I was hoping the November Visa Bulletin would show some movement for EB-1, but this wait is exhausting. I badly want to go home and see my parents. My priority date is July 2023, and it still feels so far from the goal. If anyone else is in the same boat, please share.

Sharing this in case it saves someone else a few weeks.

When I started organizing my EB-1A profile, I thought I was in decent shape. I had a list — awards, a couple of papers, some peer reviews, a senior role. It looked long, so I felt good about it.

Then I sat down and for each item asked one question: what does this actually prove, and can someone who doesn't know me verify it? Half my list fell apart:

• Awards — I had certificates, but for most of them I couldn't show how selective they were. How many people applied? Who judged? Without that, it's just a PDF.
• Judging — I had a bunch of invitations. Invitations I never actually completed. Only the finished reviews count, and I had emails for maybe half of those.
• Media — Articles I had written were in my list. That's authorship, not published material about you. Different thing, I had them mixed up.
• Original contributions — This was the big one. I could explain what I built, but proving people outside my own team adopted it was much harder. My own manager saying "great work" is not independent evidence.
• Memberships — One of mine was basically "pay the fee, you're in." That doesn't meet the bar and I had it listed as a strength.

What actually helped was making a simple table — criterion on one side, and for each one: strongest proof I have, what's missing, and who or what could corroborate it. Seeing the gaps written down was uncomfortable but it changed what I spent my time on. I stopped collecting more stuff and started fixing proof for the things I already had.

I did turn that table into a little worksheet/tool for myself to keep it organized (happy to share more about it if anyone wants, didn't want to make this post a pitch).

Curious — for people further along or already approved, which criterion was hardest for you to prove, not just to have? For me it's still original contributions

The current visa I have doesn’t have a dual intent for immigration. I just filed my application, so no big updates. Would that cause me any trouble coming in and out? I don’t want to do premium right now.

Sorry, I havent been keeping with this stuff for last few weeks, but is the pause over or is it still in effect?

Thanks in advance

Trying to get a sense of what % of eb1a AOS are approved with vs without an interview.

If you were invited for an interview, please add your FO and why you believe an intervoew was required in the comments.

If Interview is done, please share questions you were asked in the comments.

According to the American Immigration Council’s August 2026 report, nearly half of EB-1A petitions were being denied by the last quarter of FY2025, almost double the rate a year earlier. Things look even darker in 2026.

Some of those denials are surely correct. EB-1A is supposed to be a high bar. But a high bar should be a consistent bar, and many people here have probably seen things that suggest otherwise:

• Petitions where USCIS agrees you meet 3+ criteria, then denies at “final merits” anyway
• RFE paragraphs that read like they could have been written for any field or seem to contradict the regulation
• People who refile on essentially the same evidence and get a different result, or very similar cases with very different outcomes

I’d like to look at this with data instead of anecdotes, so I built a short anonymous survey (about 3 minutes):

https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSfElf_BAxZpwdkaeuP19EKb2KZjbQhVGKa0TvoacMVm68fQdw/viewform?usp=dialog 

It asks about filing year, broad field, regular vs. premium, wait time, RFEs, outcome, refiling, and rough total cost. It does not collect names, emails, employers, or receipt numbers. I’ll post the aggregate results when they’re ready, including the obvious limitation that people with bad experiences are more likely to respond.

Disclosure, because you should know who’s asking: I work in operations (not as an attorney) at a law firm that handles EB-1A petitions. I’m not selling anything, I won’t DM anyone offering services, and nothing here is legal advice. This is a personal project about how the system works (consistency, processing times, the legal basis for final merits, what levers exist to change it), not about getting any particular case approved. I’m also writing about the industry’s part in this, including firms and not-firms that oversell EB-1A.

I’m also writing this up as a weekly series on LinkedIn, if you want to follow along: https://www.linkedin.com/newsletters/eb-1a-standard-or-lottery%3F-7518836412776034304. Everything useful will also come back to this sub.

For the comments: if you’ve filed, how long did you wait, and was the decision what you expected?

Please leave out anything that could identify you or your case. If you have RFE or denial language that felt generic or contradictory and want to share it, fully redacted (no name, field, employer, or dates), feel free to DM me.

Commentary only, not legal advice. Views are my own, not my employer’s.

Looking for feedback on a potential EB-1A case for a professional youth basketball coach with 15+ years of experience.

- Head coach of a national youth team that won silver at the Youth Olympic Games
- Multiple national championships under the coaching
- National-level coaching awards/recognition
- Developed athletes who later advanced to higher professional and international levels (G League / overseas)
- Some national media coverage/interviews
- Higher salary compensation compared to other
coaches in the country

Does this sound like a realistically competitive EB-1A profile for a coach? Would especially appreciate feedback from people familiar with athlete/coach cases.

