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Outstanding Professor and Researcher

Outstanding Professor and Researcher

To qualify for permanent residence as an outstanding professor and/or researcher, a foreign national must:

  • Be internationally recognized as outstanding in a specific academic field;
  • Be in a permanent, tenure-track or research position within a university or institution of higher learning; and
  • Have a minimum of three years experience teaching and/or researching in the field (such experience may include research or teaching while working toward an advanced degree only if the research is recognized within the academic field as outstanding or if the teaching duties entailed full responsibility for the class taught)

Further, evidence of at least three of the six criteria below must be met:

  • Original contributions to the field
  • National or international awards for achievements in the field
  • Membership in organizations that require outstanding achievement
  • Published material about the alien or his/her work
  • Service as the judge of the work of others
  • Scholarly publications and presentations

A petition for Outstanding Professor and Researcher is filed on Form I-140 directly with the Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS). The Office of Global Services, upon receiving the materials from the scholar, packages the case, and submits it to USCIS. Processing time varies.

While the I-140 is pending, scholars and their dependents can remain in H, O or E status.

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