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Author

Luis Flávio Marques Lima

Founder, Meritus

Luis Flávio founded Meritus to do one thing well: read a career against the standard USCIS actually applies, and say plainly whether the record is there yet.

He runs the assessment calls himself and builds the evidence record that goes into each petition. The petition is signed and filed by a U.S.-licensed immigration attorney, who is counsel of record before USCIS. That division is deliberate, and it is written into every engagement.

Everything published here is written from primary sources: the Code of Federal Regulations, the USCIS Policy Manual, the Federal Register and published decisions. Each page carries the date it was last checked.

Published by this author

Evidence and criteria

The final merits determination: the step that denies petitions which met three criteria

Counting to three is the first half of the analysis. The second half asks a question no checklist answers, and it is where strong-looking files fall apart.

RFEs and denials

What an RFE actually says, and why the answer is rarely 'more documents'

A Request for Evidence is not a rejection and not a formality. It names a specific gap, and the most common mistake is answering the volume question instead of the one that was asked.

Cost and timelines

What an EB-1A actually costs: the three bills, with numbers

Government fees, the attorney who signs, and case preparation are three separate costs, and only one of them is ours. Current USCIS amounts, checked against the fee schedule.

Evidence and criteria

Authorship of scholarly articles: having published is the start, not the argument

The sixth EB-1A criterion is the easiest to satisfy on paper and the least persuasive at the second step. What separates a list of papers from evidence of acclaim is what happened after publication.

Evidence and criteria

Published material about you: the word 'about' is the whole criterion

The third EB-1A criterion asks for material about the person and the person's work. Coverage that quotes you as an expert on someone else's story is the most common near-miss in the whole list.

Evidence and criteria

Prizes and awards: the criterion that does not require a Nobel

The first EB-1A criterion asks for lesser nationally or internationally recognized awards. USCIS says so explicitly — and then tells you exactly what sinks a local one.

Choosing a category

O-1A or EB-1A: the same evidence, two different standards

They share a vocabulary and almost nothing else. One is temporary and needs an employer; the other is permanent and needs nobody. What changes between them is the standard the same evidence has to meet.

Evidence and criteria

Membership in associations: three things that disqualify it, named by USCIS

The second EB-1A criterion is not about belonging to an impressive organization. It is about how you got in — and the guidance lists exactly what does not count.

Evidence and criteria

Leading or critical role: two separate arguments, and most files make neither

The eighth EB-1A criterion requires proving something about you and something about the organization. USCIS says the title does not decide it — performance in the role does.

Choosing a category

L-1A and EB-1C: the one pairing where the evidence really does carry over

Almost the same three requirements, read against two different standards. A thinly documented L-1A approval is the most common reason a later EB-1C fails.

Evidence and criteria

Judging the work of others: the criterion people assume they failed

The fourth EB-1A criterion is the most commonly satisfied and the most commonly under-documented. The invitation is not the evidence — the completed review is.

Evidence and criteria

High salary: the only EB-1A criterion with a number, and it is a comparison

The ninth criterion asks whether you command high remuneration relative to others in the field. A large salary with nothing to compare it against proves nothing.

Choosing a category

Not selected in the H-1B lottery: what the alternatives actually are

The lottery is not a merits test, so a strong record loses as often as a weak one. The categories worth looking at next are the ones that need no employer at all.

The US$ 100,000 H-1B payment: where it stands today

A proclamation imposed it, a federal court vacated the guidance implementing it, and an appeals court refused to pause that ruling. What applies right now, with dates.

Choosing a category

EB-1A or EB-2 NIW: two self-petitions that ask opposite questions

Both let you file for yourself. One asks how high you have risen; the other asks what your work is for. Choosing by queue length instead of by record is the common error.

Status and strategy

Adjustment of status or consular processing: the choice people make by accident

Same approved petition, two ways to finish. One lets you work and travel while you wait and ties you to staying; the other is faster to schedule and happens outside the country.

Evidence and criteria

Original contributions of major significance: what the criterion actually asks

The fifth EB-1A criterion fails more petitions than any other. The regulation asks for two things at once, and most evidence proves only the first.