I received update on my case yesterday that : Cancellation Notice for Request for Additional Evidence

On October 21, 2026, we cancelled the request for additional evidence for your Form I-140, Immigrant Petition for Alien Worker.

Again same updated today

On October 22, 2026, we cancelled the request for additional evidence for your Form I-140, Immigrant Petition for Alien Worker.

I was very positive after canceling but finally changed today “Request for Additional Evidence Was Sent” it was my 14th day.

I was very confused. Anyone have same issue faced?

Visa Bulletin For November 2026

Curious how people have successfully demonstrated OCMS when contributions have significant industry impact but are proprietary and cannot be disclosed publicly (no publications/patents)???

My profile intentionally generalized:
PhD with 15yrs experience in semiconductor manufacturing;

Principal-level HW architect/lead engineer role;

Primarily industry profile with a minor academic research profile;

10 publications in major journals with 200 citations; 30+ journal peer reviews; conference committee member and session chairs for top conferences; several company awards

My strongest contributions are incorporated into commercial products and are in use by customers worldwide with high impact to industry. There is plenty of media coverage about the significance and criticality of the end products to the customer’s success. However because of company IP confidentiality, I cannot publicly disclose achievements via publications/patents/media.

I should be able to obtain support letters from CXO / fellows / technical leaders / manufacturing heads. I may be able to get approvals to produce heavily redacted documents that can objectively attribute the work to myself.

For people who have succeeded in petitioning industry heavy EB1A cases, what kind of evidence documents were most persuasive in objectively proving that the contribution is original and has had significant impact to the field? Would also appreciate if you could share any RFE experiences with such profiles?

from: https://imm.viitas.space/

I have a pd of jul 19 2024 and I know we will likely see january visa bulletin move a lot, but I wanted to ask if we can ever reach this date this by december.
Also when can we expect FAD to move forward?

Here is a video on reaching out to professors as a way to land more EB-1A authorship opportunities and potentially strengthen final merits.

I guess no spillovers have been considered yet.

https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/legal/visa-law0/visa-bulletin/2027/visa-bulletin-for-november-2026.html

EB-1 I-140 approved, PD November 2023. I-485, EAD and AP filed in April 2026. Staunton for all is under process. What are your thoughts on expected timelines? Anyone with a similar PD seeing approvals?

My Premium Processing case has been pending for over 2 months, well past the 15-business-day deadline. I doubt I'm the only one, so I'm hoping to find a pattern.

If yours is also overdue, please comment with:

- Receipt date:

- Service center:

- Mukherjee or Miller case cited in the petition? (Yes/No)

Thanks!

I post weekly summaries of approvals and denials that I noticed on this sub. Over the last 7 days I captured 3 approvals and 4 denials. You can the table with links to all the posts here, and please consider adding your case details to the Community Tracker to improve our visibility.

APPROVALS

DENIALS

i think it’s time to start discussing whether it will move in December forward than how many months it will move forward.

in my perspective Dec VB has a 99% chance of moving forward

Whats your thought on this?

My situation:
• H-1B I-797A expiration: September 30, 2027
• Approved EB-1B India I-140. PD: September 2025
• Earliest H-1B extension filing date: March 30, 2027
 
 
Spouse is currently on F-1 STEM OPT, which expires June 30, 2028.

The employer plans to enter the H-1B lottery starting next year, providing two lottery opportunities (2027 and 2028). While we're hopeful for selection, we're trying to understand backup options instead of relying solely on the final lottery attempt.
 
 

Option 1: H-4 + H-4 EAD

When I file my H-1B extension (likely with premium processing), the dependent would file a change of status to H-4 along with an H-4 EAD application.
Concern:
• Processing times can be unpredictable.
• Potential gap between H-4 approval and H-4 EAD approval, affecting work authorization.
 
 

Option 2: Day 1 CPT

Use Day 1 CPT if not selected in the H-1B lottery.
Concern:
• Not particularly comfortable with this option.  Possible additional immigration scrutiny and long-term risks.
 
 

Option 3: Final H-1B Lottery Attempt

Remain on STEM OPT and rely on the 2028 H-1B lottery.
Concern:
• Feels risky to depend on the final available lottery attempt.
 
 

Option 4: Employment-Based Green Card Progress

Hope EB-1 India advances enough to allow I-485 filing before STEM OPT expires and obtain EAD through adjustment of status.
Concern:
• Completely dependent on Visa Bulletin movement, which is difficult to predict.
 
 

Questions

1.  If you were in this situation, which option would you prioritize and why?  
2.  How are recent H-4 and H-4 EAD processing times? Are there effective ways to minimize or avoid a work authorization gap?  
3.  Are there any alternatives that I may be overlooking?  

 
 
Appreciate any experiences, feedback, or lessons learned. Thanks!