Shankar and Associates is a law firm based in Long Island, New York. We have clients in Queens, Nassau and Suffolk. Our practice involves all aspects of Immigration, including but not limited to: Employment Based Petition; Family Based Petitions, Work Visas and Deportation Defense.
What is an EB-1 Visa?
There are many paths for a person to become a Legal Permanent Resident (Green Card). One of the ways is through Employment Based Categories (EB). There are five different Employment Based Categories: EB-1 through EB-5.
EB-1 is an immigrant visa for people: with extraordinary ability (EB-1A); who are an outstanding professor or researcher (EB-1B); or who are a multinational executive or manager (EB-1C).
What is EB-1A Visa?
EB-1A visa is reserved for people who have extraordinary ability. These may be actors, journalists, musicians or other professionals who excel in their area of expertise. They must “have risen to the very top of their field of endeavor.”
The major advantage of applying for EB-1A is that the petitioner does not have to go through the Labor Certification Process. Labor Certification process is a very long and arduous process. The Labor Certification Process is where the employer has to prove that there are no qualified U.S. workers for the position offered. This usually involves a combination of advertising and other recruitment process. A person who qualifies for EB-1A Visa bypasses the Labor Certification process and the overall time to acquire their Green Card is shortened.
In order to qualify for EB-1A the petitioner must demonstrate that:
1) He/she has an extraordinary ability in the sciences, arts, education, business, entertainment or other national or international acclaim.
2) He/she can document their achievements through extensive documentation.
If the petitioner has won a Nobel Price or an Academy Award it is very easy for them to qualify for the EB-1A visa. However, in the absence of such an award the petitioner can still qualify if he/she can show that they qualify for at least three of the following ten criteria:
1. Evidence of receipt of lesser nationally or internationally recognized prizes or awards for excellence
2. Evidence of your membership in associations in the field which demand outstanding achievement of their members
3. Evidence of published material about you in professional or major trade publications or other major media
4. Evidence that you have been asked to judge the work of others, either individually or on a panel