mairim

Has anyone ever applied for an EB1-A visa for extraordinary ability? Have set up an appointment with an immigration lawyer, but also looking for personal experience of those who have applied. Also, is this a one time only application (i.e. if you apply and fail, can you apply again later in life?)
Thanks

civilservant

No direct experience, but visas are not ever 'one shot' things - you can typically apply again the next day if you believe your situation has changed. Of course it's not likely to be successful, but that's not what you asked!

lizzyq

For speed we, or rather his future employer, started with an O-1 visa for steveq. The evidence is similar to that for the EB1-A extraordinary ability but the O-1 can be accelerated with premium processing. He was in the USA in just over 3 months from the submission of the original I-129 petition and it could have been faster but we had to fit in the interview date around our elder son's GCSE exams. Two years later his employer then sponsored him to adjust status to EB1-A and that took about 9 months to process completely to receipt of green cards for the three of us adjusting status from within the USA.

Chrisdc

expatlife2211

mairim

Hi! Thank you for replying! My line of business is quite specialised too (Bid Management), it would great to have a private message conversation about what you had to gather and how you went about it. I talked with an immigration lawyer yesterday and she didnt chase me out the door saying I had no chance at all, but I am aware that I have a LOT of work to do to proceed. Thanks

spouse of scouse

It would be far preferable for you to have this conversation on the forum. That way, others who search BE for similar information can benefit from it, and posts can be reviewed by other forum members.

Nutmegger

mairim

yes, I realised that as soon as i posted. Will reply on the forum

mairim

Thanks. I cant get PMs at the moment as havent been here long enough, but probably best to reply here anyway so others can get information if needed.

Have now had a meeting with an immigration lawyer in London, and thankfully she didnt shove me out the door saying i had no chance! However, I have a LOT of work to do to before I can submit. I have a national award for excellence in my field (lawyer said she needed to find out if it was a major or lesser award - but if its the highest award in my industry surely its a major one??)
We went through the criteria to see what I cover off, so 1 is the award, 2 the reputable company and my role being critical to the business (wont state the company but I was the only person globally doing my role, they wouldnt have won work without me, i won them over £300m revenue in 5 years), 3 im not sure.... ive talked at regional conference in the US, talking at national conference here in the UK next week, I have published articles in the governing body's regional US newsletter but advised that I need to get 4-5 articles in major publications (lawyer suggested the NY Times... eh I dont think ill get that anytime soon!! and she wants to see 4-5 published articles written ABOUT me.. she suggested hiring a PR firm.. thats got to be expensive right? We went through getting recommendation letters, which im working on right now...She also suggested the criteria about critiquing other peoples work? I dont know ill ever get that....

So thats about it in a nutshell at the moment, any advice, helpful hints etc would be much appreciated.

Oh, another thing she said is that the O visa would be easier to get as the criteria are less scrutinised, however that means i need a job offer and thats where its not happening. Cant seem to get an interview without already having a visa, and cant get a visa without a job offer...

Thanks for any help you can give me.

Noorah101

Correct, you need a US employer to sponsor your visa, whichever one you get.

Rene

mairim

EB1-A is self petitioning..

Noorah101

Oh, interesting, I wasn't aware of that.

Thanks,
Rene

neill

EB-2 (Regular) and EB-3 are the employer-sponsored varieties.
EB-1 and EB-2+NIW are self sponsoring.

lizzyq

EB-1 can also be employer sponsored