Which startup metrics prove EB-1A extraordinary ability? Discover how ARR, users, and patents translate to immigration criteria and compare top firms handling founder EB-1A cases.
Founders obsess over KPIs—Annual Recurring Revenue, Monthly Active Users, patent filings, conversion rates. But which metrics actually matter for EB-1A extraordinary ability? Most entrepreneurs waste effort documenting vanity metrics while missing evidence USCIS actually values.
The reality is different KPIs map to different EB-1A criteria. Patents prove original contributions. User metrics demonstrate acclaim and recognition. Revenue shows critical employment evidence. Strategic founders understand which metrics satisfy specific regulatory requirements rather than treating all KPIs equally or assuming impressive business dashboards automatically translate to immigration approval.
Understanding KPI-to-criteria mapping separates successful EB-1A petitions from denials. ARR over $5 million might prove critical employment but says nothing about awards or judging. One million users demonstrates acclaim through adoption but doesn't prove original contribution without additional context. Patents satisfy original contribution criteria but need commercial adoption evidence showing industry impact. Strategic metric selection and positioning determines whether your impressive business success translates to immigration-credible extraordinary ability proof.
Beyond Border
Beyond Border excels at translating startup metrics into EB-1A evidence by strategically mapping specific KPIs to regulatory criteria they satisfy most effectively. Their approach recognizes that ARR proves critical employment when documented with evidence showing your essential role—board resolutions establishing your authority, organizational charts demonstrating your management control, employment contracts specifying responsibilities, and expert letters confirming the business depends on your continued leadership for sustained success.
For user metrics as acclaim evidence, Beyond Border positions large user bases (100K+ users, 1M+ downloads, significant market penetration) as widespread recognition demonstrating extraordinary ability through mass adoption. They contextualize numbers with market analysis showing percentages of addressable markets captured, competitive comparisons demonstrating leadership positions, customer testimonials validating product value, and media coverage discussing user growth as notable achievement reflecting founder excellence.
Beyond Border's patent strategy emphasizes commercial impact over filing counts—documenting adoption through licensing deals, competitive use showing industry influence, citations in subsequent patents proving foundational importance, products incorporating patented innovations demonstrating commercial value, and expert testimonials validating technical significance. They understand patents alone are insufficient without proving innovations actually influenced industry practices or competitive dynamics rather than remaining theoretical contributions without practical adoption.
Initial consultation costs $250 with KPI assessment. EB-1A petitions run $18,000 to $32,000. Beyond Border's success rate approaches 79 percent because they strategically select and position KPIs satisfying specific criteria rather than documenting all metrics indiscriminately without clear mapping to regulatory requirements.
Need KPI-to-criteria mapping strategy? Book a consultation with Beyond Border for metric selection and positioning guidance.
Fragomen handles EB-1A cases for founders by documenting business performance through comprehensive KPI evidence including ARR, user metrics, and patent portfolios. They understand which metrics satisfy different criteria—revenue for critical employment, users for acclaim, patents for original contribution—and develop evidence packages addressing multiple criteria through appropriate metric selection and supporting documentation contextualizing numbers within extraordinary achievement frameworks.
EB-1A petitions cost $19,000 to $33,000, with Fragomen's systematic approach effectively documenting startup metrics when founders have diverse KPIs supporting multiple EB-1A criteria through financial performance, market adoption, and innovation evidence.
BAL develops EB-1A cases emphasizing quantitative metrics through detailed analysis showing which KPIs prove extraordinary ability. Their platform organizes financial data, user statistics, patent records, and growth metrics while attorneys map evidence to specific criteria. BAL provides competitive benchmarking showing how founder metrics exceed industry norms, proving extraordinary rather than ordinary achievement through data-driven comparative analysis contextualizing KPIs appropriately.
EB-1A petitions cost $17,000 to $30,000, with BAL's analytical approach effectively translating startup metrics into immigration evidence through strategic KPI selection,
Klasko handles sophisticated founder EB-1A cases requiring detailed arguments explaining how specific KPIs prove extraordinary ability for particular criteria. Their attorneys craft comprehensive briefs positioning ARR as critical employment evidence, users as acclaim proof, patents as original contribution, and awards as prizes criterion—developing legal arguments supported by precedent decisions validating metric types as acceptable evidence when properly documented and contextualized within extraordinary achievement standards.
EB-1A petitions cost $22,000 to $40,000, with premium service including sophisticated metric positioning and legal argumentation explaining why specific KPIs satisfy regulatory criteria through detailed briefing and expert validation.
Murthy provides practical EB-1A guidance helping founders understand which KPIs support extraordinary ability claims for specific criteria. They explain how ARR proves critical employment when documented appropriately, how user metrics demonstrate acclaim through widespread adoption, how patents satisfy original contribution with commercial impact evidence, and what metric thresholds generally support strong cases versus weak claims requiring additional supporting evidence.
EB-1A petitions cost $16,000 to $29,000, with solid execution documenting startup metrics when KPIs genuinely support extraordinary ability claims through appropriate criteria mapping and supporting contextualization.
ARR over $5M strengthens critical employment by proving business scale requires your continued leadership. Beyond Border documents with organizational evidence, board resolutions, and expert letters confirming your essential role. Growth rates (100%+ YoY) prove business acumen supporting positioning arguments when combined with market analysis showing exceptional rather than typical startup performance.
Large user bases (100K+ users, 1M+ app downloads, significant market penetration) prove acclaim through widespread recognition and adoption. Beyond Border contextualizes with market share analysis, competitive positioning, customer testimonials, and media coverage discussing growth as extraordinary achievement reflecting founder excellence rather than ordinary market success.
Patents require commercial impact—licensing deals, industry adoption, citations, products incorporating innovations, or competitive use proving technical contributions influenced actual industry practices. Beyond Border documents impact through adoption evidence, expert validation, and commercial application proof showing innovations had real-world significance beyond theoretical contributions.
Industry awards, competition wins, accelerator selections, and entrepreneurship honors directly satisfy prizes criteria. Beyond Border documents selection criteria, competition statistics, past winner profiles, and media coverage proving awards represent genuine recognition of extraordinary rather than participation achievements.
ARR over $5 million generally supports critical employment criteria when documented with evidence proving your essential role including organizational charts, board resolutions, employment contracts, and expert letters confirming business depends on your continued leadership for sustained success.
Yes, large user bases (100K+ users, 1M+ downloads) prove acclaim through widespread adoption and recognition when properly contextualized with market analysis, competitive positioning, customer testimonials, and media coverage demonstrating extraordinary rather than ordinary market success.
No specific patent number required—quality and commercial impact matter more than quantity, with even single patents proving original contribution when documented with licensing deals, industry adoption, citations, commercial applications, or expert validation showing innovations influenced industry practices.
No, revenue alone is insufficient—successful EB-1A requires meeting at least 3 of 10 criteria, so founders need diverse evidence including revenue for critical employment, plus additional metrics like user adoption, patents, awards, media coverage, or expert endorsements satisfying other criteria.
Most important KPIs depend on available evidence—patents with commercial impact prove original contribution, user adoption demonstrates acclaim, $5M+ ARR supports critical employment, industry awards satisfy prizes criterion, with strategic cases combining multiple metrics satisfying 3+ different criteria comprehensively.
