Everything people ask before their first call.

EB-1A requires meeting at least 3 of 10 regulatory criteria for "extraordinary ability," then surviving a separate merits review of your record as a whole. EB-2 NIW asks whether your work has substantial merit and national importance, you're well-positioned to advance it, and waiving the standard job offer requirement benefits the US. NIW is generally a more reachable standard; EB-1A often moves faster in the visa queue. Which fits depends on your field and record.

Yes — that's the entire premise of both routes. Neither requires a job offer, an employer petitioner, or labor certification. You are the petitioner.

Yes, and part of our strategy work is deciding which to lead with, or whether to pursue both. They're different arguments about different things — the right call depends on your record, field and queue position.

Standard OPT (Optional Practical Training) gives F-1 students 12 months of work authorization in their field after graduation. STEM OPT is a 24-month extension available to graduates of qualifying STEM degree programs whose employer is enrolled in E-Verify — bringing total OPT time up to 36 months. STEM OPT comes with extra reporting requirements (a formal training plan, Form I-983, and periodic check-ins), but it's also the single biggest runway extension available to F-1 graduates, and the window in which the most people build their EB-1A or NIW record.

Yes. Publishing, peer-reviewing, speaking, being cited and being featured in press are generally compatible with maintaining any of these statuses. How the eventual filing interacts with your specific status and any pending change of status is a legal question — confirm specifics with a licensed immigration attorney.

This is exactly why we score your timeline against your runway from day one. If the honest read is that you won't be ready before your status window closes, we tell you immediately, along with what else might be worth exploring alongside self-petitioning.

Tools give you surface area — scanners, generators, dashboards. What they can't give you is a verdict, because a verdict requires someone willing to be wrong in front of you. We start with judgment from real petitioners and use the AI analysis underneath it, not the other way round.

You get that answer, the reasons, and exactly what would need to change. That's the product working, not failing. Finding out now costs an evaluation. Finding out from a denial costs a year, the fees, and sometimes your remaining status runway.

The gap analysis takes days. If your record already clears the standard, documentation and drafting support can start immediately. Most people need six to twelve months of deliberate work first — peer review accumulates slowly, press takes time to land, and a talk you didn't give last year can't be invented now.

No. We are not a law firm and don't provide legal advice or representation. We handle profile evaluation, evidence organization, structured documentation and mentorship. A licensed attorney should always review your petition before filing.

You're paired with someone from a comparable field who filed the same route and won. Expect weekly or biweekly check-ins, direct feedback on your evidence as it's gathered, and help sourcing the specific opportunities — judging roles, speaking slots, publication venues — you're still missing.

Reach out — we offer post-filing response support as an add-on, drawing on the same pattern analysis we use to try to prevent them in the first place.

Yes. We don't sell or share your information. See our privacy policy for full detail on what we collect and how it's used.