EB-1A Green Card: 10 USCIS Criteria, Final Merits, I-140 Cost, and the India Backlog

Who qualifies for EB-1A

EB-1A is the first-preference employment-based immigration category in the US for people with extraordinary ability in science, arts, education, business, or athletics. USCIS labels it E11. The applicant files Form I-140 on their own, without a job offer and without Department of Labor certification (USCIS Policy Manual update).

The petition must prove two things:

1. Extraordinary ability — through at least 3 of 10 evidentiary criteria, or through a one-time major achievement such as a Pulitzer Prize, an Oscar, or an Olympic medal (USCIS EB-1 page).
2. Intent to continue working in the field of extraordinary ability, and substantial benefit your work will bring to the US (USCIS on immigrant pathways for entrepreneurs).

The second requirement is critical for anyone who switched fields. If your extraordinary achievements are in science but you now work in business, the petition must either show you'll continue working in science in the US, or build the evidentiary case around your business accomplishments instead.

Your spouse and unmarried children under 21 get green cards along with you as the principal applicant. The card is immediately permanent, valid for 10 years, with no intermediate conditional status — unlike, for example, EB-5, which carries a 2-year conditional period.

As of September 2026:

• a spouse holding an EB-1A green card can work in the US right away after getting the card, like any permanent resident;
• you can generally apply for US citizenship 5 years after receiving your green card.

For how this path compares to the temporary O-1 visa, see O-1 vs. EB-1A: which to choose.

What are the 10 EB-1A criteria and how many do you need to meet

A criterion counts only if the evidence directly matches its wording. The list of ten criteria:

1. Receipt of nationally or internationally recognized prizes or awards for excellence in the field.
2. Membership in associations that require outstanding achievements, as judged by recognized national or international experts.
3. Published material about you and your work in professional or major trade publications or other major media.
4. Participation as a judge of the work of others, individually or on a panel.
5. Original scientific, scholarly, artistic, athletic, or business-related contributions of major significance in the field.
6. Authorship of scholarly articles in professional or major trade publications or other major media.
7. Display of your work at artistic exhibitions or showcases.
8. A leading or critical role in organizations with a distinguished reputation.
9. A high salary or other significantly high remuneration for services in relation to others in the field.
10. Commercial success in the performing arts — box office receipts or record/video sales.

If a criterion doesn't formally fit your profession, USCIS allows you to submit comparable evidence — other documentation of similar evidentiary weight (USCIS on immigrant pathways for STEM).

What counts as published material under criterion 3. As of October 2026, this type of evidence must meet three practical requirements:

• Written by a third party. The material must be written about you by someone else. Your own writing or your profile page on a university website doesn't qualify.
• Any language is fine, but you need a translation. Publications in a foreign language count just as much as English-language ones. A certified translation must be included with the petition.
• Full page in PDF. A screenshot without a visible date, author, and publication name won't be accepted. You need to submit the full page of the publication in PDF, showing that information.

For guidance on finding and preparing this kind of material, see our breakdown of media coverage for EB-1A.

The formal minimum is three criteria. As of September 2026, immigration attorneys recommend meeting 5–6 criteria to build in a safety margin. An officer may decline to credit some of your evidence, and at the next stage the totality of the evidence gets reassessed again. For a closer look at individual criteria, see EB-1A criteria explained.

How does USCIS evaluate your case after the criteria: final merits determination

Review of an EB-1A petition happens in two stages (USCIS Policy Manual). In the first, the officer checks each criterion separately: does the evidence match its wording. In the second, during the final merits determination, the officer weighs all the evidence together, deciding whether the applicant truly belongs to the small percentage who have risen to the top of the field and has sustained national or international acclaim.

That's why a petition that formally meets three criteria can still be denied. Cases tend to weaken at this second stage when:

• recognition is limited to a single episode or a short period;
• publications exist, but there's no sign the field has engaged with them;
• the applicant's role on a project or at a company is described in general terms, without a clear personal contribution.

The two-step structure itself isn't new, but as of October 2026, immigration attorneys report that officers are scrutinizing petitions more closely at the final merits stage. By their estimates, approval rates for EB-1A and EB-2 NIW petitions have dropped noticeably over the past 6–9 months — by some accounts, by half. USCIS hasn't published official statistics for this period.

If the officer has doubts, USCIS can issue a NOID — a notice of intent to deny. As of September 2026, applicants get 30 days to respond. During that time, you can submit additional evidence and arguments. The response should address every point raised individually, since the decision is based on the record as it stands at the time of review.

Premium processing doesn't change the evaluation standard. Within 15 business days, USCIS issues a decision, a request for evidence, or a NOID — under the same rules as standard processing.

How Entrepreneurs and Researchers Prove the Criteria Without an Employer

The criteria are the same across fields, but the supporting evidence differs.

Entrepreneurs have the hardest time showing individual, rather than company-wide, contribution. Awards and press coverage often go to the company, with the founder not legally named. You need documents that describe your role directly. Entrepreneurs most often rely on the criteria of a leading role in an organization with a distinguished reputation, an original business contribution, and a high salary.

