EB1 Green Card 8 C.F.R. 204.5(h) (3) – Have You Ever Been Invited to Judge the Work of Your Peers? *

EB1 Green Card - Have you ever been invited to sit on any kind of panel to judge the work of your peers? If you have fantastic, you may have just satisfied another EB1 green card category, if not then maybe this would be a great opportunity for you to do so.

Participation as a Judge; Individually or on a Panel

EB1 Check List:

Evidence of Eligibility: 8 C.F.R. 204.5(h) (3)

 (iv) Evidence of the alien’s participation, either individually or on a panel, as a judge of work of others in the same or an allied field of specialization for which classification is sought;

Many top professionals are required to or have been invited to sit on some kind of panel to judge the work of others in fact it’s practically routine in many industries.  Until recently US Immigration EB1 green card examiners have been trying to tighten up on this area as it was perhaps seen as a very easy category to satisfy. USCIS began artificially trying to impose new criteria to disqualify EB1 green card candidates by saying that if their work as a judge was within their own company then it would not count. Alternatively, if their work as a judge was not due to the extraordinary ability then this too would not count. The plain reading of the above regulation does not impose such narrow restrictions.  

The case Buletini v INS, 860 F. Supp. 1222, 1231, 1234 (E.D. Mich 1994) is a frequently recited case in Administrative Appeals Office cases that provides, inter alia, specially at 1129 that the alien does not have to prove that his selection as a judge was as a result of his extraordinary abilities.  Moreover, the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit Kazarian v. USCIS filed March 4, 2010 also cautioned against the AAO “unilaterally impose[ing] a novel evidentiary requirement” citing Love Korean Church, 549 F.3d at 758.  Since, March 4^th US Immigration EB1 green card adjudicators are now having to get back in line with what the above 8 C.F.R. 204.5(h) (3) regulations say on this issue.

Armed with this latter case of Kazarian we can confidently encourage our clients that if you have been invited to judge the work of your peers in any capacity whether inside your company or outside this may be a great category you can satisfy towards your EB1 green card case.

EB1 Green Card - Many of our clients have been able to fulfill a joint role of being an invited guest speaker and then in addition have been invited to judge the work of a graduating class at a University or Institute.

If you have never sat on any kind of panel before and having reviewed the EB1 green card checklist you’re still struggling to find that third category then I would encourage you try and network and volunteer your way into a judging situation. There may be opportunities where your experience and skill would make you an ideal candidate to serve.  Obviously, it should go without saying that the judging must be you judging people in broadly the same field as to your own expertise. Recently I had a client who is a journalist and I discussed this issue with him and he went off and within a few weeks came back and said that he’d just been invited to sit on the panel of a very prestigious panel (I can’t mention the name), he just contacted them and gave in his credentials and they happened to need a volunteer panelist and he was accepted. We were both amazed and delighted.

I would personally like to encourage you to contact us so that we can work closely with you in not only identifying which categories might work best for you but also discuss what categories you may be closest to. We have many clients who have retained us to help them at an early stage to work up their EB1 green card cases. Also, there are some clients whom having studied the list of EB1 green card criteria find that they can, at least in theory, satisfy more than three categories and had no idea that this tremendous opportunity even existed for them.

I look forward to hearing from you with your good news.

 By Attorney Chris M. Ingram

EB1 Green Card Checklist -
One Time International Award -
National Award -
Invited Membership -
Published Material About You -
Judging -
Innovation -
Scholarly Articles -
Exhibition or Showcases -
Leading / Critical Role -
High Salary -
Commercial Success -

US Immigration Law Offices of Chris M. Ingram
Chris M. Ingram LL.M., ESQ – Immigration Attorney
Admitted in New York.
Practice Specializing in US Immigration Law
520 Broadway, Suite 350,
Santa Monica,
California 90401
Tel: 310 496 4292

Everyday the Law Offices of Chris M. Ingram provides a comprehensive range of US Immigration expertise. We also provide a free consultation for our prospective clients. 

General Location:  Santa Monica , Santa Clarita, Los Angeles, California, USA.
Serving all 50 States
Copyright 2010

Please note that nothing contained in this website or link therefrom shall be regarded as providing legal advice. Please contact us directly for legal advice specific to your situation. Thank You.