EB-1A
Huge
Green-card under EB-1A category is especially important for people who hold India passport, as waiting times are huge for India, China and Mexico under EB-2 or EB-3 category
With proper planning, an EB-1A green-card can be achieved in 3 to 5 years time
EB1-A does not need an employer's support, and is a self petition
EB-1A criteria
There are a total of 10 criteria requirements for EB1-A
3 requirements must be met for eligibility to file under EB-1A
see details at this link: https://www.uscis.gov/working-in-the-united-states/permanent-workers/employment-based-immigration-first-preference-eb-1
Following are some of the criteria that doctors in healthcare can qualify
Scholarly articles
'Evidence of your authorship of scholarly articles in professional or major trade publications or other major media'
All have to be first author papers
Having one would make you qualify, however to establish significance, it is recommended to have as many first author papers as possible
Although there is no magic number, 15 to 20 first author papers would be a good start
Judging
'Evidence that you have been asked to judge the work of others, either individually or on a panel'
Journal article peer-reviews help satisfy this criteria
Again, having one peer-review would make you qualify, however to establish significance, at least 10 to 15 peer-reviews are needed
IMPORTANT: the evidence that USCIS accepts under this criteria is the final 'Thank You' email that you receive from the journal - SAVE THEM
Contributions
'Evidence of your original scientific, scholarly, artistic, athletic, or business-related contributions of major significance to the field'
Citations record is the proof to submit under this criteria
Create a google-scholar profile and monitor your citations report
This is the most 'grey' area among the eligibility criteria. Depending on the immigration officer, 300 citations could do the trick, or they can ask for 2000+ citations!
High-salary
'Evidence that you command a high salary or other significantly high remuneration in relation to others in the field'
Possibility to consider this criteria could be explored if working in a remote area, or under J1 waiver or if you reasons to believe your salary could be high in relation to others
Your immigration lawyer can help check this, and your W2 for past 2-years is whats required as evidence
About you
'Evidence of published material about you in professional or major trade publications or other major media'
Although this criteria refers to published article about you in major media, it all depends on the lawyer how they write up your case
Publications about you on 'GastroEndo News', "Helio Gastroenterology', or similar news media can help, so save these
Does not count
Conference presentations (poster or oral), conference awards do not count
Co-authorship does not count, have to be first-author
Letters
Support letters are an important part of EB-1A application
Letters have to be from people who have not worked with you, and this makes it particularly hard for eminent people to write a support letter for your case
Contact me for sample email requesting such a letter
Identify at least 10 people who can write/ sign such a letter for you beforehand, so that when the time comes you have your letter writers ready
Lawyers
Victoria Chen & Associates are well reputed to handle EB-1A cases for physicians, check out: https://www.wegreened.com/ for a free assessment of your credentials
There are other lawyer groups as well, check out this group on facebook: https://www.facebook.com/GreencardForPhysicians
Remember to let your lawyer know to make sure to submit your case to the Texas office (assumed to have higher success chance as compared to Nebraska office), which is based on your correspondence address on file
Important
As previously mentioned, save the Thank-You emails from journals when you complete your article peer-reviews
Ensure your 'birth certificate' is in English, if its not, try to take care of this, as it can be an important limiting point while filing the 'green-card' application, that is form I-485
Ensure right time filing of your taxes, as this is asked for during I-485 submission
Make sure to have all vaccination record, get boosters as warranted (like Hep-B, TT boosters), as this is looked into during the 'medical examiners' report, or form I-693
More
Make sure you have all your past passports and visa stamp pages
EB-1A approval gives you an approved I-140
Following this, you file I-485 (the application for GC) and you can also file I-765, or EAD (employment authorization document), and 'Advance Parole' or I-131
Although your lawyer will guide you, its good to know about the filing dates and action dates on current visa bulletin here https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/legal/visa-law0/visa-bulletin.html
My case
I had enough number of first-author papers and enough number of peer-reviews
However, as an Asst. Prof of Medicine (I was a hospitalist in 2019 when my GC was filed), the officer asked for 2000+ citations (I only had some 300 odd citations at that time)
Luckily, my lawyer handled the RFE (requirement for further evidence) and my case was approved after submission of additional evidence and support letters
Finally
There is no one 'mantra' that works for everyone
Definitely give it a try when you think the time is right, as having a GC opens up so much opportunities for international physicians
Plan early and reach out to more than one person for inputs
Even if you are denied, the denial DOES NOT carry forward as a negative feature on your future applications
I knew nothing about GC when I was a resident, and I think every international resident should know these details at least by their 2nd year of residency
Finally, I am sure I might have missed certain details, please reach out and let me know
