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High salary: what it is

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High salary: definition

Key answer

High salary is an O-1 / EB-1A criterion: your remuneration is significantly above what is typical for the occupation and region. It is compared against the prevailing wage: you need documented income plus the statistics it is measured against.

Income is proven with contracts, tax documents, statements; the 'high' part - by comparison with occupation and region data. Compare correctly: same occupation, same market.

For founders and freelancers with non-standard income structures the criterion is trickier - what works there is covered in the evidence materials.

High salary: the official source

High salary: what to do - tools

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High salary: documents and templates from the library

High salary: from community discussions

  • «Whatever you do, don't do this, I beg you. I tried it, it's a 100% denial. I got a 13-page RFE about how this carries no national importance for the US. Any words about a shortage are a red flag for the officer. They didn't even read my RFE response with the redefined endeavor.»

    community member · from public community chats

  • «Once the case is filed, no evidence obtained after the filing date is accepted for that case. That is, it's reviewed as of the time of filing. The RFE will come for what's already been filed, and they expect a response on what's written there.»

    Eugene · from public community chats

  • «My lawyer told me that at the figure skating World Championships a pair won a medal, but EB-1 was approved for only one person, because collective awards don't count.»

    Maksim · from public community chats

Personal opinions of community members from public discussions, not legal advice.

High salary: related terms

All glossary terms

A reference definition, not legal advice. Requirements and procedures depend on your case - verify on uscis.gov.

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