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What is a leading role for the purposes of EB-1A green card? What is a critical role? What is an organization with distinguished reputation?

By June 30, 2020April 30th, 2021Immigration
Image courtesy of Nguyen Hung Vu on Flickr (labeled for reuse) https://www.flickr.com/photos/vuhung/14565350736

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 the alien has performed in a leading or critical role for organizations or establishments that have a distinguished reputation.”

What is a leading role? What evidence should I submit to prove that I was in a leading role?

You must submit evidence showing that you were/are a leader. The evidence you submit should show your title and the job duties you performed for a particular company/organization (this can be your current/former employer). If available, you should also submit media articles discussing the tasks/projects you performed for the particular organization or accomplishments you achieved. For example, if you previously worked for a company abroad but you were then transferred to run the U.S. operations as a Vice-president of the U.S. company, you could potentially meet this criterion.

What is a critical role? What evidence should I submit to prove that I was in a critical role?

You will have to submit evidence showing that you contributed in a way that is of significant importance to the outcome of the organization/organization’s activities. Please note that even a supporting role may be considered “critical”. When trying to meet this criterion, it is important to keep in mind that is your performance in the role that determines whether your role was critical (not merely your job title).

Similarly, you should submit media articles discussing the tasks/projects you performed for the particular organization or accomplishments you achieved. For example, if you were a lead designer of a new commercial building the company built, you could submit media articles discussing this and your role on the project.

When you are trying to prove that you played a leading/critical role, you should submit letters from individuals that have personal knowledge of the significance of your leading/critical role (e.g. your current/former employers). The letters should be very detailed and should explain why your role was leading or critical and should describe the specific tasks/projects you performed or accomplishments you achieved.

What is an organization with distinguished reputation? How do I know whether the companies have distinguished reputation?

You should submit evidence showing that the organizations you worked for establish eminence, distinction, or excellence. This may include media articles about the organization or industry rankings (e.g. evidence that you are/were working for a Fortune 500 company).

Please see our blog post on how to meet the EB-1A criterion that your work will prospectively benefit substantially the U.S. when you click here.

Please see our blog post explaining the similarities and differences between the O-1 and EB-1A visa when you click here.

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