Requirements for Outstanding Researcher/Professor

The petitioner alien must present information that will prove her claims. Items that carry substantial weight with the USCIS include the following:

  • Peer-reviewed articles in scholarly journals.
  • Entries in a citation index that cite the alien's work as authoritative.
  • Any documentation of participation as a reviewer for peer-reviewed scholarly journals.
  • Peer-reviewed presentations at symposia.
  • Testimonials from scholars describing the alien's work as authoritative.

Recommendation Letters included in the petition and written by either field experts or the petitioning alien should include the following:

  • The writer’s qualifications to issue his/her opinion.
  • The alien's background and achievements, as well as commentary that the alien‘s achievements are original contributions to the scientific or scholarly field.
  • Commentary on the significance of the alien‘s publications, awards, and memberships in professional associations, if any.

If you have two of the aforementioned requirements, at least three years of research, and/or teaching experience, and an offer for a permanent research position or tenure/tenure-track teaching position and you would like to file an employment-based petition for permanent residency, you should consider filing a petition under the category of "Outstanding Researcher or Professor." As with any petition for permanent residency, Z&A can assist you in determining the type of classification for which you might qualify and which type (or types) is best for you.

For more information on EB-1 Visa, please refer to the following links: