EB-1B is the first-preference immigrant category for outstanding professors and researchers who are internationally recognized as outstanding in a specific academic area. Like EB-1A, it sits in the most favorable employment-based preference category and requires no labor certification. Unlike EB-1A, it requires an employer.
You must be recognized internationally as outstanding in your academic area. National recognition is not enough, and the evidence must show that people outside your own country regard your work as significant.
At least three years of experience in teaching or research in the academic area. Experience gained while working on an advanced degree can count where you had full responsibility for the classes taught, or where the research is recognized within the field as outstanding.
This must come from a US employer and must be for a tenured or tenure-track teaching position, a comparable research position at a university or institution of higher education, or a comparable research position with a private employer that employs at least three full-time researchers and has documented accomplishments in the field. The position must be permanent, meaning of indefinite or unlimited duration with an expectation of continued employment, though it need not be tenured.
Many academic researchers and professors arrive in the United States on a J-1 exchange visitor visa, and a subset of J-1 holders are subject to the section 212(e) two-year home residency requirement. Where it applies, the exchange visitor must return to their home country (or country of last permanent residence) for two years — or obtain a waiver — before they can change status to H, L, or immigrant status, including adjustment of status under an approved EB-1B petition. An approved I-140 does not overcome this bar; the underlying 212(e) issue has to be resolved first.
Three conditions can trigger 212(e), and any one of them is sufficient. The exchange program was financed, directly or indirectly, by the US government or by the exchange visitor’s home government, which includes Fulbright and similar government-funded programs. The exchange visitor’s field of research or study appears on their home country’s Exchange Visitor Skills List. Or the exchange visitor came to the US as a J-1 alien physician for graduate medical training.
For Turkish nationals specifically, the December 2024 update to the Exchange Visitor Skills List removed Turkey from the list. As a result, a Turkish exchange visitor who was previously subject to the two-year home-country physical presence requirement solely because Turkey appeared on an earlier Skills List is no longer subject to the requirement on that basis. The change does not eliminate the requirement where it arises from another statutory basis, such as funding from the US government or the exchange visitor’s home-country government, or graduate medical education or training in the United States. Thus, for example, a Turkish researcher who participated in a government-funded Fulbright program or a program funded by a Turkish government entity may remain subject to INA § 212(e) notwithstanding the removal of Turkey from the Skills List.
Whether 212(e) applies, and if so whether a waiver is available, should be confirmed early. It is a threshold question that sits ahead of the EB-1B petition itself, not something to discover at the adjustment of status stage.
You must provide evidence of at least two of the following:
Where these do not readily apply, comparable evidence may be submitted.
Two is a lower count than EB-1A’s three, and EB-1B does not apply a separate final merits determination in the same way. This is one reason EB-1B is sometimes the more achievable first-preference route for an academic with a strong record but an early-career profile.
Academics often qualify for both, and the choice is strategic rather than obvious.
| EB-1B | EB-1A | |
|---|---|---|
| Employer required | Yes, with a permanent offer | No — self-petition |
| Criteria to satisfy | Two of six | Three of ten |
| Final merits determination | Not applied in the same form | Yes |
| Portability | Tied to the petitioning employer | Not tied to any employer |
| Prior experience requirement | Three years teaching or research | None specified |
Choose EB-1B where you have a stable institutional position, a supportive employer willing to petition, and a record that is strong but not overwhelming.
Choose EB-1A where your record is exceptional, where you want to remain free to move between institutions, or where you may leave academia for industry.
Both sit in the same preference category, so neither offers an advantage in the immigrant visa queue.
Raw citation counts mean little without comparison. Citation practices differ enormously between mathematics and molecular biology, and a petition that provides field-normalized context is far more useful to an officer than one that provides a number.
Reviewing for journals or serving on program committees satisfies the judging criterion and independently demonstrates standing.
Letters from researchers at other institutions who have never collaborated with you carry the most weight. A file consisting mainly of letters from co-authors and former supervisors reads as a network, not as recognition.
Where others have built on, replicated, or applied your work, that is the clearest form of original contribution.
Competitive grants, particularly as principal investigator, evidence both recognition and the significance of the research program.
Important note: Since May 2026, USCIS treats adjustment of status as a discretionary benefit rather than a routine final step once eligibility is met. This does not change who qualifies for these categories, but it means the I-485 stage should be prepared as an affirmative case for a favorable exercise of discretion — particularly where there is anything irregular in the applicant’s immigration history — not treated as a formality after I-140 approval.
