The " Immigrant Investor Program" was once the simplest way for employment-based immigrants to obtain a green card. On June 30, 2021, the legal authorities related to the Immigrant Investor Program regional center project expired. NVC announced that it would stop all interview appointments for Eb-5 (regional center), and this path was interrupted. However, in April 2021, Eb-1a category suddenly appeared to be free of any priority date, and the Extraordinary Ability program became a hot spot again. As long as the applicant's achievements and influence in the industry are important enough, with the help of a professional employment immigration lawyer, the beneficiary can quickly and cheaply apply for a U.S. green card and obtain it.
Applicants can apply for EB-1A Extraordinary Ability only if they prove that they have Extraordinary Ability in the fields of sciences, arts, education, business or athletics, have won national or international reputation consecutively, have sufficient documents to prove their achievements, and will continue to work in their professional fields after arriving in the United States. This article will analyze the case of the latest AAO non precedent ruling issued by USCIS, hoping to provide reference and help to the applicant in the case evaluation period and in the later stage of material preparation.
The applicant is a doctor in chemistry. He worked as a senior scientist in a company in California. He submitted evidence of four criteria: published material, scholarly articles in professional journals, original contributions of major significance, and leading role in distinguished organization. The applicant has been reported by professional publications as Science, Nature Energy, Joule, etc., so AAO recognized that he met the criteria of publication of scholarly articles in professional journals, but did not consider the criterion of published material about the beneficiary or the criterion of the beneficiary’s original contributions of major significance met, and finally denied his I-140.
Published material are one of the categories most frequently submitted by applicants. Many applicants believe that media coverage is the most easily met category, but in the actual application process, do you know what is truly recognized as qualified published material? According to 8 C.F.R. § 204.5 (h) (3) (iii), the applicant needs to provide papers or reports related to the applicant's work field in professional journals or major industry publications or other major media. Such evidence should include the title, date and author of the material, as well as any necessary translations.
The applicant of this case has provided several online reports in Scientific American, Forbes, National Geographic, Science Daily, Science News and International Joint Publishing House, but the final evidence do not stand. The reason is that although these media reports are about the research conducted by the applicant and his team, most of them have never mentioned the applicant himself. The material required by C.F.R 204.5 (h) (3) (iii) should be about the applicant himself or herself. Although this report needs to be related to the applicant's work achievements, it cannot only report the applicant's work (and not the applicant himself or herself).
In this case, although the report published by Nature Energy in 2016 mentioned the research on the development of a certain field, and also briefly mentioned the applicant as the first author of the paper, stating that the results developed by the research team were finally developed into a new category to achieve large-scale production, and that the cost was low, these reports were not centered around the applicant. In addition, none of the above articles has any supporting evidence to show that they were published in professional or major trade publications or other major media; The reports of Science Daily, Yahoo News and Financial Express did not have the author's name, so this category was finally rejected.
The material must come from professional or mainstream industry publications or other major media, such as nationally authoritative media, professional media, commercial media, etc.
Published material should have a title, date and author's name. If the materials are not in English, the applicant must provide the necessary English translation. Online and paper media reports are acceptable forms; It is worth noting here that USCIS has been expanding the list of non-recognized media, such as some professional websites.
The target audience of professional or mainstream industry publications are experts in the field or industry; The mainstream media must have a significant national or international circulation and use the main language of the country. Unless it is a professional academic media, we need to prove that it is aimed at people in professional fields, even though it is not necessary to submit a certificate of media circulation.
It is necessary to objectively affirm the applicant and his outstanding achievements. In short, from the media reports, readers can learn that the applicant is extraordinary in the field. The most common mistake that occurs in the report is in the form of an exclusive interview. A reporter from an authoritative media or academic journal interviewed the applicant, and the applicant could not become a qualified media report only by analyzing the status quo and expressing his academic views through the platform; Through the exclusive interview, the readers should know what achievements the applicant has made that are recognized by the industry, how such achievements were obtained by the applicant, and how the applicant’s achievements influence their peers. The content of the report must be about the applicant, not just his or her work in this field.
To form an independent category in the Eb-1a application, there must be at least two media reports. According to the Kazarian two-step method of the review conducted by USCIS, if the number is qualified, it should be noted that Extraordinary Ability needs to make continuous contributions in the field. Therefore, if the submitted published material is released within a few months, half a year, or one year, a careful immigration officer may decide that this criterion is not met.
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