EB-1A

The EB-1A is the gold standard of employment-based green cards. It's reserved for individuals with extraordinary ability in sciences, arts, education, business, or athletics, and it comes with major advantages over other green card categories.

First, you can self-petition. No employer sponsor needed. Second, there's no PERM labor certification requirement, which saves months (sometimes years) of processing time. Third, EB-1A has its own visa allocation, and for most countries, there's no significant backlog, meaning you could go from filing to green card in under a year.

The evidentiary standard is similar to the O-1A visa: you need to demonstrate sustained national or international acclaim by meeting at least 3 of 10 criteria. If you already hold an O-1A, you likely have a strong EB-1A case too. Many founders use the O-1A as a bridge while building their EB-1A petition.

The EB-1A is perfect for founders, CTOs, principal engineers, researchers, and executives who have a documented track record of extraordinary achievement. If you've raised significant funding, hold patents, have been featured in major publications, earn a high salary, or have received industry awards, you're likely a strong candidate.

It's also a great option if you're already on an O-1A or H-1B and want to transition to permanent residency without depending on your employer to sponsor a green card through the slower PERM process.