Beyond attorney fees, an EB-1B case carries several USCIS government fees, paid at different stages:
$715, paid by the employer at the initial petition stage.
$600 for employers with 26 or more employees; $300 for smaller employers; waived for nonprofits, including most universities.
$2,965, guaranteeing action within 15 business days for EB-1B. Either the employer or the beneficiary may pay this fee.
$1,440 for paper filing, or $1,390 if filed online where available, for applicants 14 and older, paid by the beneficiary once a visa number is available. Biometric services are included in this fee — there is no separate biometric services charge under the current fee schedule. Work authorization (Form I-765) and advance parole (Form I-131) each carry a separate filing fee when filed with or after a post-April 1, 2024 Form I-485 — currently $260 for I-765 at the concurrent-filing rate and $630 for I-131 — subject to any applicable fee exemptions.
Consular processing, for beneficiaries outside the United States, involves separate State Department fees in place of the I-485 filing fee.
These figures change periodically and should be confirmed against the current USCIS and State Department fee schedules before filing.
EB-1B, like every employment-based immigrant category, is subject to an annual numerical limit. When more qualified petitions exist than visas available in a given year for a given country of chargeability, a waiting line forms, tracked through the priority date shown on the Visa Bulletin published monthly by the Department of State.
Country of chargeability generally follows the beneficiary’s country of birth, not citizenship or residence. For most countries, including Turkey, EB-1 has remained current for an extended period, meaning no meaningful wait exists once the I-140 is approved. This differs sharply from EB-1 applicants born in countries with high demand relative to the annual limit, such as India or China, where the EB-1 wait can run into years.
Because chargeability follows country of birth, this matters for mixed-nationality cases: a beneficiary born in a high-demand country but now a Turkish national does not benefit from Turkey’s current status — the case is still charged against the country of birth.
Where a visa number is immediately available, as is typically the case for Turkish nationals in EB-1, the I-140 immigrant petition and the I-485 adjustment of status application can be filed together rather than sequentially. This is a meaningful practical advantage: it allows the beneficiary to obtain interim work and travel authorization while the I-140 is still pending, rather than waiting for I-140 approval before starting the adjustment process.
Concurrent filing is only available where the priority date is current at the time of filing, checked against the relevant Visa Bulletin chart, and only for beneficiaries who are physically present in the United States and otherwise eligible to adjust status. Beneficiaries outside the United States proceed through consular processing instead, which follows a different sequence.
Correct as of September 14, 2026. This page provides general information only and does not constitute legal advice.
US immigration services are provided by Celiksoy Law Firm P.C., San Diego, CA, USA.
Standard I-140 processing varies by service center and can run several months; premium processing guarantees action within 15 business days for an additional fee, though this only accelerates the I-140 adjudication itself, not the visa number wait. For most Turkish nationals, EB-1 has historically remained current, meaning the main variable in overall timing is the I-140 review and, where applicable, the adjustment of status processing that follows, rather than a queue for visa availability.
No. It must be permanent, meaning of indefinite or unlimited duration with an expectation of continued employment. Tenured and tenure-track positions qualify, and so do comparable permanent research positions. A fixed-term postdoctoral appointment with a defined end date generally does not.
Yes, where the employer is a private entity that employs at least three full-time researchers and has documented accomplishments in the academic field. Research-intensive companies frequently meet this, but the employer’s own record must be evidenced, not assumed.
Postdoctoral research experience generally counts. Experience gained during work on an advanced degree may also count where the research is recognized within the field as outstanding, or where you had full responsibility for classes taught.
Not in the way EB-1A is. The petition is tied to the petitioning employer and the qualifying offer. Under the portability provisions, an adjustment of status application pending for the required period may allow a change to a same or similar occupation, but that only applies at a later stage. If mobility matters to you, EB-1A is the more secure choice.
Quality and independence matter more than number. A well-constructed file usually includes letters from independent experts at other institutions who can assess your contributions specifically, alongside some who know your work directly. Repetitive letters saying similar things add length without adding weight.
Citation counts are one form of evidence among six criteria, and some fields simply cite less. The petition should provide field context and lean on other evidence — adoption of the work, funding, peer review service, published commentary by others, and independent expert assessment.
