The EB-1A visa is designed for individuals with extraordinary abilities in science, art, education, business, or athletics. To qualify, applicants must meet at least three out of ten specific criteria. One of these key criteria is serving as a judge of the work of others in your field or a related field. This judging can be done individually or as part of a panel.
According to USCIS, to obtain an EB-1 visa, you need to prove that you evaluated the work of other professionals who are your peers or their projects. Assessing the work of your students or lower-level employees does not count. It must be clear that you were given these responsibilities due to your specific expertise and accomplishments in the field.
Documents required
You must provide evidence that you were not only invited to participate in the event as a judge but also actively took part in the evaluation of the work of others. For example, you can provide a copy of the request from the organizers as well as confirmation that you participated in the evaluation of other people's work.
To support your judging experience for the EB-1 visa, you can submit:
- Invitations from organizers.
- Copies of event records listing the judges.
- Mentions in the media of you as a jury member.
- Information from official event websites mentioning your role.
- Proof that the judging was relevant to your professional field (e.g., competition rules, lists of participants, or winners demonstrating a thematic connection to your area of expertise).
- Thank-you letters from organizers addressed to you as a jury member.
Establishing the prestige of the event
To confirm the credibility of the competition for the EB-1 visa, you should provide:
- Rules detailing the criteria for awarding prizes.
- Evidence of the reputation of the organization or jury (e.g., rankings, press articles).
- Information on the geographic scope of participants and the number of awards given.
- Lists of previous winners.
Examples of judging experience
- Peer reviewing scientific papers.
- Serving as a member of a Ph.D. dissertation committee or peer review of abstracts or papers for scholarly conferences.
- Serving on the jury for professional competitions.
- Participating in award committees.
- Evaluating projects at pitch sessions or startup competitions.
- Reviewing applications for accelerator programs.
- Judging sports competitions.
- Serving on the jury for art contests, including architectural ones.
- Assessing research funding applications.
Previously, USCIS stated that judging the work of colleagues or projects as part of your job responsibilities does not qualify for this EB-1 visa criteria. However, multiple legal cases have demonstrated that judging performed as part of professional duties can meet this criteria.
Important points
1. Role of judge and criteria description
- Ensure you have a formal appointment to evaluate others' work, supported by official documents or letters.
- Confirm the specific qualities that led to your selection as a judge, including your qualifications, experience, education, and reputation.
2. Relevance to your field of expertise
- Make sure that the events or competitions where you served as a judge align with your field of expertise related to your visa case.
- Your role as a judge should be justified by your qualifications and specialization.
3. Evidence of your active involvementsome text
- Provide evidence that you actually evaluated the work of others (e.g., meeting minutes, copies of evaluation forms).
