Will my case be approved? Please help me decide ...

[discoganya]

My employer is filing for an EB-2 green card for me. I have to decide whether it is worth my money to file for an additional EB-1. Here are my credentials in a nutshell:

-- Fresh PhD (2006), only 6 months of work ex thereafter. Working at a large company with 500+ PhDs.

-- 3 Journal publications, 6 Conference pubs, 8 technical reports. No citations (new work). 1 Patent pending.

-- Reviewed 3-4 papers. Not on any editorial board.

-- Salary higher (30%) than median.

-- 1 award: United Nations Fellow. 8-10 students are awarded this every year.

What do you think are my chances?

 

[moden]

Which category you want to file under. EB-1 EA or are you thinking about asking your emplyer to file a EB-1 OR.

 

[discoganya]

Which category you want to file under. EB-1 EA or are you thinking about asking your emplyer to file a EB-1 OR.

EB-1 EA. I don't work for a University / National Lab / Research Institute. I work for commercial company in high-tech.

 

[moden]

You have an internationally recognized award, contributions (papers), Higher salary. if you have proof that you served as a judge in a panel or individually that will make it 4 classes underwhich you demonstrate your eligibility. I would suggest that you go ahead and submit. Anyway your employer is filing for EB2. It wouldn't hurt taking risk.

 

[tipotodo]

Regarding your:
-- 1 award: United Nations Fellow. 8-10 students are awarded this every year.

They alwyas specify that student fellowships DO NOT fit the cirteria of an EB1-EA.

 

[eb1a-query]

I would suggest to wait for a yr or so, so that your papers get some citations. the papers you reviewed, did you get invitations directly from the editors of the journals or it's through your advisor (if so it does not count).

proving high salary is tricky....I would rather avoid that unless you have strong proof.

 

[eb1a-query]

Regarding your:
-- 1 award: United Nations Fellow. 8-10 students are awarded this every year.

They alwyas specify that student fellowships DO NOT fit the cirteria of an EB1-EA.

If it is 8-10 students worldwide, it's very strong award though.

 

[tipotodo]

If it is 8-10 students worldwide, it's very strong award though.

I know it sveyr strong but the USCIS is very strict about the word student going to any EB1-EA application, they want you to get awards when ur a pro..I mean is just my opinion, i could be wrong.

 

[discoganya]

Thank you all for your responses.

You have an internationally recognized award, contributions (papers), Higher salary. if you have proof that you served as a judge in a panel or individually that will make it 4 classes underwhich you demonstrate your eligibility. I would suggest that you go ahead and submit. Anyway your employer is filing for EB2. It wouldn't hurt taking risk.

I understand that there isn't much risk. The concern is the cost -- my company lawyer (who is doing the EB-2) quotes about US $8000 for the EB-1 which I will need to pay out of pocket.

I would suggest to wait for a yr or so, so that your papers get some citations. the papers you reviewed, did you get invitations directly from the editors of the journals or it's through your advisor (if so it does not count).

This seems to be the best route for now. Thanks for the suggestion. BTW, the invitations to review were directly to me, not to my advisor.

proving high salary is tricky....I would rather avoid that unless you have strong proof.

I thought this should be the easiest to prove. There are many databases (e.g. US Department of Labor) out there that show the mean salary for my qualifications / experience. Simply compare by offer letter with facts from a well known database. Why do you think this is tricky?

I know it sveyr strong but the USCIS is very strict about the word student going to any EB1-EA application, they want you to get awards when ur a pro..I mean is just my opinion, i could be wrong.

Interesting. The award I got was a student fellowship, which is a sum of money towards a fixed objective. The fellowship is very competitive.

Thanks again everyone. Any more suggestions / comments are welcome.

 

[jk0274]

I understand that there isn't much risk. The concern is the cost -- my company lawyer (who is doing the EB-2) quotes about US $8000 for the EB-1 which I will need to pay out of pocket.

See this is really obnoxious: Many lawyers who are already working on an EB-2 can file in EB-1 for a little bit more money because most of the material is already written and ready for presentation because of the EB-2 preparation. It should only cost, at most, $1500 for the extra work over the EB-2 case, not a whopping $8000. I assume that this attorney is aware that s/he is already working on a EB-2 for you, and that the $8000 does not include a separate I-485?

 

[discoganya]

See this is really obnoxious: Many lawyers who are already working on an EB-2 can file in EB-1 for a little bit more money because most of the material is already written and ready for presentation because of the EB-2 preparation. It should only cost, at most, $1500 for the extra work over the EB-2 case, not a whopping $8000. I assume that this attorney is aware that s/he is already working on a EB-2 for you, and that the $8000 does not include a separate I-485?

Yes, true, I am using the same lawyer (from my company law firm) to file my EB-2 and EB-1. Thanks for the tip, maybe I should bring up the topic cost reduction due to commonality.