EB-1A · Extraordinary Ability · Profession Guide
EB-1A for Data scientists: Kazarian Criteria & AAO Patterns
How data scientists satisfy the Kazarian two-step analysis: which of the ten regulatory criteria are most accessible for this profession, and what final-merits evidence has cleared AAO scrutiny.
Based on 6,362 real USCIS AAO decisions · Last updated May 2026
Short answer
EB-1A requires data scientists to meet at least 3 of the 10 Kazarian regulatory criteria and then clear a final-merits analysis that the petitioner has sustained national or international acclaim. EB-1A denials commonly find the evidence reflects commercial value rather than field-level acclaim.
Most accessible Kazarian criteria for data scientists
The regulation requires that you meet at least 3 of 10 criteria from 8 CFR § 204.5(h)(3). Below are the criteria most commonly satisfied in EB-1A petitions by data scientists, with profession-specific evidence patterns.
- 1
Original contributions of major significance
Open-source statistical / ML libraries with measurable adoption (PyPI downloads, GitHub stars), methodological contributions in cited papers, or large-scale public-interest datasets.
- 2
Authorship of scholarly articles
Refereed publications at KDD, AAAI, JSM, or domain-specific venues with citation evidence — vendor-conference talks rarely qualify.
- 3
Service as a judge of others' work
Program-committee membership at refereed venues, journal peer-review, NSF / NIH grant-review service.
Final-merits framing under Kazarian step 2
Data-science EB-1A is one of the harder fields for final merits — petitions tend to read as "skilled practitioner" even when meeting three criteria. Methodological novelty (a method named after the petitioner, or a public-interest framework adopted by an agency) is the most reliable distinguishing factor.
Why EB-1A petitions by data scientists fail at AAO
EB-1A denials commonly find the evidence reflects commercial value rather than field-level acclaim. Pivoting framing to public-interest data work (healthcare, climate, civic) with refereed publications closes most gaps.
For context: across all professions, 5.9% of NIW appeals are approved at the AAO level. EB-1A appeals follow similar dynamics — most denials are at first-pass USCIS, and AAO data reveals which arguments fail at the highest scrutiny level.
Build your EB-1A petition with profession-specific framing
Our $99 EB-1A Petition Builder generates a Kazarian-framework petition letter section by section, with criterion-by-criterion evidence framing tailored to your profile and references to similar approved AAO cases in our 6,362-decision corpus.
One-time payment, no subscription. Greenway AI is a data + document-generation platform, not a law firm; nothing here is legal advice.