US EB-1A Visa (Green Card for Alien of Extraordinary Ability)
Procedures and Fees
Unless otherwise indicated, the petition stated in this quotation refers to immigrant petition for Alien of Extraordinary Ability under the United States Immigration and Nationality Act.
Immigrant visas are for individuals seeking to immigrate to the U.S. and seeking permanent residence (Green Card) may be available for job offers in identified occupations in which U.S. workers are in short supply or in other specific categories. These employment-based visas are divided by preference categories with specific quotas, skill requirements and per-country caps.
An
EB-1A immigrant visa is for aliens who have distinguished themselves professionally in the field of sciences, arts, education, business or athletics through sustained national or international acclaim. The said petition is a self-petition thus does not require a prospect employer. However, the petitioner or applicant needs to continue to work in their chosen field and they must be substantially benefit prospectively in the U.S. This particular petition falls under the first-preference employment-based petition, which has 40,000 annual immigrant visas allotted to it. Since there is currently no visa backlog for this category and priority dates are current, this petition is considered as the fastest mean in obtaining permanent residency (Green Card). At the moment,
it takes 12 – 24 months to obtain a Green Card through EB-1A classification. Please note that the exact timeframe is subjected to the processing time of relevant government agencies.
If the EB-1A petition is approved, family members of the principal applicant are entitled to admission in the E-14 or E-15 immigrant status (Green Card category). Included in this category is the spouse of the visa holder, as well as minor unmarried children under the age of 21.
All applicants who meet the eligibility criteria specified in the Section 3 of this quotation may apply for the EB-1A immigrant classification in the United States.
-
United States EB-1A Immigrant Visa Application Fees
Our fees for handling the application for EB-1A immigrant visa to enable a foreigner to acquire Green Card is USD19,980 (promotional service fee until 31 May 24). An extra USD3,800 will be charged for each dependent Green Card. In particular, our fees cover the following services:
-
Providing advices regarding the application for EB-1A visa in the United States in general;
-
Providing assistance for the preparation of documents required for the client;
-
Review petition documents prepared by applicant(s);
-
Preparation of petition letter(s) and application form(s);
-
Legal representation to the petitioner and beneficiary by a dedicated U.S. attorney;
-
Submission of petition package to the USCIS;
-
Liaison with the USCIS regarding the petition;
-
Report the application status to the client;
-
Visa Application Processing at the U.S. Embassy after approval;
Note:
-
The fees quoted above exclude includes the government fee.
-
Premium processing service is available for an extra fee of USD2,500 (15 calendar days processing time on USCIS’ end).
-
In the event of a request for additional evidence (RFE) from the USCIS, an administration fee of USD1,000 plus legal fees will apply for the preparation of a RFE response. Legal fees will vary depending on the complexity of the RFE.
-
The fees stated are exclusive of delivery charges and notarization fees, if any.
-
The fees stated exclude documents translation fees. Please contact us for a quotation if you wish to employ us for the translation of documents.
-
Payment Term and Method
Upon receipt of confirmation of engagement, we will issue an invoice and email it together with detailed wire instructions to you. Because of the nature of services, we require full payment in advance. In addition, once service is commenced, no service fees will be refunded. We currently only accept check, cash or TT and credit card payment through PayPal. If invoice is settled by PayPal, an extra 5% service fee will be charged.
If Taiwan uniform invoice is required, a Business Tax at 5% of the invoiced amount will be charged and collected.
-
Eligibility Criteria
National or international acclaim can be demonstrated by the receipt of a major internationally recognized award such as Nobel Prize or Academy Award. Alternatively, the USCIS requires the petitioner must provide evidences to satisfy at least three of the following criteria:
-
Evidence of receipt of lesser nationally or internationally recognized prizes or awards for excellence
-
Evidence of your membership in associations in the field which demand outstanding achievement of their members;
-
Evidence of published material about you in professional or major trade publications or other major media;
-
Evidence that you have been asked to judge the work of others, either individually or on a panel;
-
Evidence of your original scientific, scholarly, artistic, athletic, or business-related contributions of major significance to the field;
-
Evidence of your authorship of scholarly articles in professional or major trade publications or other major media;
-
Evidence that your work has been displayed at artistic exhibitions or showcases;
-
Evidence of your performance of a leading or critical role in distinguished organizations;
-
Evidence that you command a high salary or other significantly high remuneration in relation to others in the field;
-
Evidence of your commercial successes in the performing arts
The above-mentioned eligibility criteria may be subject to change from time to time by the Immigration Department without prior notice. Please consult with Kaizen Consultants for more information.
-
Documents and Information Needed
The applicant is required to prepare and provide the following documents and information for the purpose of application for EB-1A visa:
Evidence of receipt of lesser nationally or internationally recognized prizes or awards for excellence:
-
Award certificates
-
Background information of the contest;
-
Judging panel and the judging criteria of the contest;
-
Pertinent news coverage
Evidences of your membership in associations in the field which demand outstanding achievement of their members
-
Membership certificate
-
Background information of the association;
-
Section of the association’s constitution or bylaws which discuss the criteria for membership for the beneficiary’s level of membership in the association.
