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Dobrina Ustun ✓ Attorney · 1 week ago

Let's start with the basics. Under the final merits analysis, you have to show a "history of sustained acclaim." What does that even mean? Do you have to be famous? Like New York Times famous? And how do you prove it when your whole career has been heads-down technical work as an engineer, a data scientist, or some other kind of technologist? Short answer: no. You do not have to be famous in the sense that everyone in the country knows your name. Would it help? Absolutely. It would be amazing evidence. But let's be honest, not everyone is a household name, and you do not need to be one to win. So what does sustained acclaim actually mean? You have to present objective evidence, and I mean objective. Not a stack of glowing recommendation letters from people who like you. The evidence has to show two things. First, that your field has recognized you as an expert in your specific niche or in what you do. Second, that when the field needs an expert, you are one of the people it turns to. Okay, sounds great in theory. But what does "objective evidence" actually look like? Glad you asked. It is proof that: your work has been adopted and used by others in the field you get invited to speak at conferences and industry events, not just to present your own paper you are asked to sit on advisory boards you are brought in to collaborate on projects you contribute to the innovative work the field is actively trying to solve That is what acclaim looks like for someone with an industry profile. In a sense, yes, you are "famous," because your work has made a dent in the field. Now here is the part people get wrong, and it is the hard part of final merits. It is not about showing that you judged 5 or 10 things and calling it a day. What matters is why you were chosen to judge, and how that judging moves the needle in your field. You were invited because of your expertise and because your opinion carries weight, not because you sent an email volunteering. That is what being "famous" means in EB-1A terms. So no, you do not need to be a celebrity. You need to be the person your field points to when it needs an expert. That is the kind of famous USCIS is looking for.

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Dobrina Ustun ✓ Attorney · 3 months ago

EB-1A RFEs are becoming more common — and more aggressive. Here's what I'm seeing, and what actually works when you respond. First, not all RFEs are equal. There's a big difference between a template RFE (manageable, you likely already have what you need) and a super aggressive one — 15 to 30 pages that attack every piece of evidence. In the latter case, the officer has often already made up their mind. Sometimes the right call is to withdraw and refile rather than fight a losing battle. For the ones worth responding to, a few things matter: 1. Know who you're responding to. USCIS officers are not immigration attorneys. They often work from templates without deep knowledge of EB-1A standards or case precedents. Write your response accordingly — clear, structured, and legally grounded. 2. Push back on requests that exceed the regulations. USCIS regularly asks for things that simply aren't required by law — what's called ultra vires requests. If the regulation doesn't require it, you don't have to treat the request as valid. Cite the actual regulation and say so explicitly. 3. Don't just submit more documents. If you already submitted strong evidence, make USCIS engage with it. Burying it under more paper doesn't help — a well-argued legal response does. 4. When they cite case law, read the actual decision. USCIS uses the same cases repeatedly and often mischaracterizes them. More than once, I've taken a case they cited against my client and used it to support our position instead. Getting an RFE doesn't mean your case is over. It means you have a fight on your hands — and how you respond is everything. If you're navigating an RFE right now and want to talk through it, feel free to drop a question in the comments or connect with me on OCIVerse. 👉 oneclickimmigration.com/community

Since taking office, President Trump has prioritized national security and public safety by implementing a series of executive orders and proclamations that mandate strict screening and vetting of foreign nationals seeking entry or immigration benefits.

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U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services recently played a critical role in the arrest of Dawood Hussain, an illegal Pakistani alien charged with felony vehicular homicide, after driving a commercial truck the wrong way on a Pennsylvania highway in October 2023.

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