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• Permanent Residency
  • Emory Policy For Sponsoring Permanent Residency
  • Departmental Request
  • EB-1: Outstanding Professor/Researcher
  • Labor Certification - Special Handling for University and College Teachers
  • Labor Certification - Standard Filing For Professional Positions
  • EB-2: Advanced Degree Professional with Labor Certification
  • Use of Outside Attorneys
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EB-1: Outstanding Professor/Researcher

Type of individual: Professor or researcher who is recognized internationally as outstanding in the academic field, and who has at least three years of teaching or research experience in the field

Job offer requirement: Must have offer of a tenured or tenure-track teaching or permanent research position

Labor certification requirement: None

Qualifications:

• At least three years experience in teaching or research in the academic field

  • Experience obtained while working on advanced degrees will only be acceptable if the degree has been obtained and the individual was solely responsible for the research/teaching.

  • Teaching experience is defined by having full responsibility for the class taught.

  • Research must have been recognized internationally as outstanding in the academic field.

  • Experience must be documented by letters from current/former employers.

• Recognized as outstanding in the academic field, evidenced by at least two of the following:

  • Receipt of major prizes or awards

  • Membership in associations which require outstanding achievements of their members

  • Published material in professional publications written by others about the alien’s work

  • Serving as a judge of the work of others in the same or allied academic field

  • Authorship of scholarly books/articles with international circulation

  • Evidence of the alien’s original scientific or scholarly contributions to the field

• Position must be tenured or tenure-track teaching position OR a permanent research position in the area of expertise.

Once the documentation below has been gathered to support the beneficiary's qualifications, the immigrant petition (form I-140) can be filed. (link to the I-140 and I-485 page)

Criteria and Documentation of Qualifications:

• Evidence of three years experience:

  • Must be documented by letters from current/former employers,

  • Must detail individual’s responsibilities and the time period they were employed and certify that they had full responsibility for the teaching or research in question.

  • Must include name, address, and title of writer

• Receipt of major prizes or awards:

  • Must be recognized internationally as prestigious

  • Must explain details of award (significance, purpose, competitiveness, number awarded, etc.)

  • Must have documentation of receipt of the award

  • Postdoctoral fellowships do not qualify

  • Student awards do not qualify unless they are internationally recognized

  • Grant awards may be included depending on individual’s role in obtaining the grant

• Membership in associations requiring outstanding achievements:

  • Must require outstanding achievement either for membership itself, or for a particular membership category to which the individual belongs

  • Leadership positions are helpful

  • Must be able to document membership and criteria for membership selection

• Published material about the alien’s work:

  • May be a journal article, book, or major media publication such as newspaper or magazine

  • Must name individual and discuss his or her work

  • Journal citations may be used if they are clearly important to the work as a whole, but these are not preferred.

  • Must provide: list of journal citations for first-authored publications; photocopies of two or three publications in which work is cited (with relevant sections highlighted); and a brief abstract for each of these publications stating in layman’s terms the significance of the discussion of the alien’s work.

• Serving as a judge of the work of others:

  • May include serving as a reviewer for a professional journal

  • May also include thesis and dissertation committees, conference selection panels, and editorial boards

  • Evidence must include letters certifying the individual judged an event or paper, or sat on at thesis or dissertation committee

• Authorship of scholarly articles or books:

  • Publication must have “international circulation in the field”

  • Quality of journal is important

  • Copies of all first-authored or corresponding-authored articles should be included; if there are many, a list with complete citations and copies of representative samples will be acceptable

• Evidence of original scientific or scholarly contributions to the field:

  • May include copies of patents or other similar recognition

  • Will be attested to by letters from experts in the field (see below)

• Letters from recognized experts in the field:

  • One of the cornerstones of the category; very important!

  • Should be from objective, well-established people in the field who are recognized as experts

  • Serve three purposes:

    • 1. Establish individual’s outstanding, internationally recognized achievements in the field

    • 2. Detail significance of his/her original contributions

    • 3. Provide documentary evidence for some criteria, such as judging work of others, playing a critical role at a distinguished institution, etc.

  • Must come from as varied a group as possible, from the U.S. and abroad, in order to demonstrate international acclaim.

  • No more than one letter from current employer

  • Should describe accomplishments already achieved; should not discuss potential but unrealized contributions

  • See quick links box for handout to give to prospective letter writers.

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