USCIS.loveReadiness check: how many criteria do you meet
How to use the O-1 / EB-1 talent visa readiness self-assessment tool: answer each criterion and see how many of the required three you already meet and what to add.
Author: Alina Kanametova- updated
The tool itself
Open the tool: /tools/readiness. This page is the guide to it.
Key answer
Readiness check is a quick self-assessment against the criteria for a talent visa. You mark what you have for each criterion, and the tool shows how many of the minimum three you already cover.
When to use it
At the very beginning - to understand where you stand and whether you have a real basis to file. And later - to track your progress as you gather evidence.
How to use it
For each criterion, choose "Yes", "Almost", or "No". The tool will count your strengths and point out what to gather first. You can copy the result into your checklist.
Why it matters
For a talent visa, you usually need to strongly meet at least 3 of the 10 criteria, and then pass the final review of the overall picture. This is a self-assessment guide, not a prediction of approval and not legal advice. For a breakdown of real cases, open Analysis of real decisions.
If you only meet a few criteria at the start, that is normal. In the community, people often note that almost everyone started small:
80% of people filing for O-1 initially, when they decided to gather evidence, also had no awards or academic publications, almost nothing at all except the desire, education, and solid experience. Then suddenly everyone finds everything.
Common questions
Related materials
Related materials - Helpers and calculators
- EB-2 NIW Check by Dhanasar Test
- Analysis of Real EB-1A Decisions and Decision Database
- Visa match: EB-1A, O-1 or EB-2 NIW, which fits you
- Community Cases: Anonymous Talent Visa Case Board
- Media check: is this a major publication (Major Media)
- Directory: journals, awards, associations, conferences
- Recommendation Letter Builder + Quality Assessment
- Translation Tracker: Get Documents to Certified Translation
- Degree Evaluation Readiness (WES): Checklist
- Printable petition packet assembly
- Which USCIS forms do you need by visa and stage
- Cost and timeline: estimated O-1 budget and schedule
- RFE Response Builder: Structure with Real USCIS Wording
- Interview Simulator: Consular Interview Practice
- Petition and RFE analysis against the criteria rules
From community discussions
«The first time I filed with premium and got denied. We refiled the case without premium and got approved in about 2 weeks. No RFE.»
community member · from public community chats
«Formally, the consul's job is to physically verify that you're a sane person, that the biography in the petition really is yours, and that you're telling the State Department the truth.»
community member · from public community chats
«Judging won't carry much weight, of course. But for EB2 there are no strict evaluation criteria for the prong, so for good measure I think it'd fit. I wouldn't specifically arrange judging for EB2 NIW, of course. But if you already have it, then why not?»
Mikhail · from public community chats
Personal opinions of community members from public discussions, not legal advice.
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