Episode Details

Analysis of EB-1 Extraordinary Talent Visa, 2nd Prong of Kazarian Decision

Show Notes​02:08 - The example of my initial mistake in filing an EB-1 case for former coach and current athlete 03:00 - My recent EB-1 consultation with a client that was a former player and current coach 04:07 Basic Regulations for the EB-1a, E11 or EB-1c Extraordinary Talent Immigrant Visa Category 05:45 - Most recent AAO decisions about this issue 10:28 - Analysis and Tips for Filing Such EB-1 Cases 11:25 - 1) Creating an Exact Job Title for the Field of Acclaim and Talent 13:52 - 2) Showing Sustained Acclaim in the Field of Extraordinary Talent 14:48 - 3) Continuing in the field of expertise upon entering the U.S. 16:48 - Conclusion

Introduction One of the most frustrating problems in any immigration practice is turning down good clients. For the business-immigration side of my practice, this occurs regularly in EB-1 Extraordinary Talent cases when the client presents some good evidence of national and international awards and acclaim in their field but falls short of the stringent requirements for this visa. For me this mostly happens for athletes, but also for those in the entertainment field and other areas. This typically is the case for older clients, where they present great documents showing success and awards…but those document being from 10 years earlier. Some of them have transitioned from playing the sport as an athlete to becoming a coach/trainer or sports broadcaster, or sometimes a musician has changed from a performing artist to producer or teacher. The transition could mean that although they were once able to obtain Lawful Permanent Residency in the U.S. through the EB-1 program, their current facts may give them difficulties. The first time I ran into this problem was when I first started practicing immigration law and I wasn't aware of the issues presented when a client had not sustained their ability in a particular field after having moved on or evolving into other areas of that field. In this instance, I submitted the case for a former award winning martial art athlete that was now a full-time trainer. On the Form I-140, I simply stated that the job title was "Martial Artist" but provided evidence of both athletic success and coaching success. The USCIS sent me back a very polite Request for Evidence (or RFE) saying that I needed to choose: either the Beneficiary was an athlete or a coach. He could not be both for these purposes. Luckily in that case my client had established himself as a stronger coach than he ever was as a player and I dodged a bullet in this nuanced area of Employment-Based Immigrant Visas. I most recently dealt with this issue during a case consultation I had was with a former athlete that won his last international award in 2007, but had not had noteworthy success as an athlete from that time until his retirement in 2012. After retiring from playing, he made the transition to coaching. He was in the process of working his way up to the top of that field, recently becoming the national coach for his team. But he wasn't happy when I told him that I didn't think he could use his history as a player, and that his current coaching was probably not enough yet to show sustained success to the level needed to be a strong EB-1 candidate. Today I am going to analyze some case history to help practitioners through this murky area. This issue must be coming up a lot since I see it so many times in AAO decisions and when other immigration attorneys come to me for consultations and guidance about their cases. This information will also help your judgment of which cases to take on based on case history. I will begin by doing a general overview of the pertinent regulation, going over two recent AAO decisions touching upon this issue and then providing guidance and tips on the three important areas of the 2nd part of the two part analysis of an EB-1 case. The Regulation The basic regulat