EB-1 Priority Worker "Outstanding Professor or Researcher"
The following is excerpted from the U.S. Citizenship Immigration and Service's (CIS) Regulations at 8 CFR 204.5(i)(3).
A Petition for an Outstanding Professor or Researcher must be accompanied by evidence that the professor or researcher is recognized internationally as outstanding in the academic field specified in the petition. Such evidence shall consist of at least two of the following:
- Documentation of the foreign national's receipt of major prizes or awards for outstanding achievement in the academic field;
- Documentation of the foreign national's membership in associations in the academic field which require outstanding achievements of their members;
- Published material in professional publications written by others about the foreign national's work in the academic field. Such material shall include the title, date, and author of the material, and any necessary translation;
- Evidence of the foreign national's participation, either individually or on a panel, as the judge of the work of others in the same or an allied academic field;
- Evidence of the foreign national's original scientific or scholarly research contributions to the academic field; or
- Evidence of the foreign national's authorship of scholarly books or articles (in scholarly journals with international circulation) in the academic field.
NOTE ABOUT EXPERIENCE: The petition must also include evidence that the foreign national has at least
three years of experience in teaching and/or research in the academic field.
Teaching/Research Conducted While in a Ph.D. Program. Experience in teaching or research while working on an advanced degree will only be acceptable if the foreign national has acquired the degree,
and if the teaching duties were such that he or she had full responsibility for the class taught, or if the research conducted toward the degree has been recognized as outstanding.
Meaning of "Permanent." Permanent in reference to a research position, means either tenured, tenure-track, or for a term of indefinite or unlimited duration, and in which the employee will ordinarily have an expectation of continued employment unless there is good cause for termination.
Private Employer. If the prospective employer is a private organization offering a position to a researcher, the position offered must be "permanent," the employer must employ at least three persons in full-time research positions, and the employer must have achieved documented accomplishments in the field.
An outstanding researcher petition is exempt from the
Labor Certification process required for other employment based immigrant petitions.