Evidential Standards

There are two ways to establish O-1 eligibility, he or she can either provide evidence to show receipt of major, internationally recognized award such as Nobel Prize; or show that he or she meet at least 3 of 8 criteria provided by law, including:

• Receipt of nationally or internationally recognized prizes or awards for excellence in the field of endeavor
• Membership in associations in the field which require outstanding achievements of their members
• Published material about the alien
• Participation as a judge of the work of others in the same or allied fields
• Evidence of original contributions of significance in the field
• Authorship of scholarly articles
• Evidence of employment in a critical or essential capacity for organizations with a distinguished reputation
• Evidence that the alien has or will command a high salary

While these criteria may sound quite straight forward, each criteri will be carefully evaluated and could be challenged by USCIS.