Category: Expert Letters

No Degree, No Problem: Qualifying for L-1B Blanket Transfers Without a Bachelor’s 

Posted by: Park Evaluations

By Shela Ward An L-1B blanket petition can be a powerful, streamlined option for global companies seeking to transfer multiple employees with specialized knowledge to the United States, even if candidates do not hold a bachelor’s degree. Many specialized professionals get their start through vocational training or apprenticeships, and it’s common for them to lack a formal bachelor-level education. While this would normally disqualify them from inclusion in an L-1B blanket petition, their extensive expertise and years of training may provide another pathway: an experience-based bachelor’s degree equivalency. Park’s expert network houses university professors from a wide variety of technical disciplines who specialize in assessing how work experience translates to undergraduate education. L-1B blanket candidates with at least twelve years of progressively responsible ...

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Extraordinary Ability in the Arts: How Park Can Help Get Your EB-1A and O-1B Petitions Approved  

Posted by: Park Evaluations | in ,

By Amy Fredrickson O-1B and EB-1A petitions for candidates in the arts often face increased scrutiny due to the subjective nature of assessing what constitutes “extraordinary ability” in this area. Sufficiently demonstrating extraordinary ability in the arts requires nuanced arguments that speak to niche concepts. Proving the artistic merit and cultural relevance of a contribution, as well as the caliber of an award, helps establish a position within the arts as leading or critical.  Park helps deliver these nuanced arguments for O-1B and arts-related EB-1A petitions through specialty expert letters. We provide support on behalf of applicants in fields ranging from film, television, music, culinary arts, dance, and even graphic design.  We recently supported a cinematographer applying for an O-1B visa. Through a detailed letter, our film expert demonstrated the importance of cinematography for a film’s success. They outlined the candidate’s artistic merits and contributions within the larger industry, picking apart the dynamics of visual storytelling that elevated the beneficiary’s work to “extraordinary ability” level. 

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The NIW Flight Path for the Aviation Industry

Posted by: Park Evaluations

By Shela Ward  The aviation industry is facing a growing demand for skilled pilots, safety experts, and maintenance managers. The National Interest Waiver (NIW) has increasingly become an appealing immigration pathway for professionals in this field.   Unlike many of the employment-based options for a green card, the NIW lets individuals self-petition without an employer sponsor or labor certification, offering a powerful route to residency. This is a strong option for aviation professionals, as it offers flexibility and independence in an industry where job opportunities can shift quickly due to fluctuating hiring cycles, mergers, or operational changes. By demonstrating that their skills and contributions benefit the country, aviation professionals can position themselves as valuable assets to the country’s national interest.  At ...

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How an Expert Opinion Letter can help avoid an RFE on Extraordinary Ability cases

Posted by: Park Evaluations

Even the most impressive, highly qualified applicants can receive RFEs on their Extraordinary Ability visa cases. This doesn’t mean they lack achievement, but the evidence package may not explain or verify candidates' accomplishments in ways immigration officers expect. The good news? Many RFEs stem from predictable issues that a well-crafted expert opinion letter can address. Some of these common RFE triggers include: Achievements that don’t appear extraordinary Applicants list impressive accomplishments, but without proper context, USCIS may view evidence as commonplace for someone in their field. Adjudicators need to see how the work stands out and why it’s rare, influential, or groundbreaking. Indication of international acclaim and reputation, as a result of the candidate’s accomplishments in their field, aids in reaching a successful determination ...

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Specialty Occupation Challenges – How disparate is too disparate?

Posted by: Park Evaluations

By: Hannah Welbourn During the first Trump administration, one highly scrutinized area of the H-1B was the acceptable degree requirements for a specialty occupation. While we can’t predict what this year's RFEs will look like, specialty occupation remains the main challenge we see on H-1B RFEs, and degree requirements remain the crux of the issue for many, if not most, of those cases. Specialty occupations such as computer programmers were significantly challenged during the first Trump administration. In most cases, these roles would require a degree in computer science. While some degree fields, such as information technology, software engineering, or computer engineering, often overlap significantly with computer science in coursework and skills, others may pose challenges. As an example, a candidate with a ...

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What is a Work Experience “Combo” Expert Opinion?

Posted by: Park Evaluations

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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