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I participated as a judge of the work of others in my field of expertise. Do I qualify for the EB-1A green card? What evidence do I have to submit to prove this criterion?

By May 4, 2020April 9th, 2021Immigration
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To qualify for the EB-1A Green Card, you will need to prove that you are one of the small percentage of people who have risen to the very top of your field. To prove that you qualify for the Eb-1A green card, you will have to submit evidence showing that you have sustained national or international acclaim and that your achievements have been recognized in your field of expertise. The evidence can be either:

  • A one-time achievement – this is a major, internationally recognized award, or
  • At least three of these 10 criteria. One of the 10 criteria is “Evidence that you participated, either individually or on a panel, as a judge of the work of others in the same or an allied field of specification for which classification is sought”

What does Judging mean?

You will have to submit evidence showing that not only you were invited to judge, but you actually judged the work of others. For example, if you were judging at a particular competition, you can submit a letter from the organization that organizes the competition confirming that you participated as a judge. The letter should specify how many days you were judging, how many competitors you judged, who were the competitors, details about the particular competition, etc.  The description should also describe the selection criteria for judges and describe the prestigious nature of the event.

You must have judged the work of others in your (or an allied) field of expertise

USCIS often issues Requests for Evidence if applicants submit evidence showing that they judged the work of others, but the field in which you judged is not related to your field of expertise. You should be careful and only submit evidence showing that you participated as a judge in your (or closely related field).

Does peer reviewing for a scholarly journal/serving as a member of a Ph.D. dissertation committee qualify?

Yes. If you did a peer review for a scholarly journal, you should submit the request you received from the journal to do the review along with a proof that the review was actually completed.

If you served on a Ph.D. dissertation committee, you should submit evidence showing that you were a member of such committee.

What are some other areas where You can be a Judge?

You should think very broadly regarding what being a judge can mean. The more obvious example is of course judging a competition, but the concept can be applied more broadly.  This category should be thought of as any instance where you are held out as the expert evaluating the merits of a group of people in a competition sense. For example, if you have served on a promotion committee in an organization, this could qualify.  Also, if you review papers that are submitted to a conference to select the best one, this could also qualify. Finally, if you are evaluating who could be a speaker at a conference and/or event, this could qualify.  Generally speaking, conducting performance evaluations for staff does not qualify.

What evidence should I submit to prove this criterion?

  • Proof that you were selected as a judge and you also participated in the judging (eg. letter, invitation to judge);
  • The selection criteria for judges for the particular competition/event;
  • You may want to submit names of the other judges who judged the particular competition/event;
  • Details about the particular competition/event you judged. In particular, anything that shows the prestigious nature of the event.

Please click here and here if you want to read more about the EB-1A Green Card.

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