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EB-1A I-140 Notice of Intent to Deny

Updated: Author: Alina Kanametova

Reference Guides 8 pages Anonymized Access on request

A USCIS notice of intent to deny an EB-1A I-140 for a software developer: three criteria met, the final merits test failed, 30 days to respond (33 by mail).

Petition After filing

About this document

A USCIS Notice of Intent to Deny on a Form I-140 immigrant petition seeking EB-1A classification as an individual of extraordinary ability in software development. It explains the EB-1A legal standard, reviews the regulatory criteria, and says the record met three criteria but still failed the final merits test. USCIS gives the applicant 30 days, or 33 if mailed, to respond with evidence.

Key points

  • The petition is for E11/EB-1A extraordinary ability classification under INA 203(b)(1)(A).
  • USCIS says no one-time major internationally recognized award was shown.
  • The record was found to satisfy judging the work of others.
  • The record was found to satisfy authorship of scholarly articles: 13 publications and about 291 citations.
  • The record was found to satisfy a leading or critical role for a distinguished employer.
  • USCIS rejected the major-significance contribution claim, saying the patent and citations did not prove field-wide impact.
  • The final merits review found the evidence did not show sustained national or international acclaim.
  • The applicant is given 30 days, or 33 days if mailed, to respond; otherwise the petition will be denied.

What is inside

  1. Intro and petition details
  2. EB-1A legal standard
  3. Regulatory criteria list
  4. NOID basis and response rules
  5. Criterion-by-criterion findings
  6. Final merits determination
  7. Deadline and cover sheet instructions

When it helps

A denial notice that shows how USCIS analyzes an EB-1A petition under the two-step extraordinary-ability framework. It also states the specific evidence types USCIS accepted and rejected, including judging, publications, citations, and claimed major contributions.

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Source: Community (anonymized). The material opens on the site. Reference material, not legal advice.

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