EB-1 Approval Rate in 2026: What the USCIS Data Shows

What is the EB-1 approval rate in 2026?

The EB-1 approval rate is 71.7% as of the second quarter of Fiscal Year 2026, which covers January through March 2026. During that period, USCIS approved 6,607 EB-1 petitions and denied 2,612, according to the agency's latest I-140 report.

Some sources call this the EB-1 success rate or acceptance rate, but all three terms describe the same figure.

Source: USCIS Immigration and Citizenship Data

How do approval rates compare across EB-1 subcategories?

In Q2 FY 2026, EB-1A petitions were approved at 41.7%, EB-1B at 93.8%, and EB-1C at 97.0%. The spread between them is the most important thing in this data, because an EB-1C petition and an EB-1A petition are not facing remotely the same odds.

Source: USCIS Immigration and Citizenship Data

What is the EB-1A approval and denial rate?

The EB-1A approval rate is 41.7% as of Q2 FY 2026. USCIS approved 1,723 extraordinary ability petitions in the quarter and denied 2,405. Put the other way, the EB-1A denial rate was 58.3%. Applicants filed 6,647 new EB-1A petitions in the same period, and 27,024 were pending at the end of March.

This figure may seem low in comparison to the other two EB-1 subcategories, but Manifest immigration attorney Ana Gabriela Urizar says there are two things to keep in mind. “First, the EB-1A is the only subcategory where individuals can self-petition,” she says. “With no employer or in-house legal team screening cases before they reach USCIS, the pool includes petitions at every level of strength.”

“Second, approval rates show a category-wide average across that entire pool, not the odds facing any particular case. A well-documented petition that clearly satisfies the regulatory criteria is a different proposition from a thin one, and the two are counted together here,” she continues.

What is the EB-1B approval and denial rate?

The EB-1B approval rate is 93.8% as of Q2 FY 2026, with 1,546 petitions approved and 103 denied. Outstanding professor and researcher cases are employer-sponsored and reviewed against defined evidence standards, and their approval rate has stayed above 93% in every recent quarter.

What is the EB-1C approval and denial rate?

The EB-1C approval rate is 97.0% as of Q2 FY 2026. USCIS approved 3,338 multinational executive and manager petitions and denied 104. Since the sponsoring company files these cases, and they turn on corporate records rather than personal acclaim, they rarely fail at the I-140 stage.

How do 2026 EB-1 approval rates compare to past years?

Through the first half of Fiscal Year 2026, approximately 70.8% of EB-1 petitions are being approved. That is below the full-year rate for FY 2025 and FY 2024, but above the ~65.6% low in FY 2023.

Source: USCIS Immigration and Citizenship Data

Of these figures, Manifest immigration attorney Urizar says the pending backlog is the number to watch. “USCIS ended March with 41,726 EB-1 petitions awaiting a decision, the largest total in this dataset, with EB-1A accounting for 27,024 of them,” she says. “A backlog that size shapes EB-1 processing times as much as it shapes approval rates.”

Why do EB-1B and EB-1C approve at higher rates than EB-1A?

According to immigration attorney Urizar, the gap comes down to who builds the petition and what the evidence looks like. “The EB-1B and EB-1C are employer-sponsored, so a company and usually its legal team review a case before it is filed,” she says.

Urizar also argues that EB-1B and EB-1C proof is largely institutional, and leaves less room for interpretation. “Both these subcategories use employment records, corporate structure, and academic credentials that USCIS can verify against defined standards,” she explains. “An EB-1A approval hinges on the applicant proving individual acclaim, which leaves far more room for an officer to disagree about whether the evidence clears the bar.”

The filing path matters too. Because EB-1A is the one subcategory a person can file without a sponsor, nothing filters the pool before USCIS sees it, so petitions at every level of preparation land in the same statistics.

How can you improve your EB-1 approval odds?

Below are several ways you can improve the odds of your EB-1 petition.

