A Behind-the-Scenes Brand Strategist Obtains EB-1A

Year: April 2020
Nationality: British
Applicant: Mr. Robin
Industry: Brand marketing strategy
Four outstanding conditions: Leading Critical Role, Media Publication, Major Contribution, High Salary

BACKGROUND

Mr. Robin was the brand strategist for a British cosmetics company for 20 years, helping the company’s brands to rapidly expand into the global market, providing original and constructive advice, and even guiding the brand to a successful IPO in Hong Kong. Mr. Robin has been the company’s “Chief Strategy Officer” since before the position became popular.

Mr. Robin was referred by a friend in the U.S. and engaged Tsang & Associates to handle his EB-1A outstanding talent green card. He intends to use his strengths to help his U.S. based cosmetics company grow and expand into the global market.

Despite Mr. and Mrs. K. Robin’s experience and resume were outstanding, but to our surprise, the strict USCIS issued an RFE (Remedial Notice) in his case, questioning three of the four outstanding conditions we submitted: media coverage, professional contribution, and high salary.

1. long behind the scenes, with little public supporting material.
There is no doubt that Mr. and Mrs. Robin’s professional qualifications are outstanding, however, due to the long-standing nature of his work behind the scenes, there has been very little media coverage of him, and most of the coverage has focused on the brand’s achievements, which was specifically mentioned by the immigration officer in the supplemental notice that there was very little coverage of Mr. Robin. Robin himself, who needs further detailed data to prove that he himself has played a pivotal role in the brand’s success.

2. Leaving 7 years ago, all the brilliant records set are historical.
Mr. Robin’s major accomplishments are all from his time working for a British cosmetics company, however, he left his job 7 years ago and his record of excellence is in the past, and proving that his professional contributions are still relevant/beneficial to the field now and even in the future within the United States is another one of the key challenges. The immigration officer would also like to see more specific documentation that explains that Mr. Robin’s accomplishments and his profession are still relevant and of continuing benefit to the United States.

3. The content of the reference letter does not substantiate excellence.
Mr. Robin’s long years of experience have allowed him to meet many experts and executives in the field, many of whom are willing to write letters of recommendation for him. However, the references do not understand the preferences and characteristics of EB-1A letters, and do not present objective content with tangible evidence that Mr. Robin is a “brand strategist” who is a leader in the industry and whose advice and solutions have had a tremendous and profound impact on the field. Even though the titles of the references are impressive, the immigration officer is still skeptical about the quality of the references.

4. High salaries are controversial.
Most of Mr. Robin’s high payroll comes from his time at the cosmetics company, which he left 7 years ago. Moreover, his position has only been officially included in the UK industry salary statistics in recent years, and there is very little salary comparison information for this position from 7 years ago. The immigration officer, however, wanted to see an official simulation of the same position and thought that a salary comparison for the same position would be convincing.

KEYS TO SUCCESS

Tsang & Associates analyzed the supplemental notice and concluded that USCIS did not understand the industry of branding strategy. Based on the content of the supplemental notice and Mr. Robin’s situation, a supplemental strategy was developed.
1. develop a more detailed and demanding list of addenda based on the addenda requirements.
2. to provide the client with a new strategic plan based on the immigration officer’s attitude towards the hearing.
3. Search and query more industry analysis data, and Mr. Background research on Robin’s project, to obtain more favorable information, to explain the characteristics of the industry to the immigration authorities, and to guide the content of the recommendation letter key points, with concrete facts to prove Mr. Robin’s outstanding capabilities.
4. Focusing on Mr. and Mrs. Robin’s role as “brand strategist” explains in detail the significance and impact of his work on the industry and the global marketplace, and attaches a case study done by Harvard Business Review on the British cosmetics company, which covers the story and significance of the brand’s successful IPO in Hong Kong. The story and significance behind the brand’s successful IPO in Hong Kong.

OUTCOME

In March 2020, Tsang & Associates submitted the 1,000-page supplemental document to USCIS and received Mr. Robin’s EB-1A approval in the mail 2 weeks later, Mr. Robin was very satisfied with the good news and called Mr. Tsang personally to express his gratitude.

Comment by Joseph Tsang, Attorney at Law.
The EB-1A distinguished talent is the first priority immigration category in the United States, and the United States welcomes talented people from around the world to immigrate to the United States in this way. In previous years, EB-1A petitions were very popular with Chinese applicants because there was no waiting period. However, since the Trump administration took office, the USCIS has gradually raised the standard for EB-1A petitions. In this case, Mr. Robin was well qualified and should have been approved without a supplemental petition under the previous processing standard.

However, compared to other visa categories, EB-1A still has great advantages, as the applicant does not need a U.S. employer, waits for the immigration queue in a short period of time, and can obtain a 10-year formal green card after the application is approved, or many elite people immigrate to the United States.

There are ten criteria for EB-1A review and the applicant needs to meet at least three of them, which is often referred to as “three out of ten”. Of course, if you have the ability to win an international award such as an Olympic medal that is a household name, you are not bound by the “three out of ten” requirement, as long as one of the top international awards is sufficient.

In fact, EB-1A is not as lofty as you might think, it corresponds to what we all know in China. However, in practice, it is not simply a matter of meeting the “three out of ten” criteria, but generally requires 1-3 additional choices.

Nowadays, EB-1A audits are becoming more and more stringent, so if you are interested, you should consult with an attorney as soon as possible to develop an application plan so that you can start preparing for your application in a targeted manner; if you do not meet the EB-1A green card criteria yet, you can start with the O-1 Outstanding Worker Visa. If you have questions about this, please call Tsang & Associates to schedule a fee-based consultation and we will explain the best course of action for your situation.


*To protect customer privacy, customer names are pseudonyms.