Fast Track Your EB-2 to an EB-1 Green Card
By Chris M. Ingram, LL.M., ESQ
EB1 vs EB2 vs EB3
Before I jump right into this topic let me quickly bring everyone up to speed. Employers can sponsor aliens for their green cards by filing a Form I-140 for an EB-2 green card if the alien has an advanced degree or an EB-3 green card if the alien has a Bachelors degree.
For those Nationals originally from India the current wait time for an EB-2 green card is about 10 years and for an EB-3 green card the wait time is 14 years.
In contrast, the EB-1 green card is for any alien who can successfully claim that they are at the “top” of their profession. Moreover, the EB-1 is a Self-Sponsored green card. You can submit an EB-1 application on your own without the need for any employer to sponsor you, which is so awesome. Also, the wait time to secure your EB-1 green card, if you are originally from India is about 2-4 years, so its way faster than the EB-2 and EB-3 options.
Every October 1st, U.S. Immigration is permitted to make 40,000 more EB-1, EB-2 and EB-3 green cards available and when these 40,000 green cards are released. This new wave of green cards will typically temporarily shorten the wait times for the EB-1, EB-2 and EB-3 green cards. So, it’s really important that you get your EB-1 case filed asap because, should the EB-1 wait time shorten significantly and you already have an approved EB-2 you could port your EB-2 Priority Date (PD) to your newly approved EB-1 petition PD and get ahead of the game. You may be able to upgrade your EB2 intentions and get your EB-1 green card issued in under a year, which would be absolutely fantastic, right?
For our client professionals who are not Indian, all the wait times for EB-1, EB-2 and EB-3 green cards will also shorten considerably and thus we’ll be able to get your green card issued much faster than is presently the case. Are you prepared? – if not, call us asap.
EB-1 Green Cards are Tough to Get,
but We have the Expertise to Succeed.
Convert EB2 to EB1 Upgrade
Ok, what I want to really talk about today in this article is to give our EB-2 Indian clients guidance on how to develop themselves into ideal EB1 self-sponsored permanent resident candidates so they can take advantage of being able to “convert” their EB-2 Petitions into EB-1 Petitions. Truth is, all of the help I’m going to give you now also applies to everyone, no matter where you are in the world and whether you have an approved EB-2 petition or not. So, buckle up.
To qualify for an EB-1 green card with all of the life-long permanent resident benefits is not easy. However, if you are prepared to follow our guidance and put in the hard work, we can get you authorization for an EB-1 green card. We have nearly 20-years of experience in this field and we enjoy a tremendously high success rate. However, there is no magic to this, it’s all about putting in the hard work.
Developing a Personal Brand
If you want to qualify for an EB-1 green card you have to build a professional name for yourself as being a leader in your field inside and outside your company – this is called developing a personal brand. Imagine a pyramid like this. EB-1s at the top, EB-2 in the middle and EB-3s at the bottom. Congress has provided 40,000 green cards for each of the green card types. So, at the EB-3 level you tend to have the most people, so their 40,000 tends to be used up quite quickly, then EB-2 has fewer people, however, these people have a more advanced education and thus employers are more motivated to sponsor an employment based green card entry at the EB-2 level and so this category actually tends to be the most over subscribed. The EB-1 is self-sponsored and requires the highest levels of achievement and thus, even though backlogged, the wait time is the shortest. Truth is, many EB-2 candidates have the talent to self-sponsored under the EB-1 program.
An immigration officer really cannot intrinsically tell the difference between a Software Architect and a Specialist in Deep Learning. Similarly, some people give themselves the nebulous title as a “software developer” making it impossible for an immigration officer to determine how high they are in their profession. If they are applying for an EB-2 it really does not matter, however if they can develop their brand to present as an EB-1, it can make all the difference. So, if you want an EB-1 green card, you have to build a brand for yourself. I’ll show you how.
Basics of an EB-1 Green Card Case
Every EB1 candidate must be able to satisfy three of the following categories. Please review this list and the corresponding videos and this will certainly help you assess your own eligibility if you have not done so already.
(i) National Award – [More Info]
(ii) Invited Membership – [More Info]
(iii) Published Material About You – [More Info]
(iv) Judging – [More Info]
(v) Innovation – [More Info]
(vi) Scholarly Articles – [More Info]
(vii) Exhibitions or Showcases – [More Info]
(viii) Leading /Critical Role – [More Info]
(ix) High Salary – [More Info]
(x) Commercial Success – [More Info]
I’m sure many of you have seen this list many times. However, I’m going to pick up on some of the categories that you can work on that are all about building your personal brand.
