EB-1 Outstanding Professor Petition Approved!
April 30th, 2012 by Brian D. Zuccaro
Last week, we received an approval for an EB-1 Outstanding Professor petition on behalf of our client, a tenured mathematics professor at a four-year university, who is currently in the U.S. in TN status. After filing the petition establishing our client’s eligibility under the applicable criteria at 8 C.F.R. § 204.5(i)(3)(iii), our office received a Request for Evidence (RFE) from USCIS – confirming their agreement that our client satisfied at least two of the criteria set forth in the applicable federal regulations. However, the RFE alleged that the evidence did not satisfy the ‘final merits’ determination (implement by USCIS post Kazarian) – in that the totality of the evidence did not establish that our client was an internationally recognized professor in his academic field.
In responding to the RFE, we submitted evidence that our client in fact met at least three of the required criteria and the evidence submitted, together with the supplementary evidence submitted with the RFE Response, was clearly indicative of the fact that our client was an internationally recognized mathematics professor. For example, the RFE stated that while our client had published scholarly articles in international journals, his articles were only ‘minimally cited’ and therefore were not indicative of international recognition. In responding to the RFE, we highlighted the fact that while ‘minimally cited’, our client’s articles had been cited to by researchers from around the world, something that was clearly indicative of international recognition.
Within a week of filing our Request for Evidence response, we received confirmation that the EB-1 Outstanding Professor petition had been approved.
If you would like to schedule a consultation with our office to discuss the possibility of filing an EB-1 Outstanding Professor petition, please do not hesitate to contact us.
