Category: Expert Letters

What is a Work Experience “Combo” Expert Opinion?

Posted by: jeremy grysman

By: Hannah Welbourn Last time, we covered necessary information for ensuring a strong petition support by one of Park’s Academic EDGE-enhanced evaluations. But what about cases where the beneficiary’s underlying academic credentials don’t make the Specialty Occupation cut? For cases where academic credentials alone don’t meet the necessary standards for immigration purposes, reach out to [email protected] for a Work Experience or “Combo” Expert Opinion Letter. These letters apply USCIS’ 3:1 rule, which allows three years of progressive, relevant work experience to be evaluated as equivalent to one year of college-level experience, up to four years. Our team of experts, who are college professors in a wide range of fields, are authorized to grant college-level experience through their university’s Prior Learning ...

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Successfully shifting from L-1B to L-1A: Navigating the Shift from Specialized Knowledge to Personnel Management

Posted by: Park Evaluations

Written by: Hannah Welbourn Last year, we successfully assisted a client securing an L-1A visa for a candidate whose position abroad was based on specialized knowledge of the organization’s propriety tools, processes, and methodologies, but whose U.S. role was classified as personnel manager. Given the change in classification, we developed a tailored strategy to align the expert opinion letter with USCIS requirements and effectively demonstrate the candidate’s managerial qualifications.   The beneficiary previously held the role of Vice President, Technology at a high-profile finance company’s India location and was applying for an intracompany transfer to Vice President, Technology in the US. While the job title remained the same, their role in the US required personnel management duties. We needed to demonstrate that the US position met the criteria for ...

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Navigating EB-1A Challenges: How You Can Leverage Comparable Evidence

Posted by: Park Evaluations | in ,

By: Hailey Sylvander and Hannah Welbourn Demonstrating extraordinary ability can be tricky — especially when a candidate’s work doesn’t check the exact boxes that USCIS looks for. This is where “comparable evidence” comes into play. USCIS states that comparable evidence is applicable when the criteria does not align with the candidate's occupation, while also noting that if their occupation is more industry focused, using comparable evidence in the criterion’s stead is more appropriate. This is especially important for emerging industries in which a more “traditional” category may not apply. For instance, an applicant may not have ever appeared in a major trade publication or won an internationally recognized award, but they can submit alternative documentation that is similar in nature. Essentially, even if ...

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Unlocking the NIW Path: How Artists in Unique Fields Can Qualify

Posted by: Park Evaluations | in ,

By: Shela Ward & Hannah Welbourn It may come as a surprise that the EB-2 NIW visa applies to more than professionals in technical roles; it can also apply to professionals in the arts. As long as their work benefits the U.S. national interest, and they have met the requirements for the three-prong test, artists of multiple mediums can make a compelling case for an NIW by providing solid evidence of their past contributions and outlining their future plans. Park is prepared for these unique cases in which an artist could qualify for an NIW by demonstrating how their work will benefit the U.S. on a broader level, particularly in the fields of cultural enrichment or educational advancement. For example, we recently ...

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Extraordinary Ability Evidence Not So Extraordinary?

Posted by: Park Evaluations

Written by: Hailey Sylvander Have you ever had a time when you believed your client exhibited extraordinary ability, but the evidence just wasn’t quite there? Maybe the evidence just did not match up perfectly with what USCIS is typically looking for, or maybe you had minimal evidence that needed to be used for more than one criterion… If so, how do you handle this? Park Evaluations recently handled an O-1A letter in the field of equity research that dealt with this very problem. The petitioner wanted the following criteria to be discussed: original contributions, leading or critical role; authorship of scholarly articles; published material about the candidate; membership; and salary. However, some ...

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Understanding “Research Only” Ph.D. Programs: A Closer Look

Posted by: Park Evaluations

By: Howard Borenstein I would like to devote this blog post to discussing the “research only” Ph.D. programs. The impetus for this is that over the past month, we have received two RFE’s specifically on Greek Ph.D. programs claiming that a Ph.D. from Greece was not equivalent to a Ph.D. in the US. This is despite the fact that Greece only offers research-based and not classroom-based Ph.D. programs. AACRAO EDGE is clear that the Ph.D. degree from Greece is indeed equivalent to an earned doctorate in the United States. The nature of the challenges I have seen, in my opinion, reveals USCIS’ specific understanding of higher education. Namely, that a bachelor’s ...

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Declaring “National Importance” with an Employer-Focused Proposed Endeavor

Posted by: Park Evaluations | in , , , ,

By: Hailey Sylvander We recently facilitated an interesting expert opinion letter for one of our clients’ National Interest Waiver (NIW) petitions. The beneficiary worked in mechanical engineering and robotics, specifically as it applies to biotechnology – a field with countless benefits to the United States, its economy, and its society. While demonstrating the national importance of this work would not normally be a challenge for our experts, the stated endeavor at the heart of this petition carried a strong focus on the beneficiary’s work for the petitioning company. And supporting a “proposed endeavor” that is employer-focused does require extra care, as USCIS often does, and most likely would ...

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The National Interest Waiver: How to Prove a Beneficiary is Beneficial

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The National Interest Waiver: How to Prove a Beneficiary is Beneficial

  By Maddie Carlson  What is a National Interest Waiver and how can you get one? As one might expect from the name alone, having an offer of employment is typically required for individuals seeking an EB-2 employment-based, second preference visa. But in certain cases, a candidate may want to waive the employment requirement and labor certification portion of the EB-2 petition process. This commonly occurs when an applicant displays expertise in their industry and is seeking work that would benefit the United States. In these cases, the candidate may qualify for a National Interest Waiver (NIW) that would remove the need for a pre-established employment offer. However, pursuing a National Interest Waiver does add to the petitioner’s burden of proof. In addition ...

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Blanket L-1 Visas and How Companies can Benefit

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By: Hannah Rae Welbourn When a multinational company sends an employee to a subsidiary in the United States, candidates will need to be granted L-1 status through USCIS. But what if they need to send more than one employee at a time? That’s where the L-1 Blanket visa comes in. While a regular L-1 visa is granted on an individual basis, Blanket status grants multiple employees from the same company the ability to transfer to the states to work at a U.S. branch. The criteria for employees (managerial capacity for L-1A and specialized knowledge for L-1B) remains the same, but the process of obtaining this kind of L-1 status is expedited, sometimes up ...

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The O-1: Eight Ways to Identify Extraordinary Ability

Posted by: Park Evaluations | in , ,

By Maddie Carlson When a beneficiary’s innovations have been recognized either nationally or internationally, an O-1 visa may be the ideal application process for highlighting their importance to their field. An O-1, or Extraordinary Ability or Achievement letter, focuses on up to eight different criteria that demonstrate an individual’s excellence in their career. The O-1A details a beneficiary’s excellence in the sciences, arts, education, business, or athletics. This visa can also be further specified as an O-1B, which focuses on individuals with extraordinary ability and achievement in the motion picture or television industry. Forming an O-1 application requires enough evidence to build a case that the beneficiary is indeed hard to come by ...

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