O-1A Extraordinary Ability

Requirements

• Sustained national or international acclaim
• Meet at least 3 of 8 criteria for extraordinary ability
• Coming to US to work in area of extraordinary ability
• A US employer or agent must file the petition; there is no O-1 self-petition
• Advisory opinion from peer group or labor organization

Time and cost

Processing time

2-4 months (Premium: 15 business days)

Validity

Up to 3 years, renewable in 1-year increments

Cost

From $1,860

Required

• $1,055 Form I-129 petition (standard; small employer $530)
• $600 Asylum Program Fee (standard; small employer $300, nonprofit $0)
• $205 visa application fee

Optional

• $250 visa-integrity fee at issuance, if your post already charges it, as DHS is still rolling it out post by post ($250 is the statutory floor before annual inflation adjustments)
• $2,965 premium processing

Path to residency

Can self-petition for EB-1A green card

Documents

• Evidence of awards/prizes (if it applies)

  National or international recognition

• Published articles about you (if it applies)

  Media coverage in major publications

• Evidence of judging others’ work (if it applies)

  Panel judge, reviewer, etc.

• Original contributions documentation (if it applies)

  Patents and documented innovations

• Scholarly articles authored (if it applies)

  Publications in professional journals

• High salary documentation (if it applies)

  Evidence of high remuneration

• Membership in associations (if it applies)

  Requiring outstanding achievement

• Expert testimonial letters (if it applies)

  Optional corroborating evidence; no fixed number of letters is required

Your family

Status your spouse and unmarried children under 21 can hold alongside this route. Children can study on it too.

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