Those individuals are recognized national or international as outstanding in a specific field, in receipt of an offer for tenure or a tenure track, or comparable research position.

USCIS regulations state that a petition for an outstanding researcher or professor must be accompanied by evidence that the professor or researcher is recognized internationally as outstanding in the academic field. Such evidence shall consist of at least two of the following:

(1) Documentation of the individual?s receipt of major prizes or awards for outstanding achievement in the academic field;

(2) Documentation of the person?s membership in associations in the academic field that require outstanding achievements of their members;

(3) Published material in professional publications written by others about the person?s work in the academic field. Such material shall include the title, date, and author of the material, and any necessary translation;

(4) Evidence of the individual?s participation, either individually or on a panel, as the judge of the work of others in the same or an allied academic field;

(5) Evidence of the person?s original scientific or scholarly research contributions to the academic field; or

(6) Evidence of the individual?s authorship of scholarly books or articles (in scholarly journals with international circulation) in the academic field.

The applicant should have at least three years of experience in teaching and/or conducting research.  Evidence of teaching and/or research experience shall be in the form of letter from former or current employer and shall include the name, address, and title of the writer, and a specific description of the duties performed by the person.

The term "permanent," in reference to a research position, means "either tenured, tenure-track, or similar".   While most researchers do not have tenure or tenure track positions, USCIS has defined "or similar" very broadly so that it actually includes almost all other types of positions.  At-will employment is eligible for this classification, as are all permanent positions.  Positions dependant on funding or for a specific duration may be eligible, please call or email us to discuss this point.

There need to be at least 3 full-time employees if the employer is a private company.

The employer must be a University, non-profit or for-profit company or other such institute.  Governmental entities are not eligible to apply for their employees in this catagory.