Visas
EB-1A visa
The Opportunity for Highly Accomplished Foreign National Professionals to Immigrate to the United States.
Discover the EB-1A visa
The EB-1A Visa is an immigration program to the United States specifically designed for highly accomplished foreign national professionals in their career fields.
This visa offers a pathway for these professionals to permanently settle in the United States and take advantage of numerous benefits.
Benefits of the EB-1A visa
The EB-1A Visa offers a range of benefits for both foreign national
professionals and the host country. Some key benefits include:
Permanent residence in the United States
As a highly accomplished foreign national professional you will have the opportunity to obtain permanent residence in the United States. This provides you with stability and the possibility to establish and work indefinitely in the country.
Recognition of Professional Achievements
The EB-1A Visa recognizes and values your outstanding achievements in fields such as the arts, sciences, education, sports, and business. This allows you to gain international recognition for your contributions and distinguished professional trajectories.
Premium Application Processing
The EB-1A Visa offers an accelerated processing of applications, enabling you to receive a faster response compared to other immigration programs. This reduces your waiting times and provides greater certainty in the process.
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Please note that requirements may vary depending on the employer and specific regulations of the EB-1A Visa program.
No job offer or labor certification required
Unlike most employment-based visas, the EB-1A visa does not require you to have a job offer from a US employer or a labor certification from the Department of Labor. A labor certification is a document that shows that there are no qualified US workers available for the position that you are applying for.
Getting a labor certification can be a lengthy and costly process that involves advertising the job, interviewing candidates, and proving that none of them meet the requirements. With the EB-1A visa, you can avoid this hassle and apply on your own merit.
Flexible work options
With an EB-1A visa, you can work in any field related to your extraordinary ability without being tied to a specific employer or position. You can also change employers or start your own business without affecting your Visa status. This gives you more freedom and flexibility to pursue your career goals and interests in the United States.
Eligible for premium processing
The EB-1A visa is eligible for premium processing, which is an optional service offered by USCIS that guarantees a faster processing time for your application.
For an additional fee of $2,500, USCIS will process your application within 15 calendar days instead of the regular time of several months. This can be very helpful if you need to get your Visa as soon as possible for personal or professional reasons.
Pathway to citizenship
The EB-1A visa is an immigrant Visa, which means that it grants you permanent residency in the United States (also known as a green card). With a green card, you can live and work in the United States indefinitely, travel in and out of the country freely, and apply for US citizenship after five years.
Becoming a US citizen gives you many rights and privileges, such as voting, serving on juries, holding public office, accessing federal benefits, and having dual citizenship.
No backlog or waiting time
The EB-1A visa is part of the first preference category of employment-based immigration, which means that it has a higher priority than other categories and usually has enough visas available for all applicants. This means that there is no backlog or waiting time for getting an EB-1A visa, unlike other visas that may have years of delay due to limited supply and high demand.
As long as you meet the requirements and submit your application correctly, you can expect to get your EB-1A visa within a few months.
Eligibility criteria for EB-1A visa
To qualify for the EB-1A visa, applicants must demonstrate that they have extraordinary ability in their field of endeavor. According to the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), extraordinary ability means “a level of expertise indicating that the individual is one of that small percentage who have risen to the very top of the field of endeavor.”˙
There are two ways to prove extraordinary ability: either by providing evidence of a one-time achievement (such as a Nobel Prize, Pulitzer Prize, Olympic Medal, or Academy Award), or by meeting at least three of the following ten criteria:
Receipt of lesser nationally or internationally recognized prizes or awards for excellence.
Membership in associations in the field which demand outstanding achievement of their members.
Published material about the applicant in professional or major trade publications or other major media.
Participation as a judge of the work of others in the same or an allied field.
Original scientific, scholarly, artistic, athletic, or business-related contributions of major significance to the field.
Authorship of scholarly articles in professional or major trade publications or other major media.
Display of the applicant’s work at artistic exhibitions or showcases.
Performance in a leading or critical role for organizations or establishments that have a distinguished reputation.
High salary or other remuneration for services.
Commercial successes in the performing arts.
