Employment & work visasPOLICY UPDATE
Extraordinary Ability Criteria Clarification
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) is issuing policy guidance in the USCIS Policy Manual to further clarify how USCIS evaluates evidence to determine eligibility for immigrant classification as a person of extraordinary ability.
Effective date and application
This guidance, contained in Volume 6 of the Policy Manual, is effective immediately
Key changes
- U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) is issuing policy guidance in the USCIS Policy Manual to further clarify how USCIS evaluates evidence to determine eligibility for immigrant classification as a person of extraordinary ability.
- Confirms that USCIS considers a person’s receipt of team awards under the criterion for lesser nationally or internationally recognized prizes or awards for excellence in the field of endeavor.
- Clarifies that USCIS considers past memberships under the membership criterion.
- Removes language suggesting published material must demonstrate the value of the person’s work and contributions in order to satisfy the published material criterion, as such requirements are outside the plain regulatory language of the criterion.
- Explains that while the dictionary defines an “exhibition” as a public showing not limited to art, the regulation expressly modifies that term with “artistic,” such that USCIS will only consider non-artistic exhibitions as part of a properly supported claim of comparable evidence.
