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 you need to meet

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

1. Receipt of nationally or internationally recognized prizes or awards for excellence in the field.
2. Membership in associations that require outstanding achievement, as judged by recognized experts.
3. Published material about you and your work in professional, trade, or 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 to the field.
6. Authorship of scholarly articles in professional, trade, or major media.
7. Display of your work at artistic exhibitions or showcases.
8. Performance in a leading or critical role for organizations with a distinguished reputation.
9. High salary or other significantly high remuneration for services, relative to others in the field.
10. Commercial success in the performing arts, evidenced by box office receipts or record/video sales.

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

The formal minimum is three criteria. As of September 2026, immigration attorneys recommend meeting 5-6 criteria with a safety margin: an officer may reject some pieces of evidence, and at the next stage the overall body of evidence gets weighed again. For a breakdown of individual criteria, see EB-1A criteria explained.

How USCIS Evaluates Your Case After the Criteria: Final Merits Determination

Review of an EB-1A petition happens in two stages. First, an officer checks each criterion individually — does the evidence match its wording. Second, during final merits determination, the officer weighs all the evidence together to decide whether the applicant genuinely belongs to the small percentage at the top of the field and has sustained national or international acclaim.

That's why a petition with three formally met 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 the field shows no response to them;
• a role in a project or company is described in general terms, without a clear personal contribution.

If the officer has doubts, USCIS may 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 each point raised individually, since the decision is made based on the record as it stands at the time of review.

Premium processing doesn't change the standard of review: within 15 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 the I-140 Petition Costs and How Long the Decision Takes

The EB-1A petition is filed with USCIS on Form I-140. Fees at this stage:

USCIS describes the Asylum Program Fee as a fee charged to employers filing Form I-129, I-129CW, or I-140. Before filing, check how it applies to self-petitions against USCIS guidance on paying fees for Form I-140: an incorrect payment can result in the petition being rejected.

Without premium processing, per September 2026 reports, I-140 review can take a year or more. 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 itself is obtained in a separate step — either adjustment of status inside the U.S. or an immigrant visa through 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 origin, and that backlogs are typical for EB-2 and EB-3 for nationals of China and India (USCIS on immigrant pathways for STEM). In practice, priority date backlogs in EB-1 aren't limited to India and China.

As of October 2026, EB-1 has stopped being current for the rest of the world and Mexico as well. Per the October 2026 visa bulletin, final approval of a green card is possible only if the priority date is no later than January 1, 2025; before that, the category was current. That's a setback of nearly 1 year and 9 months. "Rest of the world" covers all countries for which the bulletin doesn't set separate dates, including Ukraine.

Against this backdrop, the overall cap has shrunk: for fiscal year 2027, which began on October 1, 2026, the base quota for employment-based visas is 140,000. In fiscal year 2026, an add-on of roughly 46,300 visas boosted the total cap to 186,317.

For India, the bulletin shows the following dates:

EB-2 for India opened in October 2026 for the first time after a period when the category was closed.

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 submitting paperwork in advance. In October 2026, I-485 applications for adjustment of status inside the U.S. under EB-1 and EB-2 are accepted based on filing dates. That means I-485 can be filed even before your date becomes current in the final action table, but the green card itself can only be approved after that. Which table applies is determined monthly — check before filing. For more detail, see the breakdown of the October 2026 visa bulletin.

The priority date is locked in when the I-140 petition is filed. An approved petition means your place in line is secured, but you can only finalize the green card once your date becomes current in the bulletin. Premium processing at $2,965 doesn't shorten the backlog: it only speeds up the decision on the petition, after which the wait for EB-1 for India, as of 2026, is roughly 3 years.

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

EB-2 and EB-3 generally require PERM certification, which, as of 2026, takes roughly 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 of extraordinary ability. Some applicants choose a two-stage path: first coming to the U.S. on an O-1, working there and building up a record of recognition, then filing an EB-1A petition. The final green card stage can then proceed as an adjustment of status inside the country, without an immigrant visa interview at a consulate.

If your evidence so far only covers one or two criteria, filing EB-1A right away is risky: a denial doesn't bar a repeat petition, but it does cost fees and time.