Applicants must also show that they intend to continue working in their field of extraordinary ability in the United States and that their work will substantially benefit the U.S. national interest.
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Application process for EB-1A visa
The application process for the EB-1A visa consists of two steps
Form I-140
Filing Form I-140 (Immigrant Petition for Alien Worker) with USCIS
Applying at a U.S.
Applying for an immigrant visa at a U.S. consulate abroad or adjusting status to permanent resident within the United States.
Growth of the EB-1A visa program
The EB-1A Visa program has experienced growth in recent years due to the demand for highly accomplished foreign professionals in the United States.
In the last fiscal year on record (2022), 10,481 EB-1A visa petitions
were filed, with an approval rate of 53.65%.
The United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) annually issues thousands of
EB-1A visas, demonstrating the relevance of this program for the country's business and academic
sectors.
*Information extracted from travel.state.gov
If Form I-140 is approved
Applicants can proceed to apply for an immigrant visa or adjust their status. The availability of immigrant visas depends on the applicant’s country of birth and the current visa bulletin issued by the Department of State.
As of March 2023, there is no backlog for EB-1A visas for applicants born in any country except China and India. Applicants born in China and India must wait until their priority date (the date when Form I-140 was filed) becomes current before they can apply for an immigrant Visa or adjust their status.
DS-260 and interview required
To apply for an immigrant visa, applicants must complete Form DS-260 (Online Immigrant Visa Application) and schedule an interview at a U.S. consulate abroad.
They must also undergo a medical examination and submit supporting documents such as a passport, birth certificate, marriage certificate (if applicable), police clearance certificate, and proof of financial support. The fee for an immigrant visa is $345.
I-485 application: requirements and fee
To adjust their status to permanent resident, applicants must file Form I-485 (Application to Register Permanent Residence or Adjust Status) with USCIS.
They must also submit supporting documents such as a passport, birth certificate, marriage certificate (if applicable), medical examination report, and proof of lawful presence in the United States. The fee for Form I-485 is $1,225.
Apply for your EB-1A visa today
If you are a highly accomplished foreign professional and wish to permanently establish yourself in the United States, the EB-1A Visa may be the right option for you.
Make sure to meet the established requirements and seek proper guidance to facilitate your application process.
At Visa Franchise, we are fully prepared to provide comprehensive assistance throughout the entire process. Our team of specialists will offer personalized guidance, assist you in collecting the required documents, and provide all the necessary information to ensure success in your EB-1A Visa application.
Petition approval rate
According to the USCIS data, there were a total of 10,592 EB-1A petitions filed in the fiscal year 2020, of which 6,304 were approved, 3,328 were denied, and 960 were pending. The overall approval rate was 59.5%, which is slightly lower than the previous fiscal year (61.5%).
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Top 10 сountries of origin for EB-1A petitioners in FY 2020
As we can see from the table, China and India are by far the most common countries of origin for EB-1A petitioners, accounting for more than half of all petitions filed in fiscal year 2020. However, these two countries also have lower approval rates than the average (54.5% and 60.5%, respectively), which may reflect the higher level of scrutiny and evidence required for applicants from these countries.
On the other hand, some countries have higher approval rates than the average, such as Germany (69.6%), France (68.8%), Canada (67.5%), United Kingdom (67.7%), South Korea (65.9%), Iran (65.7%), Brazil (65.5%), and Japan (64.4%). These countries may have fewer applicants but more qualified ones who can meet the high standards of the EB-1A visa.
Country Disparity
The data from USCIS also shows that there is a significant variation in the number of petitions filed and proved from each nation for EB-1A visa in fiscal year 2020. Some countries have hundreds or thousands of petitions filed, while others have only a few or none at all.
Information to keep in mind
Being a client of Visa Franchise requires having an advanced level of English and/or Spanish and/or, in limited cases, Mandarin.
Although Visa Franchise strives to meet all the needs and requests of its clients, opportunities for non-intermediate English speakers seeking full-time work are extremely limited due to a specific requirement from the franchisor(s) to conduct all franchise discovery and operational processes in English.
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