The Ten EB-1A Criteria Explained, With the Evidence That Satisfies Each

Junior Associate Attorney: Global Mobility & Corporate Immigration Strategy

Accurate as of

September 25, 2026

You qualify for EB-1A if you document either a one-time major, internationally recognized award or at least three of the ten evidentiary criteria in 8 CFR 204.5(h)(3), and USCIS then concludes, looking at all of the evidence together, that you have sustained national or international acclaim and are one of the small percentage who have risen to the very top of your field. Meeting three criteria gets you to that second, final merits review; it does not by itself win the case.

What does "extraordinary ability" mean legally?

The classification comes from section 203(b)(1)(A) of the Immigration and Nationality Act. The regulation defines extraordinary ability as "a level of expertise indicating that the individual is one of that small percentage who have risen to the very top of the field of endeavor" (8 CFR 204.5(h)(2)). The field can be the sciences, arts, education, business or athletics.

Two features make EB-1A unusual among green card categories. No job offer is required, and no labor certification is required, so you can file for yourself. What the regulation requires instead is "clear evidence" that you are coming to the United States to continue work in your area of expertise (8 CFR 204.5(h)(5)), such as letters from prospective employers, contracts, or a statement of your plans.

How does USCIS decide? The Kazarian two-step

USCIS follows the two-step framework from Kazarian v. USCIS, 596 F.3d 1115 (9th Cir. 2010) (No. 07-56774, decided March 4, 2010), which the USCIS Policy Manual adopts at Volume 6, Part F, Chapter 2.

Step one: the criteria count. The officer decides, by a preponderance of the evidence, which of your submissions "objectively meets the parameters of the regulatory description." At this stage the officer is told not to decide whether you are at the top of the field.
Step two: the final merits determination. The officer evaluates "all the evidence together" to decide whether you have sustained national or international acclaim and are among the small percentage at the top. The standard is still preponderance of the evidence (more likely than not).

In practice, most denials turn on step two. A petition that clears three criteria with thin evidence can fail the final merits determination; a petition that clears four criteria with strong, well explained evidence usually does not.

The ten criteria and the evidence that satisfies each

#	Criterion (8 CFR 204.5(h)(3))	Evidence USCIS credits	Common weakness
1	Lesser nationally or internationally recognized prizes or awards for excellence	The award itself, plus proof of its criteria, selection process, number of recipients and national or international recognition. Team awards count if you are a named recipient.	Awards limited to one employer, school or locality
2	Membership in associations that require outstanding achievements, judged by recognized national or international experts	Bylaws showing the admission standard and who reviews applicants, plus proof of your membership level	Memberships based on dues, degrees or years of experience
3	Published material about you in professional or major trade publications or other major media	Articles about you and your work, with title, date, author and translation; proof of the outlet's circulation or reach	Press about your employer; marketing or paid content
4	Participation as a judge of the work of others in your field	Invitation plus proof you actually did it: journal review requests with completion confirmations, competition panels, thesis committees	An invitation with no evidence of completed review
5	Original contributions of major significance to the field	Evidence of impact: citations high relative to the field, independent commentary, adoption, licensing or commercialization of a patented technology	Showing originality only (funded, patented or published is not enough on its own)
6	Authorship of scholarly articles in professional or major trade publications or other major media	Peer reviewed articles with notes or bibliography; for nonacademic fields, articles written for learned persons in the field	Blog posts or general audience pieces
7	Display of your work at artistic exhibitions or showcases	Exhibition catalogs, programs and venue materials	Nonartistic "showcases" without a comparable evidence explanation
8	Leading or critical role for organizations with a distinguished reputation	Employer letters describing your actual performance and its effect, plus proof of the organization's reputation	Titles without substance; organizations without documented distinction
9	High salary or other significantly high remuneration relative to others in the field	Pay records compared against geographic or position appropriate compensation surveys; a credible contract or offer can count	Comparing to national averages across all occupations
10	Commercial successes in the performing arts	Box office receipts, sales and streaming figures, chart data	Figures without context against peers

