Dr. William:

Due to the recent immigrant visa retrogression in the EB3 and EB2 categories, I plan to apply for my green card in both the EB1 Extraordinary Ability and EB1 Outstanding Researcher categories. As a researcher in a large company's R&D center, I have some papers published at good ranked academic journals, but my major concern is that I ma not the first author for most of these papers (I am the first author for only 2 papers so far). Do you think I still have a chance for EB1 green card application?

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Answer:

The USCIS acknowledged that an alien applicant does not have to be the first author on an article to claim credit for it, and to apply for Green Card in the EB1 immigrant categories. This is because USCIS knows “the inherently collaborative nature of modern scientific inquiry, in which researchers rarely labor in isolation,” as indicated in an AAO decision.

But the USCIS Service Centers do send Request For Evidence (RFE) letter asking for proof that the alien beneficiary is a key independent researcher in a group project. Therefore, you should clearly document your role in a research team, especially if you are not first author on articles that result from your project or research work.