You must hold a U.S. Master’s degree or higher in a STEM field relevant to your proposed endeavor, or its foreign equivalent. Alternatively, a Bachelor’s degree plus 5 years of progressive, post degree work experience counts. Note that if you rely on the Bachelor’s plus 5 years, we must prove your experience is "progressive" (meaning increasing responsibility) and strictly post graduation.

This is the foundation of your entire case. You must define specifically what you will do in the U.S. Instead of simply stating you will work as a Data Scientist, your endeavor should be specific, such as developing novel machine learning algorithms to enhance genomic sequencing efficiency. It must be forward looking and distinct from just being a generic employee.

You must prove your proposed work has merit in a field like science, technology, or advanced manufacturing. For STEM professionals, this is often demonstrated by showing your work advances scientific knowledge or improves U.S. technological capabilities.

You must prove you are the right person to execute this endeavor. Your advanced degree, particularly a PhD in a STEM field, is a strong starting point. We strengthen this with evidence of specialized technical skills, relevant certifications, and a record of academic or industry achievements that distinguishes you from your peers.

You must prove you are the right person to execute this endeavor. Your advanced degree, particularly a PhD in a STEM field, is a strong starting point. We strengthen this with evidence of specialized technical skills, relevant certifications, and a record of academic or industry achievements that distinguishes you from your peers.

We look for a track record of innovation relevant to your field of proposed endeavor. You will need specific proof that your past work mattered, such as patents you have filed, papers you have published in peer reviewed journals, or products you built that achieved significant commercial or technical success.

You must prove your work has a broader impact beyond just your employer or clients. We leverage specific government frameworks, such as the Critical and Emerging Technologies list published by the White House, to prove your specific area of expertise (like AI, Quantum Computing, or Clean Energy) is a high priority for the United States government.

You must argue why the U.S. benefits from you specifically, without testing the labor market via PERM. We argue that the United States urgently needs your specific technical expertise to maintain global leadership in your STEM field and that a labor certification process would delay these critical contributions.