The self-petition green card for people at the top of their field — assessed honestly against the ten USCIS criteria, with the 2026 adjudication shift and India queue explained up front.
Last updated: June 2026 — reviewed against USCIS and travel.state.gov program settings for 2026.
Free EB-1A Eligibility Assessment — no employer sponsor needed, no labor certification. We assess your record against the ten criteria before anyone files anything.
Get Assessment| EB-1A — Extraordinary Ability (Employment-Based First Preference) | |
|---|---|
| Governing authority | USCIS (petition) · US Department of State (visa availability) |
| Petition form | Form I-140 — self-petition; no employer sponsor, no labor certification |
| Eligibility basis | One major international award, or at least 3 of 10 criteria + final-merits review |
| Premium processing | Available — 15 business-day window; fee US$2,965 from 1 March 2026 |
| India green-card queue | Retrogressed — Final Action Date 15 December 2022 (June 2026 Visa Bulletin) |
| Cosmos role | Eligibility, evidence & case-management; filing through US-licensed attorneys in our network |
| As of | June 2026 |
We assist applicants based in Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Riyadh, Doha, Kuwait City, Muscat, Manama, as well as across India and Sri Lanka. Our role is to read your record honestly against the ten criteria and turn it into a decision-ready evidence file.
The objective is not speed alone — it is a record that survives a contextual, sceptical 2026 review.
EB-1A is the employment-based first-preference green card for individuals of extraordinary ability in the sciences, arts, education, business or athletics, and it lets you self-petition on Form I-140 without an employer or labor certification, per USCIS. It is built for people who can show sustained national or international acclaim — researchers, founders, artists, athletes and senior specialists with an evidenced record at the top of their field.
It is not a points test and not a job-offer route. You either hold one major internationally recognised award, or you evidence at least three of ten regulatory criteria and then pass a final-merits review. The pattern we see most across our assessments: strong careers stall not on talent but on what is provable with independent documents. An honest record audit against the criteria is the first thing we do. Find out where you stand — free assessment.
The honest note. EB-1A approval is discretionary, and 2026 review is materially tougher — published USCIS approval rates have declined year over year, and generic or templated petitions are being denied more often under contextual review. We can only tell you whether a profile may qualify, subject to a strong evidentiary record assessed against the ten criteria — never that an outcome is likely or assured. Every figure on this page carries its as-of date because USCIS guidance and the Visa Bulletin move within a year.
You qualify for EB-1A in one of two ways: a single major internationally recognised award such as a Nobel Prize, Olympic medal, Oscar or Pulitzer, or by satisfying at least 3 of 10 regulatory criteria, after which an officer applies a final-merits review for sustained acclaim, per 8 CFR 204.5(h) and the USCIS Policy Manual.
The ten criteria include lesser awards or prizes, membership in associations requiring outstanding achievement, published material about you in major media, judging the work of others, original contributions of major significance, authorship of scholarly articles, artistic exhibitions, a leading or critical role for distinguished organisations, high remuneration, and commercial success in the performing arts. Meeting three is the threshold to enter review — not a pass. Strength and independent validation of each piece is what carries the file. Message us on WhatsApp and we'll map your record honestly.
Cosmos coordinates the parts we are qualified for — eligibility assessment against the ten criteria, evidence strategy, documentation and case-management — while the EB-1A petition itself is prepared and filed through US-licensed attorneys in our network. We are an advisory firm, not a US law practice, so legal filing and representation sit with the licensed attorney on your matter.
That split keeps the work honest: you get a disciplined, evidence-first file built around your record, and a properly licensed professional handles the petition under US rules. Sequence the document work early — independent letters, citation and media evidence, and proof tied to each criterion take time to gather well, and a contextual 2026 review rewards depth over volume.
Premium processing is available for the EB-1A I-140 and gives USCIS a 15 business-day adjudication window, with the fee rising from US$2,805 to US$2,965 from 1 March 2026; a request for evidence stops and resets that clock, per USCIS. Premium processing speeds the petition decision — it does not move your place in any green-card queue.
For most applicants outside the retrogressed categories the petition decision is the main wait you can compress. For India-born applicants, the binding constraint is visa availability rather than petition speed, which we cover honestly below. There is no separate queue or rule for Gulf-based applicants — the same federal framework applies wherever you file from.
All criteria and dates are set by USCIS and the US Department of State and are subject to change.
India is one of the biggest demand markets for EB-1A, and it carries the route's biggest honest caveat. In the June 2026 Visa Bulletin, EB-1 India retrogressed to a Final Action Date of 15 December 2022 — backward movement — which means a multi-year wait between I-140 approval and green-card availability, with the State Department flagging the risk of further retrogression or "unavailable" status before the fiscal year ends.
Even so, EB-1A is markedly faster for India-born applicants than the EB-2 NIW queue, which currently sits a decade-plus deep. There is no investment outlay with EB-1A, so the usual remittance and tax considerations do not apply here. We set this expectation up front so the green-card timeline is never a surprise. For your own queue position, bring it to a free assessment — we'll be straight with you about the wait.
General information, not legal or financial advice. Queue dates are set by the US Department of State and change monthly.
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No. EB-1A is a self-petition filed on Form I-140 with no employer sponsor and no PERM labor certification, per USCIS. You petition on the strength of your own record against the extraordinary-ability standard, which is what makes it attractive to founders, researchers and senior specialists.
At least three of the ten regulatory criteria, unless you hold one major internationally recognised award such as a Nobel, Olympic medal, Oscar or Pulitzer. Meeting three opens a final-merits review for sustained national or international acclaim — it is the threshold to be considered, not an automatic approval.
Adjudication has tightened. USCIS now reviews petitions contextually rather than as a checklist following its January 2025 Policy Manual update, and published approval rates have fallen year over year. Templated, generic petitions are being denied more often, so independent evidence and depth matter more than ever.
The June 2026 Visa Bulletin shows EB-1 India retrogressed to a Final Action Date of 15 December 2022, so India-born applicants face a multi-year wait between I-140 approval and a green card, with further retrogression flagged. EB-1A is still markedly faster for India than the EB-2 NIW route.
Cosmos handles eligibility assessment, evidence strategy, documentation and case-management; the petition itself is prepared and filed by a US-licensed attorney in our network. We are an advisory firm, not a US law practice, so legal filing sits with the licensed professional on your matter.
Cosmos Immigration is a regulated immigration consultancy founded in Dubai in 2014, with offices in Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Hyderabad and Oakville. Because the United States is outside our direct regulatory licensing, EB-1A petitions are prepared and filed through US-licensed attorneys in our network, while Cosmos coordinates eligibility, documentation and case-management. You can verify our registrations for the jurisdictions we are licensed in on the official public registers. Verify Our Credentials
Cosmos Immigration is a private consultancy, not a government body. Program criteria, fees and figures are set by the relevant governments and are subject to change; verified against official sources as of the date shown.
Start with a free assessment, not a sales pitch — or message us on WhatsApp. We'll tell you honestly whether your record may qualify — even if the answer is not yet.
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