When to start preparing for EB-1A, EB-2 NIW, and O-1

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Still in college?

It’s definitely not too early to start preparing for NIW or O-1 if you think you’ll be applying in the future.

A great first step is to join professional associations that are in your field of interest. Become an active participant in associations you join and then over time, start taking on leadership positions (take on a lead role within a committee, for example).

Once you start gaining recognition for your leadership within the association, you’ll start encountering all kinds of professional networking opportunities that will further enhance your reputation. You might even start getting invited to prestigious conferences and be given speaking opportunities, all of which can strengthen your profile for NIW and O-1.

What I don’t recommend you do is assume that having a prestigious job and high salary will automatically make you a great candidate for O-1 or NIW.

Contrary to what you may think, USCIS does not always put weight on a prestigious job and/or high salary when evaluating an applicant for O-1 or NIW. It’s one factor to consider, but someone at a less prestigious company making less money but having more involvement in associations has a better profile.

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This post is by Amber G. Davis. She started her career working at a boutique immigration firm before moving on to two different large immigration firms (one of which is one of the largest immigration firms in the world). She’s advised numerous high-tech companies of all shapes and sizes, from startups to top ten Fortune 500 companies, and from nonprofits to companies in the IPO process. She now runs Waypoint Immigration USA, representing only individual employees for EB-1A, EB-2 NIW, O-1, etc. and is well-known on LinkedIn with 7.7K+ followers.

Want to get in touch with Amber? You can reach her at amber.davis@waypointimmigration.org or through a LinkedIn connection note (Amber’s LinkedIn profile).