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EB1 Green Card – Participation as a Judge

Welcome to our EB1 Green Card Video Presentation Series. In this presentation we’re going to focus on the EB1 green card category of Participation as a Judge.

The actual official wording of this category is:

(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;

You may recall from the EB1 green card introductory presentation where I summarized each of the categories, I re-phrased this category as follows:-

(iv) Judging – Could you provide or develop documentation that would confirm that you have served individually or on a panel to judge the of work of others in the same or an allied field?

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, is a frequently referenced case and the judgment of the court was 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 decided March 4, 2010 also cautioned US Immigration against “unilaterally imposing tighter controls over this or any other category as this is the preserve of Congress. The point being made here is that some of the EB1 green card categories are open to subjective interpretation such as the importance of  (iv) Judging, (v) Major Contribution, (vii) Exhibition or showcases and (viii) playing a leading or critical role. While other categories can be objectively assessed for example, Major International award, (i) Lesser national or international award, (ii) Elite Invited Membership, (iii) Published Material About You, (vi) Scholarly Articles, (ix) High Salary and (x) Commercial Success. The subjective categories are much harder for US Immigration to assess than the objective categories.   In building any EB1 green card case, it’s very important that we try to build the case around the more objective categories than the subjective categories even though each category carries equal weight.  As stated, the subjective categories can give rise to more difficulties, but if we document well any judging experience you may have had, we can still win this category routinely.

If you have never judged or been invited to judge anything in your career to date, start thinking about how you can open up such opportunities. Think outside the box. We have had many clients light up when this option is presented to them and they go off and work on this and before you know it, they’ve managed to get themselves invited onto some panel or another. Getting the judging category satisfied is a very good category because if done well we can move this from a subjective event to an objective event, especially of the other members on the panel have distinguished reputations in their own right, we can document that too.

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 (The Emmys), he just contacted them and gave them 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.  So I look forward to hearing from you with your thoughts, as soon as you have finished watching this EB1 green card presentation series.

We hope you have enjoyed this in depth presentation on the (iv) Judging category.  In the next presentation, we’ll examine the (v) Contribution of Major Significance category.

Checkout these EB1 green card categories below. If you can satisfy three categories, then you may just qualify for your green card. Good luck.

Immigration Law Offices of Chris M. Ingram

Immigration Law Offices of Chris M. Ingram

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
401 Wilshire Boulevard, 12th Floor,
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.

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.

Specializing in the E2 Visa, EB1 Green Card, L-1A Visa and O1 Visa and K1 Visa Marriage-Based Immigration. Attorney Chris M. Ingram is dedicated to providing the very best in US Immigration legal representation. Enjoy our website.

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