EB1 Requirements: 2026 Criteria, Fees, and Priority Dates

The EB-1 green card has three subcategories, and each has its own requirements: EB-1A for people with extraordinary ability, EB-1B for outstanding professors and researchers, and EB-1C for multinational managers and executives. The evidence ranges from major awards and published work to records of managerial employment abroad, and it all goes to U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) with Form I-140.

The I-140 costs $715 on paper ($665 online) plus an Asylum Program Fee of $0, $300 or $600, according to the USCIS fee schedule (Form G-1055, edition 10/07/26). Premium processing costs $2,965 more and gets USCIS action within 15 business days for EB-1A and EB-1B, or 45 business days for EB-1C.

In the October 2026 Visa Bulletin, EB-1 is Current for the rest of the world, Mexico and the Philippines, so there is no queue for a visa number. Applicants born in China and India still wait: the EB-1 final action date is July 1, 2023 for China and February 1, 2023 for India, according to the 77.today Visa Bulletin tracker, our own record of every State Department bulletin.

What is the EB-1 visa?

The EB-1 visa is the first preference employment-based immigrant category. It is meant for people at the top of their fields and for certain managers and executives of multinational companies. By law it receives 28.6% of the worldwide employment-based preference level, plus any numbers not needed by the fourth and fifth preferences, as the State Department restates in each Visa Bulletin. With the worldwide employment-based level at no less than 140,000 a year, that is at least about 40,000 visas, shared by applicants and their spouses and children.

EB-1A is for extraordinary ability in the sciences, arts, education, business or athletics, and it is the only EB-1 path where you can file for yourself, with no job offer or labor certification. EB-1B (outstanding professors and researchers) and EB-1C (multinational managers and executives) need a U.S. employer to file the petition. None of the three requires PERM labor certification.

EB-1A requirements: the 10 criteria and the final merits review

To be eligible for EB-1A, applicants must demonstrate extraordinary ability through sustained national or international acclaim. Petitioners must provide evidence of a one-time achievement (a major, internationally recognized award) or meet at least three of the 10 evidentiary criteria in 8 CFR 204.5(h)(3). USCIS gives a Pulitzer, an Oscar and an Olympic medal as examples of a one-time achievement. The petition must also show that you will continue working in your area of expertise in the United States.

Without a one-time achievement, applicants must satisfy at least three criteria. The first criterion requires documentation of lesser nationally or internationally recognized prizes or awards for excellence in the field of endeavor. The second criterion demands proof of membership in associations in the field that require outstanding achievements of their members, as judged by recognized national or international experts.

The third criterion involves published material about the applicant in professional or major trade publications or other major media. The fourth criterion requires evidence of the applicant's participation, either individually or on a panel, as a judge of the work of others in the same or an allied field of specialization.

For the fifth criterion, applicants must document original scientific, scholarly, artistic, athletic, or business-related contributions of major significance to the field. The sixth criterion requires evidence of the applicant's authorship of scholarly articles in the field, published in professional or major trade publications or other major media.

The seventh criterion involves the display of the applicant's work in the field at artistic exhibitions or showcases. The eighth criterion requires evidence that the applicant has performed in a leading or critical role for organizations or establishments that have a distinguished reputation.

The ninth criterion demands proof that the applicant has commanded a high salary or other significantly high remuneration for services, in relation to others in the field. Finally, the tenth criterion requires evidence of commercial success in the performing arts, as shown by box office receipts or record, cassette, compact disk, or video sales.

• 1) Lesser nationally or internationally recognized prizes or awards.
• 2) Membership in associations requiring outstanding achievements.
• 3) Published material about the applicant in professional or major trade publications.
• 4) Judging the work of others.
• 5) Original scientific, scholarly, artistic, athletic, or business-related contributions of major significance.
• 6) Authorship of scholarly articles.
• 7) Display of work at artistic exhibitions or showcases.
• 8) Performance of a leading or critical role in distinguished organizations.
• 9) High salary or remuneration.
• 10) Commercial success in the performing arts.

If a criterion does not readily apply to your occupation, the regulation allows comparable evidence. Meeting three criteria is only the first step. The USCIS Policy Manual (Volume 6, Part F, Chapter 2) describes a two-step review. In step one, the officer checks only whether each piece of evidence objectively meets the regulatory criteria.

In step two, the final merits determination, the officer weighs all the evidence together. The question is whether the person has sustained national or international acclaim and is one of the small percentage who have risen to the very top of the field. A petition can meet three criteria and still be denied at this step.

EB-1B: outstanding professors and researchers

EB-1B is for academics and researchers. Applicants must show international recognition for outstanding achievements in a particular academic field and must be coming to the United States for a tenured or tenure-track teaching position or a comparable research position at a university, an institution of higher education or a private employer. A private employer must show documented accomplishments and employ at least three full-time researchers.

The applicant needs at least three years of teaching or research experience in that academic area, and the employer must provide a job offer. Instead of three of 10 criteria, EB-1B requires at least two of six:

• Major prizes or awards for outstanding achievement.
• Membership in associations that require outstanding achievement of their members.
• Published material in professional publications written by others about the applicant's work.
• Participation, on a panel or individually, as a judge of the work of others in the same or an allied academic field.
• Original scientific or scholarly research contributions in the field.
• Authorship of scholarly books or articles in scholarly journals with international circulation in the field.

The employer must also show it can continue to pay the offered wage from the priority date onward, for example with an annual report, federal tax return or audited financial statement.

