"High remuneration" for Marketing / PR: what counts
Key answer
What works in Marketing / PR
- Income significantly above the market median for the role and region
- Have a proven contribution to revenue, profit, or growth in key metrics
- Income is stable and scalable through bonuses, equity, consulting, or budget management
Traps that cost the criterion
- Compare income without accounting for region, role level, and employment format
- Evaluate only base salary while ignoring bonuses, taxes, and payment instability
- Confuse high project turnover or budgets with personal income
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 comparison is made to the proper group: similar occupation, level of responsibility, experience, specialization, geography, and type of employment
- evidence shows actually received or contractually guaranteed high remuneration, not merely expected, advertised, or irregular amounts
Where it falls apart: only offers, invoices, declarations, or internal letters are submitted without independent confirmation of market level
How it is worded
The comparison presented accounts not only for the job title, but also for the actual nature of the work, the level of autonomy, the complexity of the tasks performed, and the applicant's professional specialization.
Avoid: The applicant's pay level by itself proves his exceptional ability.
What else Marketing / PR is asked for
- Compensation: offers, payroll, contracts, market benchmarks
- Case studies with metrics: revenue growth, CAC, ROAS, retention, market share
- High salary is not matched to the relevant market
- There are metrics, but the applicant's personal role is not proven
If the officer already objectedfrom 70 real cases
From community discussions
«Okay so, it turns out, in theory I close 2 criteria: 8 (leading or critical role), 9 (high salary). It seems like I could pull criterion 5 (contribution) out of my work, but I'm not sure.»
Anton · from public community chats
«For a salary that was earned outside the US, you can compare with pay on the local market. However, officers often ignore this criterion, so some lawyers (especially those who push the marketing gimmick "I never get denials") don't consider it either, or only consider it if the US salary comes out higher.»
community member · from public community chats
«The market-average salary isn't enough, since you have to compare your salary not with the market average but with other outstanding salaries of people in your field. Articles like "The top highest earners in such-and-such profession" fit here.»
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.