn, will substantially enhance your chance of approval in a fast manner. The following are two tips of presenting evidence in your EB1-A petition letter.
1. Providing Basis of Comparison
One way to address USCIS questions about whether you “are one of the small percentage who has risen to the very top “ of your field is to present evidence that provides a basis for comparison between you and those persons who are average or typical in the field. For example, if you are in a field in which publication of scholarly articles is typical, evidence could be presented that your articles have appeared in the most prestigious journals in the field, have been the subject of peer review in such journals, or have been widely cited in other scholarly articles. Take the field of electrical engineering as an example, the most prestigious conference in the field is ISSCC (International Solid-State Circuits Conference), so the evidence that you have presented your paper in the conference is strong evidence that you are better than average or typical people in the field of electrical engineering.
Let's take a look at a federal court case. One federal court noted the type of evidence that could distinguish a foreign person hockey player as a top, rather than a typical, National Hockey League player: (1) evidence of his average playing time as compared to typical NHL players; (2) statistics regarding his starting or back-up status; (3) the player's performance statistics (e.g., scoring, assists) compared to others in the league; (4) evidence regarding average and top NHL salaries; and (5) selection as an All-Star Game player. Also relevant evidence was the player's comparison to other NHL players who had already been accorded status as extraordinary ability aliens. These pieces of evidence are based on comparison of the applicant player and typical players in NHL, proving that the applicant has risen to the top of his endeavor.
2. Comparing to Approved Cases:
Although USCIS tried to downplay comparison to other approved cases in the same field of endeavor, the court pointed out that the agency rules themselves make comparison with others in the field the controlling standard for awarding extraordinary ability status. Therefore, how USCIS has treated other persons in the field with comparable qualifications is highly relevant to an extraordinary ability case.
Therefore, it is important to do your homework for your petition letter and search for approved or successfully appealed cases. Compare those cases with yours. Argue that the evidence in the approved cases is not stronger than your supporting evidence. For example, if evidence of 100 citations is deemed as a good support for extraordinary ability in an approved case, your citations of 101 can be argued sufficient to support your case. The comparisons make it clear that the application has satisfied the second part, final merits determination, in the new two-part analysis taken by USCIS and therefore, boost your chance of approval.
From We Greened Dot Com.
Make your Petition Letter More Convincing — How Should you Argue your EB1-A Case?
by Victoria Chen, Esq., J.D. 03/15/2011
A petition letter plays an essential role in EB1-A application. A good petition letter which displays supporting evidence in a clear and convincing way will save the time and energy of adjudicating officers, which in turn, will substantially enhance your chance of approval in a fast manner. The following are two tips of presenting evidence in your EB1-A petition letter.
1. Providing Basis of Comparison
One way to address USCIS questions about whether you “are one of the small percentage who has risen to the very top “ of your field is to present evidence that provides a basis for comparison between you and those persons who are average or typical in the field. For example, if you are in a field in which publication of scholarly articles is typical, evidence could be presented that your articles have appeared in the most prestigious journals in the field, have been the subject of peer review in such journals, or have been widely cited in other scholarly articles. Take the field of electrical engineering as an example, the most prestigious conference in the field is ISSCC (International Solid-State Circuits Conference), so the evidence that you have presented your paper in the conference is strong evidence that you are better than average or typical people in the field of electrical engineering.
Let's take a look at a federal court case. One federal court noted the type of evidence that could distinguish a foreign person hockey player as a top, rather than a typical, National Hockey League player: (1) evidence of his average playing time as compared to typical NHL players; (2) statistics regarding his starting or back-up status; (3) the player's performance statistics (e.g., scoring, assists) compared to others in the league; (4) evidence regarding average and top NHL salaries; and (5) selection as an All-Star Game player. Also relevant evidence was the player's comparison to other NHL players who had already been accorded status as extraordinary ability aliens. These pieces of evidence are based on comparison of the applicant player and typical players in NHL, proving that the applicant has risen to the top of his endeavor.
2. Comparing to Approved Cases:
Although USCIS tried to downplay comparison to other approved cases in the same field of endeavor, the court pointed out that the agency rules themselves make comparison with others in the field the controlling standard for awarding extraordinary ability status. Therefore, how USCIS has treated other persons in the field with comparable qualifications is highly relevant to an extraordinary ability case.
Therefore, it is important to do your homework for your petition letter and search for approved or successfully appealed cases. Compare those cases with yours. Argue that the evidence in the approved cases is not stronger than your supporting evidence. For example, if evidence of 100 citations is deemed as a good support for extraordinary ability in an approved case, your citations of 101 can be argued sufficient to support your case. The comparisons make it clear that the application has satisfied the second part, final merits determination, in the new two-part analysis taken by USCIS and therefore, boost your chance of approval.