A green card for people with sustained national or international acclaim at the top of their field — no employer, no labor certification.
EB-1A is aimed at people who can document that they're recognised as being at the very top of their field — not simply accomplished, but demonstrably among the small percentage who have risen to the top. It's used by researchers, scientists, executives, athletes, artists and entrepreneurs across a wide range of fields.
Because you petition for yourself, there's no employer to satisfy and no PERM labor certification to go through. That makes it one of the fastest self-petition routes when the evidence genuinely supports it — and one of the hardest to qualify for when it doesn't.
USCIS looks for evidence against ten regulatory criteria. In general, you need to meet at least three of them, or show a single one-time major achievement with wide international recognition (such as an Olympic medal or a major internationally recognized prize).
Generally, evidence meeting at least three of the ten regulatory criteria, or one piece of evidence of a one-time major internationally recognized achievement. Meeting three is a threshold, not a guarantee — USCIS then weighs the evidence as a whole.
No. EB-1A is a self-petition category — no job offer or PERM labor certification is required, though you must show you intend to keep working in your field in the US.
Membership judged by recognized national or international experts based on outstanding achievement — not membership open to anyone who pays a fee or meets a basic qualification. A licensed attorney can confirm whether your specific memberships qualify.
