✅ EB-1A: approval
A story of an EB-1A petition approval for the author’s wife, a dancer and pole dancer. Filed from the US, approved without an RFE in Nebraska.
Case parameters
Filing: January 2025
Decision: September 2025
Service center: Nebraska
Claimed criteria: Awards, Contributions, Judging, Press, Associations, Leading role
Attorney: with an attorney
Timing: premium processing in August 2025
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✓Awards
CIS (СНГ), Europe, USA, 10+ medals
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✓Contributions
Book, masterclasses, organizing competitions
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✓Judging
2 judging gigs and an invitation from the US federation
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✓Press
4–5 articles/interviews in the CIS, one in the USA
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✓Associations
US federation, there is a status for winners of the top category
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✓Leading role
Expert letters, documents from employers
How it went
Category - EB1A
Specialty - Sport (Dancing, Pole Dance)
With an attorney, I won’t name them yet, there are no mentions in the chat
Applicant - my wife, I only helped financially and to not go crazy 
. A few years ago it all started as a joke “what, am I not talented?” We laughed about the idea for a long time, reading the chat and watching videos about people who fly into the distant space with so-called Forbes and letters from professors at Stanford and MIT, who sometimes even get RFEs. There was a lot of work and many stages of “this is impossible / I was just kidding / I can’t do this anymore.”
Filed from the US together with the I-485 form — I wouldn’t recommend doing that, very stressful and very expensive until you get work authorization. Possibly a fresh medal in the US (2 months before filing) and letters from the American federation helped a lot. I wasn’t very happy with the final case; it felt small (about 300 pages), with few charts, diagrams, and comparisons, but since it worked, no complaints.
Approved without an RFE, Nebraska, the officer (may they be in good health) is unknown.
We filed:
Awards (the main petition point) - CIS (СНГ), Europe, USA, 10+ medals
Contributions: book (distribution, libraries, reviews), masterclasses in the CIS and USA, organizing competitions, many letters
Judging: 2 judging roles + an invitation to join judges from the US federation
Press (major): 4 or 5 articles/interviews in the CIS, one in the USA
Associations - US federation, there is a status for winners of the top category, which is documented clearly
Leading role: letters from experts/colleagues/documents from employers
Misc: about a dozen support letters from the CIS and Europe, a letter from the president of the US federation
Plans in the US: a letter from an employer, as detailed as possible, indicating hourly rates + invitations to run masterclasses, etc. The activity in the US matches the petition 120%, for anyone who’s been following.
Timeline:
January 2025 - petition filed
August 2025 - switched to premium processing
August 2025 - accepted for review by Nebraska
September 2025 - approval
Now we’ll try to handle the next stage, everything is just beginning.
Huge thanks personally to Egor and many from this chat who joined calls. I can’t imagine how the main problem would have been solved — the initial chaos in the head — without them.
I’ll be on the next call, I read the chat. Unfortunately, lately I haven’t been able to participate in calls, the case/settling into life in the US is eating 120% of my time.
To everyone starting out, a reminder: we started as a joke, and this is dancing, and it’s pole dance too, so anything is possible. IMHO, the main thing is to break the task into steps and work with experienced people. It’s a long and nerve-wracking marathon, but it will work out.
Probably more efficient to work with those who have experience and understand the process. You can do everything yourself if time isn’t limited, but there’s a chance to burn out/go crazy 
Main insight
“The main thing is to break the task into steps and work with experienced people. It’s a long and nerve-wracking marathon, but anything is possible.”
Alex K (@a13_tme)
January 2025
Petition filed
August 2025
Switched to premium processing
August 2025
Accepted for review by Nebraska
September 2025
Approval
Story author
Alex K (@a13_tme), from the chat @talentvisahelp. Original message in the chat.
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