USCIS Policy Alert for O-1A Extraordinary Ability Category
/On March 23, 2022, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) issued a policy alert entitled “Qualifying Published Material and Scope of Leading or Critical Role in Extraordinary Ability and Outstanding Professor or Researcher Visa Classifications.” USCIS updated its guidance, effective immediately, about two evidentiary criteria related to immigrants of extraordinary ability and one relating to outstanding professors and researchers to be more closely aligned with recently issued USCIS guidance pertaining to O-1A nonimmigrants of extraordinary ability.
The highlights were:
Establishes that in the extraordinary ability and outstanding professor categories, “published material” about the person (or the person’s work) in professional or major trade publications or other major media do not have to be a printed article. Instead, other forms of evidence such as a transcript of audio or video coverage are acceptable, as well.
Establishes that in the extraordinary ability classification, a person may satisfy the criterion of “leading or critical role” through a qualifying role for a distinguished department or division in addition to an entire organization or establishment.
Link:
USCIS Policy Alert: https://www.uscis.gov/sites/default/files/document/policy-manual-updates/20220323-ExtraordinaryAbility.pdf
