O1 Visa to Green Card

EB-1B Visa Eligibility Requirements

If you are applying for the EB-1 visa as a professor or researcher, you must meet the following criteria:

• Demonstrate international recognition for your achievements in your academic field.
• Have at least 3 years of teaching or research in that academic field
• Provide a letter of employment from a U.S. employer that has documented accomplishments and employs at least 3 full-time researchers

To demonstrate you are an outstanding professor or researcher, you must include 2 out of the following 6:

• Evidence of receipt of major prizes or awards for outstanding achievement
• Evidence of membership in associations that require their members to demonstrate outstanding achievement
• Evidence of published material in professional publications written by others about the noncitizen’s work in the academic field
• Evidence of participation, either on a panel or individually, as a judge of the work of others in the same or allied academic field
• Evidence of original scientific or scholarly research contributions in the field
• Evidence of authorship of scholarly books or articles (in scholarly journals with international circulation) in the field

EB-1C Visa Eligibility Requirements

To switch to an EB-1C visa, you must have worked for at least one year abroad before you got the O-1 visa.

Also, your U.S.-based employer must have been in business for at least one year and have a qualifying relationship with the company you worked with abroad as a manager or executive. For instance, your employer can be a subsidiary or an affiliate of the company abroad.

Additionally, your employer must prove that they are hiring you in a managerial or executive role.

Overview

There are three ways to switch from an O-1 visa to a Green Card through the EB-1 visa category.

• Self-petition
• Have an employer petition for you
• National interest waiver

Self-Petition

With the self-petition method, you will not need an employer to sponsor you. This option is appropriate if you are applying for the EB-1A visa, which you can apply for yourself.

You can self-petition for the EB-1 visa by filing Form I-140, Petition for Alien Worker with the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Service (USCIS).

Employer Petition

If you are applying for the EB-1B or EB1C visas, you will need an employer to sponsor your petition. Your employer is responsible for filing Form I-140, Petition for Alien Worker.

As part of the application, your employer must provide evidence that they have the ongoing financial capacity to pay the wage stated in the job offer from the priority date onwards. They can demonstrate this by submitting an annual report, federal income tax return, or audited financial statement.

National Interest Waiver

You can apply for a national interest waiver if you’d like to waive the employer petition requirement. To qualify for this type of application, you must prove that your work is in the best interest of the United States.

You must show evidence of an advanced degree or an exceptional ability. The USCIS will consider the following factors to determine if you qualify for a national interest waiver:

• Whether the proposed endeavor has both substantial merit and national importance.
• If you are well-positioned to advance the proposed endeavor.
• If it would be beneficial to the United States to waive the requirements of a job offer.

If the USCIS approves your application, you will likely get an EB-2 visa instead of the EB-1 visa. The EB-2 visa is a second-preference employment-based visa for individuals with advanced degrees and exceptional ability.

Overview

While the EB-1 visas are the most appropriate category to apply for with an O-1 visa, there are other permanent residency options you can apply for. They include:

• EB-5 visa
• Family-based visa

EB-5 Visa for Investors

The EB-5 visa is an immigrant visa for investors. To switch from your O-1 to the EB-5 visa, you must be willing and able to:

• Invest in a commercial enterprise in the United States; and
• Plan to create or preserve 10 permanent full-time jobs for qualified U.S. workers.

The commercial enterprise must be a new organization established after November 29, 1990. If the enterprise was established on or before November 29, 1990, your investment should be able to:

• Restructure the company into a new commercial enterprise
• Increase the number of workforce in the company.
• Lead to a 40% increase in the company’s net worth.

To apply for the EB-5 visa, you must file the following forms at different stages of the application process:

• Form I-526, Immigrant Petition by Standalone Investor, or Form I-526E, Immigrant Petition by Regional Center Investor
• File DS-260, Application for Immigrant Visa and Alien Registration or Form I-485, Application to Register Permanent Residence or Adjust Status
• Form I-829, Petition by Investor to Remove Conditions on Permanent Resident Status

Family-Based Visas

You can also switch from an O-1 visa to a Green Card through the family-based route. To meet the eligibility criteria, you must be a family member of a U.S. citizen or permanent resident.

You can either be an immediate family member, including spouses, minor children, and parents, or distant family members classified under the “Family Preference” categories:

• First preference (F1) – unmarried sons and daughters (21 years of age and older) of U.S. citizens;
• Second preference (F2A) – spouses and children (unmarried and under 21 years of age) of lawful permanent residents;
• Second preference (F2B) – unmarried sons and daughters (21 years of age and older) of lawful permanent residents;
• Third preference (F3) – married sons and daughters of U.S. citizens; and
• Fourth preference (F4) – brothers and sisters of U.S. citizens (if the U.S. citizen is 21 years of age and older).

To successfully apply, you must file Form I-485, Application to Register Permanent Residence or Adjust Status. Additionally, your family member under whom you’re applying must file a Form I-130, Petition for Alien Relative on your behalf.