EB-1A · Extraordinary Ability · Profession Guide
EB-1A for Social scientists and psychologists: Kazarian Criteria & AAO Patterns
How social scientists and psychologists 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 social scientists and psychologists 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 strong academic profiles without evidence that the work has been adopted in policy, clinical practice, or law.
Most accessible Kazarian criteria for social scientists and psychologists
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 social scientists and psychologists, with profession-specific evidence patterns.
- 1
Original contributions of major significance
Methods or findings adopted by VA, NIH, CDC, NIJ, or NIMH in clinical / policy programs; assessment instruments licensed for broad use; or interventions adopted at scale by health systems or judicial systems.
- 2
Authorship of scholarly articles
Refereed publications in top-tier journals (American Psychologist, Psych Science, AJS, ASR) with independent citations.
- 3
Service as a judge of others' work
Editorial-board service, NIH study-section service, NSF panel reviewer service.
- 4
Membership in associations requiring outstanding achievement
APA Fellow, ASA Fellow, or other peer-elected society fellowships.
Final-merits framing under Kazarian step 2
Social-science EB-1A is among the most difficult fields. Final merits typically requires demonstrating cross-disciplinary or federal-agency adoption — the field alone treating the petitioner as a leader is necessary but rarely sufficient.
Why EB-1A petitions by social scientists and psychologists fail at AAO
EB-1A denials commonly cite strong academic profiles without evidence that the work has been adopted in policy, clinical practice, or law. Federal-agency citations and adopted instruments are the cleanest fixes.
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.