"High remuneration" for Engineering / STEM: what counts
Key answer
What works in Engineering / STEM
- Income significantly above the median for the region and specialization
- Stable payments: salary, bonuses, premiums, or stock options
- Income growth supported by skills, experience, and level of responsibility
Traps that cost the criterion
- Comparing income without accounting for the region, taxes, and employment format
- Evaluating only salary while ignoring bonuses and benefits
- Treating high income as a guarantee of strong engineering qualifications
What the officer has to find
It is sufficient to show, by a preponderance of the evidence, that the petitioner has received or should receive remuneration noticeably higher than the relevant market, and that the comparison sources allow the officer to objectively determine that the pay is above the ordinary level for similarly situated professionals.
- the comparative data is reliable, independent, and relevant: industry surveys, government statistics, professional salary databases, or comparable market sources
- the comparison is made to the proper group: similar occupation, level of responsibility, experience, specialization, geography, and type of employment
Where it falls apart: the comparison is made to an unsuitable group: too broad a profession, a different market, a different seniority level, or an incomparable employment arrangement
How it is worded
The comparative data confirm that the applicant falls within the upper compensation tier among comparable professionals, and that his income is not merely a reflection of general pay levels in the industry or region.
Avoid: The applicant earns good money for his country.
What else Engineering / STEM is asked for
- Degrees, press mentions, industry rankings, expert letters
- Patents, implementations, technical reports, impact metrics
- Compensation is not matched to the relevant market
- Significance of the contribution beyond the employer not proven
If the officer already objectedfrom 70 real cases
From community discussions
«If possible it's better to lowball the planned salary to the minimum level your lawyer is willing to accept, if you want to later convert from O1 to EB. Otherwise you'll get hit on taxes later.»
community member · from public community chats
«The salary doesn't actually have to be "high", there's no such requirement. The remuneration has to be higher than that of 90% of your colleagues, and the colleagues earn in the currency of the place where you live. There's no point in translating all the certificates and reports into dollars.»
community member · from public community chats
«The main task here is to show that the salary is higher than that of other specialists in the industry in the same region. If you're filing from Russia, the officer has no right to compare with US salaries. You can state it in rubles and the same info in dollars next to it, if you want, but the main thing is the income ratio, not the currency it's stated in.»
community member · from public community chats
Personal opinions of community members from public discussions, not legal advice.
The same criterion in other fields
Reference information and community experience, not legal advice. The AAO figures are lessons from appeals, not approval odds; fees and timelines change - verify on uscis.gov.