✅ EB-1A: approval
We passed the interview in Warsaw for an EB-1A visa in the field of education. The consul asked questions about my specialty, awards and judging activities. In the end, the visas were approved.
Case parameters
Category: EB-1A
Profession: Education
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✓Judging
Expert at Rosobrnadzor (Рособрнадзор), work both individually and as part of committees
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✓Awards
Award for an educational program
How it went
Hello everyone!
Today we had the interview in Warsaw for the EB-1A visa in Education. The wait took about 2 hours. First they asked my husband about his specialty, whether he had served in the military, and what he intends to do in the US. Then general questions — what kind of marriage we have, how many years married, how many children we have, whether we have relatives or friends in the US, how much money we have.
After that the consul moved on to speak with me, as the principal applicant. She asked about my level of education, why I consider myself extraordinary, about my publications and my specialization. She also asked about my book (that information was only in my CV; I did not attach the book to the petition). Then she asked about international recognition and awards. There was a nuance with the award: it was an award for work — an educational program and its implementation — and she expected it to be a personal award (I had not submitted this criterion separately in the petition either). At that point the consul called in a second consul; he asked me in Russian, and I explained the award to him again. Then they moved on to questions about judging. I am an expert at Rosobrnadzor (Рособрнадзор) — they asked how I obtained accreditation, and then I began listing instances of my judging. The consul clarified whether I provided expert assessments personally or as part of committees. I have experience both individually and in committees; I specified which universities, what and how I assessed. They did not ask further about other judging episodes (olympiads, patents, the Unified State Exam).
She separately inquired about the educational program in nuclear medicine — what nuclear medicine is, how many people are enrolled in the program, who they are. She also asked which category I can train. The interview felt very long to me, but my husband said we talked for about 15–20 minutes. Then the consul printed something and approved our visas. During the interview she was flipping through my petition, and there were checkmarks in the margins — apparently those were the points she was clarifying. She also, after my answers, looked into my recommendation letters (they contained the information I had told her). So they study petitions thoroughly, with annotations, and recommendation letters and criteria such as awards, judging, and contributions like published books matter to them.
I thank Egor for his responsiveness, support and for answering silly questions))))!!! I wish everyone approvals and success in achieving their goals!
Main insight
“Petitions are studied thoroughly, with annotations; recommendation letters and criteria such as awards and judging are important.”
Dr Olga Tselousova (@Phd_Tselousova)
2024-08-28
Interview in Warsaw, visa approval
Author of the story
Dr Olga Tselousova (@Phd_Tselousova), from the chat @talentvisahelp. Original message in the chat.
Useful resources on the topic
All information about O-1 / EB-1A / EB-2 NIW
More success and denial stories: channel @o1eb1