EB-1B Application Requirements and Required Evidence

The EB-1B file requires the candidate to be internationally recognized as outstanding in a specific academic field, at least three years of appropriate teaching or research experience, and a job offer from an eligible U.S. employer. These conditions are evaluated together. Even if the number of publications is high, if the employer or position requirement is not met, the case remains incomplete. ¹

Six types of evidence for international recognition

Award, membership and publication about the person

Major awards or honors for academic achievement; Eligible association memberships that require outstanding achievement; Materials written by others about one's academic work in professional publications may be considered. The nature of the award, the selectivity of the membership, and the relevance of the publications to the individual should be explained. ¹

Membership in an organization that is entered by simply paying the membership fee is not the same as membership that is accepted after an evaluation of success by experts. Similarly, a text in which the institution introduces itself may not have the same evidentiary quality as another author's evaluation of the candidate's work. ¹

Evaluation task, original contribution and academic writing

Evaluation of the work of others in the same or related academic field, original scientific or academic research contributions, and authorship in internationally circulated academic publications are other types of evidence. Refereeing completed by invitation should be separated; Records of authorship and contribution should indicate the person's actual role. ¹

Evidence is normally presented for at least two of the six types. This threshold does not mean that both documents will be sufficient in every file. The claim for extraordinary international recognition must be fully supported by the evidence. If the standards are not easily applicable to the profession, the issue of comparable evidence can be examined within the framework of the relevant regulation. ¹

At least three years of experience

Experience is based on teaching or research in a relevant academic field. Employer letters should describe the content of the tasks and their start and end dates. A service description that does not indicate the nature of the experience may not provide sufficient explanation on its own. Documentation must be consistent with the resume and other records. ¹²

Experience gained during the PhD is subject to special conditions. Requirements such as completion of the degree and full course responsibility for teaching or recognition of research as outstanding in the field are considered. Not every postgraduate research assignment or every doctoral year should automatically be included in the three-year calculation. ¹

Offer at university or higher education institution

A tenure-track or tenure-track teaching position and a permanent research position are different types of eligible offers. The offer letter should reveal the real content and permanent nature of the task. The phrase “working at the faculty” alone does not indicate that there is a suitable offer. ¹

The nature of the position should be carefully examined, especially in terms of fixed-term contracts, visiting researchers and postdoc positions. The ability to renew a position every year is not the same as the institution offering a permanent research job. The contract, corporate policy and job description should be read together. ¹

Research position at private employer

If the private employer offers a permanent research position, the research activities of the relevant unit or department are shown separately. The regulation includes conditions such as employment of at least three people in full-time research activities and documented achievements in the academic field. ¹

These conditions are not met just by looking at the size of the company. For example, a sales and operations staff of hundreds of people does not automatically indicate the required researcher staff. The employer's research records, team structure and academic achievements should be concretized. The candidate's own achievements should not be confused with the institution's separate eligibility basis. ¹

Wage paying capacity and applicant employer

The eligible US employer submits the EB-1B petition. The employer's capacity to pay the offered wage is also documented in accordance with the relevant regulation. The applicant's high personal income or savings does not replace the obligation regarding the employer's ability to pay. ¹

Failure to seek a PERM does not remove actual job offer and ability to pay review. Before applying, it should be clarified which financial documents the institution can submit and which authorized person will verify the job offer. ¹

Eligibility at application date

The candidate and the employer must meet the necessary conditions on the application date. A research unit that will be opened later or an experience period that will be completed later cannot be shown as existing on that date. It is different when subsequent documents explain existing facts and create new relevance. ²

Therefore, it is useful to make two separate checks at the end of the preparation: Are the candidate's international recognition and experience sufficiently documented; Do the employer and the offer actually fit the EB-1B structure? The answers to both questions must be clearly contained in the same file. ¹