EB-1 Costs

The EB-1 Immigrant Visa is an employment-based Permanent Resident (PR) Visa to the United States created for priority skilled foreign workers who:

• have extraordinary ability in the arts, athletics, business, education or science; or

• are outstanding researchers or professors; or
• are a certain type of multinational executive or manager.

Each of these three EB-1 Visa sub-categories has its own eligibility requirements and application procedure.

Individuals with extraordinary ability in the arts, athletics, business, education or science:

• No offer of employment is required, as long as the applicant will immigrate to the US in order to continue work in his or her area of extraordinary ability.
• No labor certification required.
• Applicants can file the Form I-140 Immigrant Petition for Alien Worker with USCIS on their own.
• Applicants must provide documentation demonstrating they possess national or international recognition in their area of expertise in the arts, athletics, business, education or science.
• Applicants need to satisfy at least three of the following 10 criteria by showing evidence of:
• Membership in organizations in the field that require their members to have outstanding achievement
• Authorship of scholarly articles in major trade or professional publications or in other well-known media
• Having received awards or prizes for excellence that are recognized nationally or internationally
• Original artistic, athletic, business-related, scholarly or scientific contributions to the field of major significance
• Material published about you in major trade or professional publications or in other well-known media
• Your work having been displayed at showcases or artistic exhibitions
• Your success commercially in the performing arts
• Your critical role in distinguished organizations
• You receiving a high salary or other substantially high compensation compared with others in your field
• Having been requested to judge, on a panel or individually, the work of others

Outstanding researchers or professors:

• Do not need a labor certification 
• Need an offer of employment by a US employer with at least three full-time researchers
• Must have a minimum of three years of experience researching or teaching in their field
• Need to immigrate to the US in order to pursue tenure at a higher education institution or similar research position with a private employer
• Must show outstanding achievements in the field of expertise that are recognized internationally
• Need the sponsoring employer to file the Form I-140 Immigrant Petition for Alien Worker with USCIS
• Must satisfy a minimum of two of the following six criteria by providing evidence of:
• Authorship of published scholarly books or articles published in scholarly journals with worldwide circulation
• Having received major awards or prizes for outstanding achievement
• Material written by others about the applicant’s work in the academic field that appear in professional publications
• Having made original scholarly or scientific contributions to the academic field
• Membership in organizations requiring their members to show outstanding achievement
• Having taken part, individually or on a panel, as a judge of other people’s work in the academic field 

Multinational executives or managers:

• Do not require a labor certification
• Must receive an offer of employment from a US employer who has been conducting business in the USA for at least one year, and that has a qualifying relationship to the applicant’s employer outside of the US, and who plans to hire the applicant for an executive or managerial role in the United States
• Need the employer in the US to file the Form I-140 Immigrant Petition for Alien Worker with USCIS

The application process for the EB-1 Immigrant Visa and Green Card generally involves the following:

• The Form I-140 Immigrant Petition for Alien Worker is filed with USCIS.
• If USCIS approves the Petition, it will forward it to the National Visa Center (NVC) which will issue a Case Number.
• After the skilled foreign worker’s priority date meets the relevant qualifying date, then he or she will be permitted to file the Immigrant Visa Electronic Application (Form DS-260) with the NVC.
• The spouse of the EB-1 Visa applicant can apply for the E-14 Immigrant Visa and the dependent children can apply for the E-15 Immigrant Visa.
• A medical exam from an approved panel physician will be required for each family member who is applying for an Immigrant Visa and Green Card, other documents will also need to be provided, plus the governmental fees must be paid.
• When the NVC decides that the skilled foreign worker’s file is ready, it will schedule an interview at the relevant American Embassy or Consulate and forward the file and documents there.
• An email or letter with the interview details (e.g., date, time and place) will be sent to the applicant. 
• At the interview, the Immigrant Visa applicant will bring any required documents not already sent to the NVC, including a valid passport, and digital fingerprints will be taken at the US Embassy or Consulate.
• During the interview, the consular official will ask some questions and if the applicant is approved, the Immigrant Visa will be placed on a page of the new US permanent resident’s passport and he or she will receive a sealed packet which will be presented to the Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officer at the port of entry in the United States.
• The new immigrant will need to enter the United States while his or her Immigrant Visa is valid and must also pay the online Immigrant Fee to USCIS so the plastic Green Card can be sent to the designated address in the United States.
• The US Permanent Resident Green Card is generally valid for 10 years and can be renewed indefinitely for 10 years each time. 
• After living in the USA with a Green Card for five years and meeting other eligibility requirements, a US permanent resident has the option to apply for American citizenship

Please note that this is an overview about the EB-1 Visa, there is a different application procedure if already living in the USA as a temporary legal resident (i.e., for adjustment of status) and further details can be provided.