USCIS Announces New Guidance for EB-1 Eligibility

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has issued new guidance on EB-1 eligibility criteria for individuals with extraordinary ability.  

USCIS has updated the policy guidance in its Policy Manual to clarify the types of evidence it will consider to determine EB-1 visa eligibility.  

Specifically, the new policy guidance:  

• Confirms USCIS will consider a person’s receipt of team awards under the criterion for lesser nationally or internationally recognized prizes or awards for excellence in the field of endeavor; 

• Clarifies that USCIS will consider past memberships under the membership criterion; 

• Removes language suggesting published material must demonstrate the value of the person’s work and contributions to satisfy the published material criterion; and 

• Explains that while the dictionary defines an “exhibition” as a public showing not limited to art, the relevant regulation expressly modifies that term with “artistic,” such that USCIS will only consider non-artistic exhibitions as part of a properly supported claim of comparable evidence. 

The updated EB-1 guidance provides more clarity and transparency compared to USCIS’s previous EB-1 guidance. USCIS made the change to help petitioners and applicants submit appropriate evidence to establish their eligibility.  

The new EB-1 guidance is effective immediately. Additional information is available in the USCIS Policy Manual.  

Envoy is pleased to provide you with this information, which was prepared in collaboration with Joy Ang, Partner, at Corporate Immigration Partners, P.C., a U.S. law firm who provides services through the Envoy Platform (the “U.S. Law Firm”).