EB-1B Green Card for Outstanding Professors and Researchers

You need three things:

1. International recognition as outstanding in a specific academic area.
2. At least 3 years of experience teaching or researching in that area. Research done while earning a PhD can count in some cases, if the degree was awarded and the work is recognized as outstanding.
3. A permanent job offer for a qualifying position (see the next section).

To show international recognition, you must meet at least 2 of these 6 criteria:

USCIS may accept comparable evidence when a criterion does not fit your field. As with the EB-1A, meeting two criteria is only step one. USCIS then weighs all the evidence to decide whether you are truly recognized internationally as outstanding.

Unlike the EB-1A, you cannot file for yourself. The employer files the I-140. Qualifying jobs are:

• A tenured or tenure-track teaching position at a university or other institution of higher education.
• A comparable permanent research position at a university or institution of higher education.
• A comparable permanent research position at a private employer that employs at least 3 full-time researchers and has documented accomplishments in the field.

"Permanent" means the job has no fixed end date and you can expect it to continue. A time-limited postdoc usually does not qualify, which is why many postdocs look at the EB-2 National Interest Waiver instead.

There is no PERM labor certification, so employers skip the recruitment process described in our PERM guide. Many EB-1B researchers are already in the US on an H-1B, O-1A, or J-1 research scholar visa.

Your spouse and unmarried children under 21 can apply as derivatives on their own I-485 or DS-260.

EB-1 gets 28.6% of employment-based green cards each year, about 40,000, plus unused numbers from EB-4 and EB-5. EB-1B shares that pool with EB-1A and the other EB-1 subcategory. No country can use more than 7% of the combined yearly total.

Your priority date is normally the date USCIS receives the I-140. You can take the final step only when the monthly Visa Bulletin shows your date as current.

• Most countries: EB-1 has usually been current or close to it.
• India and China: EB-1 has had backlogs of several years.
• Mexico and the Philippines: usually treated like most countries in EB-1.

Check the Visa Bulletin tracker for this month's dates.

• Adjustment of status (Form I-485) if you are in the US. If your priority date is current, the I-485 can be filed with the I-140.
• Consular processing (DS-260 and a consulate interview) if you are abroad.

Researchers on H-1B or O-1 are in dual-intent status, which helps, but the memo says dual intent alone is not enough. J-1 researchers who are subject to the two-year home residency rule cannot adjust status until they meet it or get a waiver.

The 2026 adjustment of status memo. On May 21, 2026, USCIS issued a policy memo (PM-602-0199) that treats adjustment of status as a discretionary benefit. USCIS said that people who are in the US on a temporary visa and want a green card should expect to apply from their home country, except in extraordinary circumstances. The memo applies to pending and new Form I-485 filings. Meeting the legal requirements is now treated as the minimum: officers weigh your whole record, including whether you used your visa for its stated purpose. Legal challenges were expected, so check the current position before you file.

The 2026 interview freeze. Since August 25, 2026, the State Department has paused scheduling of immigrant visa interviews worldwide while consular officers train on public charge screening. No restart date had been announced as of September 22, 2026. Track it on our immigrant visa pause page.

Travel ban. Nationals of the 39 countries covered by the travel ban (Proclamation 10998, in effect since January 1, 2026) generally cannot receive immigrant visas abroad, and USCIS has held many pending applications from those countries for extra review.

Public charge. A new public charge rule took effect on September 18, 2026. It replaces the 2022 rule with a broader "totality of the circumstances" test of whether you are likely to rely on government support.

Government fees as of September 2026, from the USCIS fee schedule:

Check the USCIS fee calculator before paying. Legal fees are separate.

If your employer will not sponsor you, or your job is temporary, the EB-1A or EB-2 NIW may fit. See also EB-1A vs EB-2 NIW.