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Comment by meetapoorvgupta | Hacker News Reader

I am a regular Software Engineer at a FAANG company. I have a Bachelor's degree in CS and no papers or patents. What's a reliable route for me to file a successful EB-1 application?

What kind of hackathons I can judge/other industry events can I speak at/be in the press to satisfy the requirements of EB-1? How can I get those opportunities?

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I have an EB-1A (extraordinary ability). I can try to help you if you give me some details. Like, why do you want to pursue the EB-1 route ? I ask because, the way you've phrased the question "satisfy the requirements of EB-1", I don't think you fully understand what it entails. Its not like a driver's license you apply at the local DMV - I know how to drive, now give me the license! Its more like - you are making a formal request to the US government. You are then furnishing a ton of documents as proof of your abilities. Even after all that, it's still their call. If they turn you down, that's fully within their right. And they can always do that - it is their country after all. I was always prepared to return to India if they rejected my application. If they approve, its your privilege. The way I view it - I took a shot & the ball went thru the hoop. Doesn't mean everytime I take a shot it will do that. Doesn't mean if somebody else takes a shot & it doesn't go thru the hoop, they are a worse player. afaik, there is no rule in the constitution that says you have satisfied all the requirements of EB1 so you must get EB1. At best, you can apply, but not appeal.

What kind of roles in tech industry get EB-1A, apart from management?

Anything niche is good candidate. I'll give you a few examples. One of these examples was me, the rest were my friends who also got the EB-1A.

Examples - software eng in investment bank building some complicated bond pricing engine with some heavyduty math, software eng in car manufacturer building an EE tool to visualize hazard parameters after car crash, software eng in bio building tool used for genetic splicing, software eng in pharma building tool for drug identification from trials.

As you see, none of these is management. Regular software engineer, usual BS/MS in Computer Science, not in tech industry, but in some niche field (typical boring East Coast/Midwest/Defense Corridor company), building something niche to support PhDs in the team. The PhDs then give you tons of supporting paperwork that basically says your presence in USA is "in the national interest" & if you don't get EB1 their whole research will come to a halt. If immigration officer buys into that, you get your EB1.

The EB1A (extraordinary ability) category has become incredibly tough (and much tougher than the O-1). Before doing anything, I would recommend that the individual get his or her background evaluated because it's a lot more and lot more nuanced than having patents or published papers or judging events. Just to avoid spending time on things that won't really lead to an approval.

It can be very difficult to draw a through line or see a pattern in the EB1A adjudications. What's clear, however, is that it's a much higher standard than it used to be. It used to be similar to the O-1 standard but now USCIS wants to see a lot more than just meeting the required three criteria; it wants to see external/third-party evidence that the applicant is set apart from most of his or her peers through, for example, the purchase of a company founded by the applicant, the widespread use of a product developed by the applicant, the receipt of a major national or international award, publications with lots and lots of citations, extensive media coverage in major media, keynote/major invited conference speaking engagements, very high base and total compensation, etc.

Adding my datapoint: I was voted Innovator of the Year for 2 years in a row in a major Fortune company, where the Research department is stocked with MITs and Stanfords. I was rejected for EB1. I am still on H1B 12 years going. The lawyer explained that I have patents by no papers which might be the reason. But in truth no one knows.

(I can't publish, as most of my work would be viewed by my employer as trade secrets).

Could be because they need to see you impacting the industry (evidenced by letters from peeps at other companies), not just within one company. Which is tough when the company considers your innovations a trade secret.

For others who did not know what EB-1 is (like me):

> The EB-1 is a preference category for United States employment-based permanent residency. It is intended for "priority workers". Those are foreign nationals who either have "extraordinary abilities", or are "outstanding professors or researchers", and also includes "some executives and managers of foreign companies who are transferred to the US". It allows them to remain permanently in the US.

> Therefore, applicants who can demonstrate their extraordinary ability in the sciences, arts, education, business, or athletics through sustained national or international acclaim are not required to have a permanent offer of employment in the US and are eligible to self-petition, however, they must intend to work in the US in their field of expertise.

>Therefore, applicants who can demonstrate their extraordinary ability in the sciences, arts, education, business, or athletics through sustained national or international acclaim are not required to have a permanent offer of employment in the US and are eligible to self-petition, however, they must intend to work in the US in their field of expertise.

One example being none other than the present FLOTUS. Clearly, she had enough patents, publications, and/or athletic and cultural achievements to qualify as an EB-1 recipient.

(Oh, hi. How's that swamp-draining coming along, guys?)

She is an illegal immigrant, who had an anchor baby, who engaged in chain migration. Hilarious.

I have a vehement hatred for the whole Trump family but there's no evidence of illegal immigration and the rest of that is hearsay and doesn't belong on HN. Please provide references if you wish to make such statements.

I second this question.

As a follow up, do single papers, patents and interviews help with an eb-1 application ?

On an EB2 people like me have decades of wait time to get my GC.

I think a sustainable way is to have professors and universities collaborate with H1B employees directly, to allow for them to publish papers and get in via the EB1 route. It won't work for every one, but could work for some and improve their situation and free up the Eb2/3 queues.

We already have grants from the industry to universities to do research. Is there something like this out there for immigrants like us?

Isn't the long wait due to the arbitrary cap of something like 50K GC/country/year. Seems like Congress should just fix that as part of comprehensive immigration reform.

If you are interested to read more, this page talks about the current efforts to fix the cap and the politics surrounding it (reverse chronological order) - https://redbus2us.com/s386-hr1044-green-card-bills-latest-ne...

That's the reason for the wait, yes. Even EB3 is current provided you are not originally from two specific countries.

In case it helps anyone, I wrote my Eb1a experience here : http://Eb1a.substack.com

I am a PhD dropout but as a startup founder i was able to get an EB1 in the business category (not technology/science which is the common route, even though i was CTO and had a couple papers). Something for founders or senior business leaders to consider.

Would you mind sharing the name of your startup or more information about its size, growth, product that has been key for getting an EB1?

Could you share more details about your case. Happy to email you or chat elsewhere.

Alternatively, are there any specific resources / attorneys you recommend reaching out to for EB1 evaluations? [particularly in/around NY for my case, but I guess that's not very important anymore]

> I am a regular Software Engineer at a FAANG company.

If you're at a FAANG then you're probably already far far better than you think you are.

I wouldn't idolize FAANG too much.

Sincerely, one of the 100k+ FAANG engineers in the world.

> one of the 100k+ FAANG engineers

Right, but 100k FAANG engineers is like the top 1% of engineers worldwide.

Perhaps by pay scale. Definitely not by talent/productivity.

I'm pretty sure anyone able to pass a FAANG interview is well within the 1% of talent for our industry. Those things are brutal.

The interviews are brutal. But they don't consistently identify talent. I know a lot of people at all of them and turn down interviews nearly constantly (Apple is the only one I've considered - the rest violate my ethical standards. And I'm not going to commute to Cupertino).

There's a lot of deadweight at these companies.

And all of the are at FAANG? How convenient

For USCIS, it doesn't matter where you work, visa is for the individual and they have to prove their merit against the required guidelines, even an unemployed person from anywhere in the world can apply by themselves if they can prove their merit as per the requirements. That is the beauty of this visa :)

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