• Meet more than the minimum criteria. USCIS publishes exactly what evidence proves extraordinary ability or achievement. With EB-1A running below 50%, clearing the bare minimum of three criteria is a thinner strategy than it used to be, and building past the minimum is what puts a case on the right side of the average.
• Gather strong letters well before filing. Recommendation letters from respected people in the field carry real weight. Aim for at least three, and up to ten. Letter writers are busy, so reach out well before the planned filing date.
• Write for the officer, not the field. The USCIS officer reviewing a petition is rarely a specialist in the applicant's discipline, so the petition has to explain why an achievement matters rather than assume it is obvious.

File for an EB-1 confidently with Manifest Law

Meeting the USCIS eligibility criteria (and proving it in the petition), assembling detailed recommendation letters, and telling the story well can all dramatically improve the odds. So can working with an experienced EB-1 visa lawyer.

At Manifest Law, our immigration lawyers have helped thousands of professionals secure EB-1 approval. Our team knows the ins and outs of the entire process and can help build a compelling petition with a strong chance of success.

Ready to build a strong EB-1 petition? Schedule a consultation today to learn more about how Manifest Law can help!

Frequently asked questions about EB-1 approval rates

Can EB-1 be rejected?

Yes. USCIS denied 2,612 EB-1 petitions in the second quarter of Fiscal Year 2026, which was 28.3% of the decisions it issued that quarter. Denial rates vary widely by subcategory: EB-1A petitions were denied at 58.3%, while EB-1C petitions were denied at 3.0%.

What are common EB-1 rejection reasons?

Denials cluster heavily in one subcategory: EB-1A accounted for 2,405 of the 2,612 EB-1 denials USCIS issued in Q2 FY 2026. Most trace to how USCIS reviews the case in two steps. An officer first checks whether the evidence meets the individual regulatory criteria, then makes a separate judgment about whether the record as a whole shows sustained acclaim. A petition can clear the first step and still fail the second, which is why meeting three criteria on paper does not guarantee approval. Our EB-1A guide walks through that two-step review.

How hard is it to get an EB-1A visa?

EB-1A is the hardest of the three EB-1 subcategories to clear at the I-140 stage. USCIS approved 41.7% of EB-1A petitions in Q2 FY 2026, compared with 93.8% for EB-1B and 97.0% for EB-1C. In practice that means an EB-1A filer should expect the petition itself to carry the whole case, since nothing about the category makes an officer's job easier.

How many EB-1A Green Cards are issued each year?

There is no separate annual quota for EB-1A. EB-1 as a whole receives 28.6% of the worldwide employment-based limit, plus any employment-based fourth and fifth preference numbers that go unused, and EB-1A, EB-1B, and EB-1C all draw from that same pool. Petition approvals are a different measure from Green Cards issued: USCIS approved 3,889 EB-1A petitions in the first half of Fiscal Year 2026. For how those numbers break down by nationality, see our data on the top countries receiving EB-1 visas.

What is the 3 year rule for EB-1?

Two different EB-1 requirements get called the three-year rule. For EB-1B, the applicant needs at least three years of experience in teaching or research in the academic field. For EB-1C, the applicant must have worked for the sponsoring company outside the United States for at least one year within the three years before the petition. Which rule applies depends on the subcategory being filed.

How much salary is needed for EB-1A?

USCIS sets no salary minimum for EB-1A. High pay relative to others in the field is one of the ten qualifying criteria, so it can help prove extraordinary ability, but an applicant can qualify without it by meeting three other criteria. We break down how USCIS weighs compensation evidence in the EB-1A salary requirement guide.

What is an RFE, and how can I avoid one?

A Request for Evidence means USCIS needs more information before it can decide a case. Submitting clear, well-supported documentation upfront is the best way to reduce the chance of one, and an immigration attorney can help organize it. Even well-built petitions sometimes draw an RFE, so receiving one is not a denial. See our full guide to EB-1A RFEs for how to respond.