The EB-1 green card is the first-preference employment-based immigrant visa, reserved for people at the top of their profession in one of three groups: individuals with extraordinary ability, outstanding professors and researchers, and multinational executives or managers. It sits at the front of the employment-based line, so visa numbers are available immediately for most applicants. The main exceptions are people born in India or mainland China, who face multi-year backlogs even after their petition is approved.1U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Employment-Based Immigration: First Preference EB-1
Who Qualifies
The three EB-1 subcategories have different eligibility rules, different evidence standards, and different rules about who can file. Picking the wrong one wastes filing fees and months of processing time.
EB-1A: Extraordinary Ability
EB-1A is for people who have risen to the very top of their field in science, arts, education, business, or athletics through sustained national or international recognition. It is the only EB-1 path that lets you self-petition, so you do not need a job offer or an employer to sponsor you.2U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. USCIS Policy Manual Volume 6 Part F Chapter 2 – Extraordinary Ability
You qualify by showing either a single major internationally recognized award (a Nobel Prize or Olympic medal, for example) or by meeting at least three of ten regulatory criteria. Those criteria cover nationally or internationally recognized prizes, membership in associations that require outstanding achievement, published material about you in professional or major trade publications, service as a judge of others’ work, original contributions of major significance, authorship of scholarly articles, display of your work at exhibitions, a leading or critical role in distinguished organizations, a salary significantly above others in the field, and commercial success in the performing arts.
Meeting three criteria does not guarantee approval. USCIS runs a two-step review: first, whether your evidence actually satisfies each criterion you claim; second, whether everything taken together shows you are genuinely among the small percentage at the top of the field.2U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. USCIS Policy Manual Volume 6 Part F Chapter 2 – Extraordinary Ability Petitions that clear step one often fail step two when the overall picture is thin.
EB-1B: Outstanding Professors and Researchers
EB-1B targets academics and researchers who have earned international recognition for outstanding achievements in a specific academic field. You cannot self-petition. You need at least three years of teaching or research experience in your specialty, plus a concrete job offer for a tenured, tenure-track, or comparable permanent research position at a university or qualifying employer.3U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. USCIS Policy Manual Volume 6 Part F Chapter 3 – Outstanding Professor or Researcher
You must also demonstrate at least two of six criteria showing international recognition, including major prizes for academic excellence, published material by others about your work, authorship of scholarly books or articles in internationally circulated journals, original research contributions, and evidence of a leading role in your discipline. The employer’s offer letter needs to spell out job duties and confirm the position is permanent, not temporary or contingent.
EB-1C: Multinational Managers and Executives
EB-1C covers managers and executives being transferred to a U.S. office of a company they already work for abroad. You must have worked outside the United States for at least one year during the three years before the petition is filed, in a managerial or executive capacity, for an entity with a qualifying relationship to the U.S. employer. The U.S. company must also have been doing business for at least one year.
The qualifying relationship can be a parent-subsidiary, branch, or affiliate arrangement, all resting on common ownership and control. A franchise or licensing agreement alone usually does not qualify. The petition needs organizational charts and descriptions showing your role involves genuine executive or managerial duties, such as directing a major function or supervising other managers and professionals, rather than hands-on operational work.
Filing the I-140 Petition
The core form for all three subcategories is Form I-140, Immigrant Petition for Alien Workers, available free on the USCIS website.4U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. I-140, Immigrant Petition for Alien Workers You mark the specific subcategory on the form itself. For EB-1B and EB-1C, the employer files. For EB-1A, you file for yourself.
The filing fee is $715 on paper or $665 online.5U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. G-1055, Fee Schedule USCIS adjusts these periodically, so verify the current amount before submitting. Paper filings need a check or money order drawn on a U.S. financial institution; an incorrect fee or bounced check means the whole package comes back without a receipt date.
Assemble the form, fee, and supporting evidence into a single indexed package. Every document not in English needs a certified translation. The correct mailing address depends on the proposed employment location and the classification you are filing under, so confirm the current service center on the USCIS site before sending anything.
Premium Processing
If you need a faster decision, file Form I-907 alongside your I-140. USCIS guarantees it will take action on most EB-1 petitions within 15 business days, though EB-1C multinational manager and executive petitions get a 45-business-day window.6U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. How Do I Request Premium Processing? “Action” means an approval, denial, notice of intent to deny, or request for evidence. It is not a promise of approval.
The premium processing fee for Form I-140 is $2,965, on top of the regular filing fee.7U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. USCIS to Increase Premium Processing Fees If USCIS misses the deadline, it refunds the fee and keeps processing the case.