EB-1C: multinational managers and executives

EB-1C covers transfers of managers and executives within a multinational company. The applicant must have been employed outside the United States for at least one year in the three years before the petition, or before the most recent lawful nonimmigrant admission if already working in the United States for the petitioner.

The overseas employer must have a qualifying relationship with the U.S. petitioner, such as a parent, branch, affiliate or subsidiary. The U.S. petitioner must have been doing business for at least one year, and both the job abroad and the U.S. job must be managerial or executive. EB-1C does not ask for acclaim or academic recognition; the case turns on the corporate relationship and the actual job duties.

How to apply: Form I-140, fees and premium processing

Every EB-1 case starts with Form I-140, Immigrant Petition for Alien Workers. Under the USCIS fee schedule (Form G-1055, edition 10/07/26), the filing fee is $715 for a paper filing and $665 when filed online.

On top of that, petitioners pay an Asylum Program Fee: $600 for a regular petitioner, $300 for a small employer (25 or fewer full-time equivalent employees) or a self-petitioner, and $0 for a nonprofit. An EB-1A applicant filing for themselves on paper therefore pays $715 plus $300, or $1,015, before any premium processing.

Premium processing is available for all three EB-1 subcategories through Form I-907. The fee for an I-140 rose from $2,805 to $2,965 for requests postmarked on or after March 1, 2026, and it is paid separately from, and in addition to, the filing fee and the Asylum Program Fee.

With premium processing, USCIS commits to take action within 15 business days for EB-1A and EB-1B and within 45 business days for EB-1C. Action means an approval, a denial, a request for evidence or a notice of intent to deny (or opening a fraud investigation); if USCIS misses the deadline, it refunds the premium fee. Premium processing speeds up only the I-140 decision, not the wait for a visa number.

Without premium processing, timing depends on the category and the office handling the case; USCIS posts current I-140 times on its processing times page. As a broad guide, USCIS historical data put the median for non-premium I-140 petitions at 3.6 months in fiscal year 2026 (data through August 30, 2026), across all employment-based categories.

EB-1 priority dates and wait times by country (our data)

The figures in this section come from 77.today's own tracking of State Department Visa Bulletins. In the October 2026 bulletin, the first of fiscal year 2027, 19 lines moved forward and 7 retrogressed compared with September. The State Department said dates advanced with the new FY 2027 visa numbers, but some "Rest of World" employment-based categories had to retrogress to stay within FY 2027 quarterly and annual limits.

EB-1 remains Current for the rest of the world, Mexico and the Philippines, so applicants charged to those areas do not wait for a priority date. Those already in the United States and otherwise eligible can file Form I-485 together with the I-140 or after it.

The EB-1 India final action date advanced 3.6 months in October 2026, to February 1, 2023, and the date for filing is July 1, 2024. According to our EB-1 India page, the wait at the front of the line (bulletin month minus cut-off) is 3.7 years, and over the last five years the line has moved 3.2 months of dates per year.

Historically, EB-1 India experiences its most frequent forward movement in October, aligning with the start of the new fiscal year. Since 2003, the final action date has advanced in 32% of October bulletins, with a typical advance of 53.0 months. It also frequently advances in March (26% of the time, typical advance 59 days) and April (26% of the time, typical advance 5.0 months). Retrogression is uncommon; it is most frequent in June (14% of bulletins) and August (9%). Past movement does not predict any individual bulletin.

Real waits for applicants born in India have varied widely by filing year. For example, those who filed in January 2018 experienced no wait, as the category was current. Those filing in January 2019 waited 1.9 years until December 2020. January 2020 filers waited 1.2 years until March 2021. January 2021 filers waited only 0.2 years until April 2021, and January 2022 filers experienced no wait. However, those who filed in January 2023 waited 3.0 years until January 2026. Applicants with a January 2024 priority date are still waiting, having accrued 2.7 years so far, and January 2025 filers have waited 1.7 years so far.

Looking at the recent month-by-month progression for EB-1 India, the final action date was October 15, 2022, in July 2026, representing a 2.0-month retrogression. It remained at October 15, 2022, through August and September 2026, before advancing 3.6 months to February 1, 2023, in the October 2026 bulletin. The date for filing shifted from December 1, 2023, in September to July 1, 2024, in October.

For applicants born in China, the EB-1 final action date is July 1, 2023.

EB-1 vs EB-2 NIW: which to file

EB-1A and the EB-2 National Interest Waiver (NIW) are the two self-petition routes, so many applicants weigh one against the other. The legal standards differ: EB-1A requires sustained acclaim at the very top of the field, while the NIW requires an advanced degree or exceptional ability plus the three-part Matter of Dhanasar test. The queues differ too.

For Indian nationals, the EB-1 final action date is February 1, 2023. In stark contrast, the EB-2 India final action date is November 1, 2013. That is a gap of more than nine years between the two cut-off dates.

For Chinese nationals, the first preference stands at July 1, 2023, while the EB-2 China page shows a final action date of October 1, 2021. The EB-1 date is 21 months later.

For the Rest of the World, Mexico, and the Philippines, the first preference is Current. However, the second preference category for these regions retrogressed by 20.0 months in October 2026, landing at January 1, 2025. So EB-2 applicants from those countries with priority dates on or after January 1, 2025 now wait for their date to become current, while EB-1 applicants do not.

Under the October 2026 bulletin, EB-1 cut-off dates are ahead of EB-2 in every chargeability area, but the EB-1 evidentiary bar is much higher, and bulletin dates can move in either direction. Which petition fits a particular record is a question for a qualified immigration attorney.