The Final Merits Determination for EB-1A and EB-1B Green Card Application, EB1A, EB1B, Final Merits, EB1 Determination, EB-1A Green Card, EB-1B Green Card, EB1 Application

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The Final Merits Determination
for EB-1A and EB-1B Green Card Application

Hi William,

I am a new Assistant Professor in a major research university of U.S. and I plan to apply for Green Card in both EB1 categories of EB1 Extraordinary Ability and EB1 Outstanding Researcher or Professor, by using your excellent Green Card DIY Application packages. Please let me know what is the "Final Merits Determination" in the EB1 two-step adjudication process?

Answer,

For EB1 Extraordinary Ability Green Card application (EB-1A) and EB1 Outstanding Researcher or Professor Green Card application (EB-1B), the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) adjudicators are now using the two-step adjudication process, which uses the second step as the Final Merits Determination for each EB-1A and EB-1B green card application.

During the final merits test, the USCIS officer assesses whether the applicant has "demonstrated sustained national or international acclaim” in their field of extraordinary ability based on all the evidence submitted. In other words, EB-1A and EB-2B applicants do not need to submit additional evidence to the test.

In the EB-1 two-step adjudication process, the final merits determination is the second step where USCIS officers evaluate the evidence in its entirety to determine if the applicant has risen to the top of their field and demonstrates sustained national or international acclaim, going beyond merely meeting the regulatory criteria.

The two-step adjudication process will have a final review of all submitted materials and all evidence to determine if an applicant can meet the overview requirements of "extraordinary" for EB1 Extraordinary Ability application, or if the applicant can meet the overview requirements of "outstanding" for EB1 Outstanding Researcher/Professor application. Therefore, this final review process may result in more Requests For Evidence (RFE), or even a higher rate of possible denial for EB-1A and EB-1B application.