The criteria descriptions and guidance above track the regulation and the Policy Manual. A few points from the Policy Manual deserve emphasis:

Published material must be "about the person, relating to the person's work in the field, and not just about the person's employer." Broader coverage can count if it includes "a substantial discussion" of your work.
Original contributions: evidence that work "was funded, patented, or published" may show originality but "will not necessarily establish, on its own, that the work is of major significance."
Leading or critical role: "It is not the title of the person's role, but rather the person's performance in the role" that counts.
High salary: "has commanded" does not mean you must already have earned it; a credible contract or job offer can meet the criterion, and for founders, significant outside funding helps establish that an offer is credible.

What is the one-time achievement route?

If you have received "a major, internationally recognized award" (the Policy Manual uses the Nobel Prize as its example), that single award satisfies the initial evidence requirement without three criteria (8 CFR 204.5(h)(3)). Very few petitioners use this route. There is no comparable evidence substitute for it.

What if a criterion does not fit your occupation? The comparable evidence rule

Under 8 CFR 204.5(h)(4), if the listed criteria "do not readily apply" to your occupation, you may submit comparable evidence. The Policy Manual requires a "detailed, specific, and credible" explanation of why a given criterion does not readily apply; a general statement that the criteria do not fit is not enough. Its examples include:

Presentations at a major trade show in place of scholarly articles, for a field where practitioners do not publish in journals.
Highly valued equity holdings in place of a high salary, for an entrepreneur whose compensation is primarily ownership.

Comparable evidence substitutes for a criterion; it does not lower the final merits standard.

What wins the final merits determination?

The Policy Manual lists contextual evidence officers may weigh in step two, including publication in highly ranked journals, a high citation index relative to peers, work at leading institutions, unsolicited invitations to speak at recognized conferences, and named investigator roles on competitive U.S. government grants in STEM. The petition must explain how the evidence shows sustained acclaim. Expert letters help when they come from independent authorities who describe specific contributions, and hurt when they are generic.

Since August 5, 2026, USCIS officers again have discretion to deny without first issuing a request for evidence, so the record must be complete when filed. We covered that change in USCIS can now deny without an RFE.

Key numbers

Filing fee: Form I-140, $715 (8 CFR 106.2(a)(11)), plus the Asylum Program Fee (8 CFR 106.2(c)(13)): $600, or $300 for a "small employer," defined as "a firm or individual" with 25 or fewer full-time equivalent employees (8 CFR 106.1(f)). Self-petitioners commonly pay the $300 rate under that definition; confirm the amount with the USCIS Fee Calculator before filing, because a wrong fee means rejection.
Premium processing: available for EB-1A at $2,965 (in effect since March 1, 2026, 91 FR 1059), with a 15 business day timeframe (8 CFR 106.4).
Visa availability: in the September 2026 Visa Bulletin, the EB-1 final action date is current for all countries except China (July 1, 2023) and India (October 15, 2022). See EB-1A or NIW? for the full comparison.
Standard processing: varies by service center; check the USCIS processing times page before filing.

What to do

List every item of evidence you have and map it to a criterion. Count only items you can document with the proof described in the table.
Aim for four or more criteria so one weak criterion does not sink the petition at step one.
For each criterion, gather the context: award selection rules, association bylaws, circulation data, citation comparisons, salary surveys.
Line up independent expert letters that describe specific contributions and their effect on the field.
If a criterion does not readily apply to your occupation, write the comparable evidence explanation before you assemble the evidence.
If the record is not yet strong enough for EB-1A, evaluate a national interest waiver, which uses a different test: see How the National Interest Waiver Works Under the Dhanasar Test.

Sources

Accurate as of September 25, 2026.

Written by

Daniel Lopez, Esq.

Junior Associate Attorney: Global Mobility & Corporate Immigration Strategy

A highly tactical immigration strategist, Daniel engineers precise global mobility and corporate immigration pathways before USCIS and EOIR.

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