Evidence of published material about you in professional or major trade publications or other major media
-
Copy of the published material which includes the title, date, and name of author;
-
The circulation of the publishing media;
-
The intended audience of the publication
Evidence that you have been asked to judge the work of others, either individually or on a panel
-
Invitations to review and judge other works and the confirmation of finished reviews
-
Judging panel qualifications.
Evidence of your original scientific, scholarly, artistic, athletic, or business-related contributions of major significance to the field
-
Objective documentary evidence of the significance of the beneficiary’s contribution to the field
-
Documentary evidence that people throughout the field currently consider the beneficiary’s work important
-
Testimony and/or support letters from experts which discuss the beneficiary’s contributions of major significance;
-
Evidence that the beneficiary’s major significant contributions has provoked widespread public commentary in the field or has been widely cited;
-
Evidence of the beneficiary’s work being implemented by others
Evidence of your authorship of scholarly articles in professional or major trade publications or other major media
-
Copy of scholarly articles
-
Number of citations
-
Background information of the publishing journal.
Evidence that your work has been displayed at artistic exhibitions or showcases:
-
Evidences to affirm the petitioner’s work has been displayed at exhibitions or showcases
-
Selection criteria
-
Background information of the exhibitions or showcases.
Evidence of your performance of a leading or critical role in distinguished organizations:
-
Documentary evidence to demonstrate how the beneficiary’s role was/is leading or critical for the organizations or establishments
-
Evidence to demonstrate the distinguished reputation of the organizations or establishments
Evidence that you command a high salary or other significantly high remuneration in relation to others in the field:
-
Payroll record for the past year
-
Individual tax return for the past year
-
Research on labour market to demonstrate the beneficiary receives higher remuneration comparing to others in the field
Evidence of your commercial successes in the performing arts:
-
Box office receipts, sales numbers
-
Documentary evidences to demonstrate the volume of sales is higher than others involved in similar pursuits in the performing arts
Dependents:
-
Passport Biological Page
-
Documents to Establish Relationship with the Beneficiary (Notarial Birth Certificate)
All documents submitted must be in English or translated into English by a certified translation body.
*The Immigration Department reserve the right to demand further documents from the applicant or employing company as and when necessary.
-
Application Procedures
Currently, the whole process of Green Card application generally takes approximately 22-25 months but is subjected to change according to the processing time of relevant government agencies at the time. The table below shows the estimated time frame for each step for the application process:
|
Step
|
Procedure
|
Responsible Party
|
Working Days
(estimated)
|
|
1
|
Interview with our immigration
expert.
|
Client
|
Client’s
Schedule
|
|
2
|
Sign and return retainer
agreement along with retainer fees.
|
Client
|
Client’s
Schedule
|
|
3
|
Complete questionnaire and
prepare the documents specified in the checklist.
|
Client
|
Client’s
Schedule
|
|
4
|
Upon receipt of the aforesaid
documents, our firm will prepare the immigration filing package.
|
Kaizen/US Lawyer
|
20 Days
|
|
5
|
Sign back immigration forms and
letters to our firm.
|
Client
|
Client’s
Schedule
|
|
6
|
Submission of immigration
petition package to the USCIS.
|
Kaizen
|
2-3 Days
|
|
7
|
Receive response from USCIS.
|
USCIS
|
Visa Application: 17- 20 Months
|
|
8
|
If the
case is approved, the case will be forwarded to National Visa Centre and we
will prepare the visa application and schedule interview appointment. If
USCIS requests further evidences, we will prepare for the response.
|
Kaizen/US Lawyer
|
RFE Response:
14 Days
|
|
9
|
Receive
response from USCIS.
|
USCIS
|
Up to 84 days
|
|
10
|
Obtain EB-1A visa at the
consulate and travel to U.S. to acquire Green Card.
|
Client
|
Client’s Schedule
|
|
Total working days
|
|
22-25 Months
|
|
Note:
(1) The estimated time is based on high cooperation between Kaizen and the client.
(2) The estimated time does not include delays caused by relevant government agencies.
(3) The estimated time does not include RFE processing time.
-
Procedures After Approval
As soon as the USCIS approves the EB-1A petition, the petition will be sent to the National Visa Centre for consular processing. Note that the Immigration and Nationality Act sets the number of immigrant visas the U.S. Department of State (DOS) can issue to aliens seeking to become lawful permanent residents (get a Green Card) each year. When the demand is higher than the supply of visas for a given year in any given visa category or country, a visa queue forms. To distribute the visas among all preference categories, DOS allocates the visas according to a prospective immigrant’s preference category, country of chargeability, and priority dates. When the priority date is “current”, immigrants may be able to apply for an immigrant visa at the U.S. Consulate if they are outside of the U.S. Once the interview is conducted and an immigrant visa is issued, the beneficiary should travel to the U.S. within 6 months. Upon entry into the U.S., a permanent resident card (Green Card) will be issued.
SERVICES