The USCIS recently released a policy memorandum concerning its adjudication of EB 1-A visa and EB 1-B Visa. The memorandum updates the USCIS’s guidelines to its adjudicators as to how to review an application’s documentation and refines how the adjudicators analysis each petition.
The EB 1-A visa (also known as the EB 1-1 visa) is for noncitizens possessing extraordinary abilities in a field of endeavor that is beneficial to the United States. It is the most enticing immigration visa the United States has to offer the best and brightest minds. The EB 1-B visa (also known as the EB 1-2 visa) is for outstanding professors and researchers. It is a slightly yet enticing immigration visa for attracting the best and brightest minds to the United States.
The revisions to the adjudicator’s guidelines follow a federal court case in which the USCIS was found to have distorted the criteria necessary to obtain the EB 1-1 and EB 1-2 visa. As a result of the distortion, it is believed that many eligible petitioners were denied. Although it is yet to be seen whether the new guidelines will alleviate the problem, it is hoped that they will increase the likelihood of more eligible applicants will be granted the visas.
To see if these changes will affect your ability to qualify, please contact a EB-1 Visa Lawyer.