Priority Dates and the Country Backlog
When USCIS receives your I-140, it assigns a priority date that locks in your place in the queue. Only 140,000 employment-based immigrant visas are issued each year across all preference categories, and no single country can receive more than a fixed percentage of the total.8U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Visa Availability and Priority Dates
For EB-1, visa numbers are currently available immediately for applicants from most countries. India and mainland China are the exceptions. As of the August 2025 Visa Bulletin, the EB-1 cutoff date for India-born applicants is February 2022, and for China-born applicants it is November 2022.9U.S. Department of State. Visa Bulletin for August 2025 If you were born in either country, you may wait years after your I-140 is approved before a visa number opens up. The State Department updates the Visa Bulletin monthly.
What USCIS Does Next
After USCIS receives your petition, it issues Form I-797C, Notice of Action, confirming receipt and giving you a case number to track status online. Without premium processing, I-140 processing times vary by service center and shift throughout the year, so check the USCIS processing times page for current estimates.
Requests for Evidence
If USCIS thinks your petition is incomplete or the evidence is thin, it issues a Request for Evidence. You have 84 days to respond, and USCIS cannot extend that deadline.10U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. USCIS Policy Manual Volume 1 Part E Chapter 6 – Evidence An RFE is not a denial, but missing the deadline lets USCIS deny the petition as abandoned, and you cannot appeal an abandonment denial. Address every point the RFE raises with specific, well-organized evidence.
If the Petition Is Denied
If your I-140 is denied, you can file a motion to reopen (with new evidence) or a motion to reconsider (arguing USCIS misapplied the law) using Form I-290B. You have 30 days from the date of the decision, or 33 days if the decision was mailed.11U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. AAO Practice Manual Chapter 4 – Motions to Reopen and Reconsider Filing a new I-140 with a stronger evidence package is also an option, and many successful EB-1A petitions were filed more than once, with earlier denials serving as a roadmap for what USCIS wanted to see.
Getting the Actual Green Card
An I-140 approval is not the green card. Once a visa number is available for your priority date, you take one of two paths. If you are already in the United States, file Form I-485 to adjust your status to permanent resident. If you are abroad, you go through consular processing at a U.S. embassy or consulate, which includes a medical exam and an in-person interview.
If a visa number is available when you file the petition, you can submit Form I-485 at the same time as your I-140. USCIS calls this concurrent filing, and it is only open to applicants physically present in the United States.12U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Concurrent Filing of Form I-485 For applicants from countries where EB-1 is current, concurrent filing can save months.
The Medical Examination
Every applicant must complete a medical examination on Form I-693, performed by a USCIS-designated civil surgeon in the United States or a panel physician at a consulate abroad. The exam covers a physical evaluation and age-appropriate vaccinations, typically including tetanus, polio, MMR, varicella, hepatitis B, and influenza during flu season.
For exams signed by a civil surgeon on or after November 1, 2023, the I-693 stays valid for as long as the associated application is pending. Exams signed before that date were valid for two years from the civil surgeon’s signature.13U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. USCIS Policy Manual Volume 8 Part B Chapter 4 – Review of Medical Examination Documentation Fees vary by provider and typically run from roughly $250 to $500, because USCIS does not regulate what civil surgeons charge.
Working and Traveling While Your I-485 Is Pending
Two issues trip up adjustment applicants constantly: work authorization and international travel.
A pending I-485 does not automatically let you work. File Form I-765 to request an Employment Authorization Document.14U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Employment Authorization Document If you also plan to travel, file Form I-131 for advance parole at the same time; USCIS will issue a single combo card that serves as both work permit and travel document.15U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. USCIS to Issue Employment Authorization and Advance Parole Card for Adjustment of Status Applicants
Leaving the United States without an approved advance parole document while your I-485 is pending is one of the most costly mistakes in employment-based immigration. USCIS treats the departure as abandonment of the adjustment application. The I-485 is denied and the filing fees are gone.16U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Travel Documents A narrow exception exists for people maintaining valid H-1B, H-4, L-1, or L-2 status who return in that same classification. Everyone else should wait until the advance parole document is approved and in hand.
Keeping the Green Card After Approval
Approval of your I-485, or a successful consular case, makes you a lawful permanent resident. The status comes with ongoing obligations, and the most important is maintaining your U.S. residence. If you spend more than six months outside the country in a single trip, USCIS presumes you have broken the continuity of your residence, which complicates future naturalization and can trigger an abandonment review of your permanent resident status. An absence of one year or more creates an even stronger presumption.17U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. USCIS Policy Manual Volume 12 Part D Chapter 3 – Continuous Residence
You can overcome the presumption by showing ties to the United States, such as keeping your home, maintaining employment, and having immediate family members who stayed. If you know you will need to be abroad for more than a year, apply for a re-entry permit before leaving. Frequent shorter absences can also raise questions if the pattern suggests your real home is somewhere else.