EB-1 Visa Lawyers in Seattle

The EB-1 is an employment-based Green Card category for highly skilled foreign workers. It's the first-preference employment category, and unlike most Green Card routes, the EB-1A extraordinary ability subcategory does not require an employer sponsor to file on your behalf. This makes it a highly attractive pathway to permanent resident status for many Seattle-based professionals.

Within the broader EB-1 category is also the EB-1B, which covers outstanding professors and researchers, and the EB-1C, which covers multinational executives.

To qualify for the EB-1A, you must first have either a one-time major internationally recognized award (like a Nobel Prize), or meet at least three of 10 USCIS criteria:

• Nationally or internationally recognized prizes or awards
• Selective memberships
• Published material about you
• Judging others' work
• Original contributions of major significance
• Scholarly articles
• Work displayed at exhibitions
• Leading or critical roles at distinguished organizations
• High salary
• Commercial success in the performing arts.

Once an immigration officer confirms you meet the base EB-1A criteria, they will conduct a final merits determination. During this step, the reviewer will take a look at the strength of your petition as a whole, and decide whether your case:

• Shows you are at the very top of your field
• Shows sustained national or international acclaim over time

This means that meeting the base EB-1A criteria does not guarantee an approval. From our attorneys’ experience, strong cases address both the initial requirements and the final merits determination, and showcase a strong narrative throughout the I-140 petition.

If you’re interested in the EB-1A, you can file Form I-140 on your own. Keep in mind that you must show evidence that you’ll continue working in your field, which can be demonstrated through contracts, a business plan, speaking engagements, or a pipeline of projects tied to the Seattle area.

The EB-1B and EB-1C require a U.S. employer to file Form I-140 on your behalf. That's why the EB-1A is especially attractive for founders and independent experts whose work isn't tied to one employer. However, all three subcategories bypass the lengthy PERM labor certification process.

Government filing fees for a full EB-1 case generally total $2,000–$3,000, depending on whether you adjust status in the U.S. or process through a consulate, plus case-specific costs like medical exams and translations. Premium processing adds a separate USCIS fee.

Legal fees are separate, and Manifest Law's flat-fee EB-1 services start at $8,995.

As of the latest USCIS processing times data, most EB-1 I-140 petitions take upwards of 24 months to adjudicate with standard processing. However, you can expedite this wait by paying for premium processing, which decreases the wait to 15 business days.

After I-140 approval, applicants typically wait for their priority date to become current, then either file for an adjustment of status through Form I-485 or pursue Green Card consular processing abroad.

Applicants born in India or China may face multi-year priority date waits. However, EB-1 applicants from these countries face much shorter backlogs in comparison to the EB-2, EB-3, and EB-4 categories. For most other countries, EB-1 numbers are frequently current.