On remuneration: this criterion compares you to others in the field and refers to payment for services. Dividends from an equity stake don't count as such payment, so it's more reliable to point to salary confirmed by tax filings. Publications from September 2026 cite, as a practical benchmark, income at least 50% above the national average in the country where the applicant works. Investment in the company can strengthen the case depending on who the investor is and the terms of their stake. For more, see EB-1A for entrepreneurs.

For researchers, academic work often satisfies several criteria at once:

• articles in peer-reviewed journals and published conference proceedings — authorship of scholarly articles;
• peer review of others' papers, serving as a dissertation opponent — judging the work of others;
• citations, grants, and adoption of results — evidence of an original contribution of major significance;
• media coverage of your research — published material about you.

An academic degree itself is not among the listed criteria. For how to build the evidence base, see EB-1A for researchers.

How much does an I-140 petition cost and how long does a decision take

The EB-1A petition is filed on Form I-140 with USCIS — by mail or online. Fees at this stage (USCIS fee schedule, Form G-1055):

USCIS describes the Asylum Program Fee as a fee paid by employers filing I-129, I-129CW, or I-140. How it applies to a self-petition should be checked before filing against USCIS guidance on paying fees for Form I-140: an incorrect payment can lead to rejection of the petition.

Premium processing timeframes are counted in business days. For EB-1A, it's 15 business days. For EB-2 NIW petitions, as of October 2026, it's 45 business days. A comparison of the two paths is covered in NIW vs. EB-1A: which to choose.

Without premium processing, I-140 review, according to reports from September 2026, can take a year or longer. Premium processing only speeds up the petition decision, not the wait for the green card itself.

Once the I-140 is approved, the green card is obtained in a separate step — through adjustment of status inside the U.S. or an immigrant visa at a consulate abroad. Fees for that stage are paid separately and aren't included in the table above.

How the EB-1A backlog works for Indian nationals

USCIS notes that the EB-1 visa is typically available immediately regardless of country of birth, while backlogs for Chinese and Indian nationals are typical for EB-2 and EB-3 (USCIS on immigrant pathways for STEM). In practice, a priority date backlog in EB-1 exists specifically for India and China.

Per the November 2026 bulletin, EB-1 is current for the rest of the world, Mexico, and the Philippines. For applicants from these countries, final green card action doesn't depend on the priority date. "Rest of the world" includes all countries for which the bulletin doesn't set separate dates, including Ukraine. Current status for a category can change in any future bulletin, so it should be checked monthly.

Other employment-based categories for the rest of the world have cutoff dates. In the November 2026 bulletin, EB-2 processes dates up to April 1, 2025 (3 months later than October), and EB-3 up to June 15, 2024 (1 month later).

The overall employment-based visa cap has decreased: for fiscal year 2027, which began October 1, 2026, the base quota is 140,000. In fiscal year 2026, an additional roughly 46,300 visas increased the total cap to 186,317.

For India, the bulletin shows the following dates:

In the November 2026 bulletin, the EB-1 date for India didn't move. EB-2 for India opened in October 2026 for the first time after a period when the category was closed, and in November it stayed at November 1, 2013. As of October 2026, movement in India's employment-based dates isn't expected before December 2026-January 2027: a portion of unused numbers that could shift to employment-based categories hasn't been allocated yet. This is a forecast, not a guarantee.

For Chinese nationals, the EB-1 final action date in November 2026 is August 1, 2023, one month later than October (July 1, 2023).

The bulletin has two tables. Final action dates show whose cases can already be finally decided, while dates for filing show which priority date allows filing paperwork in advance. In October and November 2026, I-485 applications for adjustment of status within the U.S. in employment-based and family-based categories are accepted under the dates for filing chart. That means you can file I-485 before your date becomes current on the final action chart, but the green card can only be approved after that. Which chart applies is determined monthly—check before filing. For more detail, see our breakdowns of the October 2026 Visa Bulletin, EB-2 and EB-3 dates in the October bulletin, the November 2026 Visa Bulletin, backlog movement in the November bulletin, and employment-based categories in the November bulletin.

The priority date is locked in when the I-140 petition is filed. An approved petition secures your place in line, but the green card can only be finalized once your date becomes current in the bulletin. Premium processing at $2,965 doesn't shorten the backlog: it only speeds up the petition decision, after which the wait for EB-1 for India, per the November 2026 bulletin, exceeds 3.5 years.

According to September 2026 reports, a priority date from an earlier EB-2 or EB-3 I-140 petition can be retained for transfer to a new EB-1A petition. This lets you avoid starting the queue over if you've already been waiting years under EB-2 or EB-3. Check the transfer conditions before filing. Bulletin dates are updated monthly. For more detail, see EB-1A for Indian nationals.

What to choose: EB-1A, O-1, or EB-2 and EB-3

These categories differ in status, dependence on an employer, and the length of the path:

EB-2 and EB-3 generally require PERM labor certification, which, as of 2026, takes about 1.5-2 years and ties the applicant to a specific employer. EB-1A skips this step, but its evidentiary bar is higher.

O-1 is a temporary work visa for people with extraordinary ability. Some applicants choose a two-step path: first coming to the U.S. on O-1, working and building up evidence of recognition, then filing an EB-1A petition. The final green card stage can then proceed as an adjustment of status within the country, without an immigrant visa interview at a consulate.

If your evidence currently supports only one or two criteria, filing EB-1A right away is risky: a denial doesn't bar a refiling, but it wastes fees and time.