Make your Petition Letter More Convincing — How Should you Argue your EB1-A Case?

by Victoria Chen, Esq., J.D.

A petition letter plays an essential role in EB1-A application. A good petition letter which displays supporting evidence in a clear and convincing way will save the time and energy of adjudicating officers, which in turn, will substantially enhance your chance of approval in a fast manner. The following are two tips of presenting evidence in your EB1-A petition letter.

1. Providing Basis of Comparison

One way to address USCIS questions about whether you “are one of the small percentage who has risen to the very top “ of your field is to present evidence that provides a basis for comparison between you and those persons who are average or typical in the field. For example, if you are in a field in which publication of scholarly articles is typical, evidence could be presented that your articles have appeared in the most prestigious journals in the field, have been the subject of peer review in such journals, or have been widely cited in other scholarly articles. Take the field of electrical engineering as an example, the most prestigious conference in the field is ISSCC (International Solid-State Circuits Conference), so the evidence that you have presented your paper in the conference is strong evidence that you are better than average or typical people in the field of electrical engineering.

Let’s take a look at a federal court case. One federal court noted the type of evidence that could distinguish a foreign person hockey player as a top, rather than a typical, National Hockey League player: (1) evidence of his average playing time as compared to typical NHL players; (2) statistics regarding his starting or back-up status; (3) the player’s performance statistics (e.g., scoring, assists) compared to others in the league; (4) evidence regarding average and top NHL salaries; and (5) selection as an All-Star Game player. Also relevant evidence was the player’s comparison to other NHL players who had already been accorded status as extraordinary ability aliens. These pieces of evidence are based on comparison of the applicant player and typical players in NHL, proving that the applicant has risen to the top of his endeavor.

2. Comparing to Approved Cases:

Although USCIS tried to downplay comparison to other approved cases in the same field of endeavor, the court pointed out that the agency rules themselves make comparison with others in the field the controlling standard for awarding extraordinary ability status. Therefore, how USCIS has treated other persons in the field with comparable qualifications is highly relevant to an extraordinary ability case.

Therefore, it is important to do your homework for your petition letter and search for approved or successfully appealed cases. Compare those cases with yours. Argue that the evidence in the approved cases is not stronger than your supporting evidence. For example, if evidence of 100 citations is deemed as a good support for extraordinary ability in an approved case, your citations of 101 can be argued sufficient to support your case. The comparisons make it clear that the application has satisfied the second part, final merits determination, in the new two-part analysis taken by USCIS and therefore, boost your chance of approval.

from Chen Immigration Law Associates

North America Immigration Law Group (Chen Immigration Law Associates) is a U.S. immigration law firm dedicated to representing corporations, research institutions, and individuals from all 50 U.S. states regarding I-140 immigration petitions. We specialize in employment-based immigration petition and have a proven record of high success rate for the categories of: EB2-NIW (National Interest Waiver), EB1-A (Alien of Extraordinary Ability), EB1-B (Outstanding Researcher/Professor) and O-1 (Alien of Extraordinary Ability).

Our Ten Thousand I-140 Approvals Provide Unprecedented Insight into the USCIS Adjudication Trend

With more than 47,000 EB-1A, EB-1B, EB-2 NIW and O-1 cases approved, we have first hand information on the manner in which the USCIS adjudicate I-140 cases. As the USCIS has constantly changed its adjudication standards for the EB-1A, EB-1B and EB-2 NIW categories, our firm's huge database of successful cases gives you unprecedented insight to USCIS adjudication trends. We carefully analyze the data for all of our cases and apply the results of our analyses toward giving our clients up-to-date advice and adapting our strategies such that we remain on par with the ever-shifting landscape of immigration law in the U.S. With us, you will always have access to important updates, strategies, and information so that you can make the most informed decisions about your case.

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With our exceedingly large number of successful petitions, no matter what credentials you have, no matter your background and field of expertise, no matter your visa status or nationality, chances are we have helped hundreds or even thousands of clients just like you. Our clients are usually impressed with how well we understand their research and work. Our insight and understanding stems from the fact that we have handled many cases with elements similar to yours already, and this helps us devise the best strategies for each individual petition.

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For years, our firm has attracted new clients based solely on word of mouth, recommendations, and the positive collaboration experiences shared with them by their friends and family. We take pride in our reputation and work hard to ensure that we provide a green card application experience that our clients are happy to share with their friends and colleagues. That is how our approved cases grew from 600 in 2013 to over 47,000 in 2023.