Invited Memberships
If you really want to impress an immigration official to approve your EB-1 case, try and get some professional memberships in your field and not just any level of membership, try and get the highest level of membership entry possible such as ‘Fellowship’ level. Also, work on securing a high-level membership in at least two organizations. Memberships are really important to USCIS because to get membership, the independent body has the expertise in your field and thus if they accept you then USCIS will trust their judgement.
Serving on a Judging Panel or Peer-Reviewer
We work the following organizations that are constantly looking for online judges to serve on their various panels. We have helped approaching 100 clients to get a judging position on these panels and 100% of them have gone on to get their EB-1s approved. Again, it’s about taking part in something outside of your company and status being recognized more broadly being a subject matter expert by an independent body. If the organization accepts you to judge on their awards events, USCIS has to trust their judgement. At least, they do for the most part.
The Stevie Awards
The Webby Awards
The Golden Bridge Awards
The CODiE Awards
Also, if you are scholastic professionally why not look out for opportunities to do some peer review work. Serving as a peer reviewer is another excellent way to demonstrate to USCIS that you are regarded outside your company as a top professional in your field.
Writing and Publishing Technical Articles
All of our STEM clients with advanced degrees have written tons of technical materials for their job. So, why not write up some of your ideas and publish them in an article on one of these platforms below.
- Redgate Hub / Simple Talk
- CodeGuru
- SQL Server Central
- MSSQL Tips
- IIOAB Journal
- International Journal of Computer Trends and Technology
- Scientific and Academic Publishing
- American Journal of Computer Architecture
- International Journal of Management, IT and Engineering
- SQL Pro
The above publications vet everything before its published and again, USCIS loves it when independent publications publish your work because USCIS knows that these publications have a duty to their readers to only publish content that is of value.
If you do not work in STEM or need help/coaching to get your work published, we have partners with Trade Press Services– who will work with you to ensure your work is published in all the right journals. Having this category in your portfolio can really round out your case.
Conclusion
Memberships, Judging and Scholarly articles can really help you develop your brand outside of daily work place environment. Most EB-1 clients will already be playing a Leading/Critical role in their company and many of them earn above the 90th percentile in terms of their remuneration package and/or have innovated some really cool products to qualify for the EB-1 Innovation category. So, if this is you, you may only need to add one of these categories to your case to get you across the finishing line.
About 80% of our practice is devoted building EB-1 cases, we have become the go-to law firm in this field. We can help you every step of the way, and lead you to success, even if you doubt yourself. We’ve won so many cases for people just like you. All you have to do is work with us and see how we craft your case from the ground up. Give us a call today or complete our online inquiry so we can set up a free consultation.
US Immigration Law Offices of Chris M. Ingram
Chris M. Ingram LL.M., ESQ – Immigration Attorney
Admitted in New York.
Practice Specializing in US Immigration Law
401 Wilshire Boulevard, 12th Floor,
[Cross Streets 4th and Wilshire]
Santa Monica,
California 90401
Tel: 310 496 4292
Everyday the Law Offices of Chris M. Ingram provides a comprehensive range of US Immigration expertise. We also provide a free consultation for our prospective clients.
Please note that nothing contained in this website or link therefrom shall be regarded as providing legal advice. Please contact us directly for legal advice specific to your situation. Thank you.
Specializing in the E2 Visa, EB1 Green Card, L-1A Visa and O1 Visa and K1 Visa Marriage-Based Immigration. Attorney Chris M. Ingram is dedicated to providing the very best in US Immigration legal representation. Enjoy our website.
Important Notice: Please note that all videos created by the Law Offices of Chris M. Ingram are intended as general information only and not specific legal advice pertaining to your case. If you would like specific legal advice on any immigration matter please do not hesitate to contact this law office accordingly. All pictorial images used in these videos and the website, in general, are licensed stocked images and not portraits, or otherwise, of anyone from the Law Offices of Chris M. Ingram, nor of its clients unless otherwise indicated by name. All images are used solely for illustrative purposes only. Copyright 2010-2019 All Rights Reserved.
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