EB-1A · Extraordinary Ability · Profession Guide
EB-1A for Electrical engineers: Kazarian Criteria & AAO Patterns
How electrical engineers 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 electrical engineers 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 cite "skilled worker" framing: the record shows competence at a single employer's product line.
Most accessible Kazarian criteria for electrical engineers
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 electrical engineers, with profession-specific evidence patterns.
- 1
Original contributions of major significance
Granted patents on chip design, RF / mixed-signal innovations, power-electronics topologies, or EDA tooling, with evidence of downstream adoption.
- 2
Authorship of scholarly articles
Refereed IEEE conference papers (ISSCC, VLSI Symposia, IEDM, DAC, ICCAD) and journal publications (TPELS, JSSC, T-MTT) with citation evidence.
- 3
Service as a judge of others' work
IEEE / SEMI / IEC committee membership, peer review for IEEE journals, technical-program committee membership.
- 4
Leading or critical role for distinguished organizations
Principal-engineer or chief-architect role at a fabless / IDM / national-lab employer with org-chart and senior-leader letter evidence.
Final-merits framing under Kazarian step 2
Final-merits framing here tends to favor petitioners whose work has crossed from internal company use into the broader industry — adopted in shipping silicon, cited in IEEE standards, or licensed to other companies. Pure internal R&D often fails final merits even with strong publications.
Why EB-1A petitions by electrical engineers fail at AAO
EB-1A denials commonly cite "skilled worker" framing: the record shows competence at a single employer's product line. Granted patents with claims tied to public-impact outcomes (grid, energy, medical devices, defense electronics) shift the framing reliably.
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.
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