Gaining Permanent Residence Quickly Through the Outstanding Researcher Category
For employers sponsoring a foreign national employee for a green card, the process can take years, even for top talent. Holding onto these key employees, particularly in the area of research and development, is a priority for companies seeking to maintain their competitive edge. So what are the alternatives? For researchers, there is the outstanding researcher category.
So what do you need to prove up such a case to U.S. Citizenship & Immigration Services? An employer can sponsor an individual who is recognized internationally in a specific academic field, has three years experience in research, and the private employer has at least 3 full-time employees engaged in research activities in the department.
What evidence must be submitted? The regulations outline specific criteria to be submitted which include at last two of the following (but more is better): (1) receipt of major prizes or awards for academic achievement; (2) membership in associations requiring outstanding achievements of their members; (3) published material in professional publications written by others about the applicant’s work in the academic field; (4) participation as the judge of the work of others in the same or an allied academic field; (5) original scientific or scholarly research contributions; (6) authorship of scholarly books or articles in scholarly journals with international circulation in the academic field.
Individuals who may qualify for this category include researchers, scientists, or others who conduct research. For more information, contact Suzanne Brummett, Senior Counsel within the Immigration Practice Group, at sbrummett@cdflaborlaw.com.