EB-1 Green Cards: Foreign National Performers/Artists with Sustained National or International Acclaim

Background

If you are a foreign national with “extraordinary ability” and you are interested in pursuing a U.S. green card, the EB-1 category may be your best route to achieving this outcome. At Kaplan and Trombi Immigration Law, we help our entertainment clients obtain this status as seamlessly as possible.

About the EB-1 Preference Category

To qualify a U.S. green card through the EB-1 preference category, applicants in the entertainment industry must prove their extraordinary ability through sustained national or international acclaim. Individuals that may qualify include actors, writers, directors, producers, and choreographers, to name a few.

Requirements

To show extraordinary ability, an applicant must either demonstrate receipt of a major award (e.g. Oscar, Nobel Prize, Pulitzer Prize) or provide evidence of high achievement in three of the following criteria:

• The applicant has received lesser nationally or internationally recognized prizes or awards for excellence;
• The applicant has achieved membership in associations in the field which demand outstanding achievement of their members;
• There is published material about the applicant in professional or major trade publications or other major media;
• The applicant has been asked to judge the work of others, individually or on a panel;
• The applicant’s original scientific, scholarly, artistic, athletic, or business-related contributions of major significance to the field;
• The applicant’s authorship of scholarly articles in professional or major trade publications or other major media;
• The applicant’s work has been displayed at artistic exhibitions or showcases; 
• The applicant’s performance of a leading or critical role in distinguished organizations; 
• The applicant commands a high salary or other significantly high remuneration in relation to others in the field;
• The applicant has commercial successes in the performing arts.