Can anyone tell me who filed an EB-1A self-petition without an employer— is it really possible to do it yourself? Or is a reputable attorney indispensable? Has anyone done it on their own— how did it go?
I’m preparing an EB-1 petition myself without an attorney. The documents needed are the I-140 (the petition itself), the I-485 if you’re applying for a change of status, the I-907 if you want expedited processing, and the petition in PDF format. My case is almost ready; I just need to gather and organize everything — it feels doable. The hardest part is properly assembling the evidence package to meet the criteria.
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Oh, thanks for sharing) How do you approach the evidence base — what criteria do you use to gather it? That’s the part that scares me the most.
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I’ve heard that even with a lawyer you still have to do most of it yourself: figure things out, reconcile conflicting opinions, and explain your case. A petition is hundreds of pages about yourself, and nobody will write it properly for you. I read somewhere that writing it takes about 360 hours — roughly three hours a day for four months straight.
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I put it together myself following an example — a Russian scientist had posted his case on GitHub and described the structure in great detail. A lawyer later reviewed and submitted the case, but I assembled most of it myself. I received approval without an RFE (Request for Evidence). An American colleague helped draft the recommendation letters — that’s a whole other story; native speakers write very differently than we do, and it shows.
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My wife didn’t have an employer at the time — that wasn’t a problem. We filed the I-140 together with the I-907 right away; the approval arrived electronically about ten days after filing. Exhibitions, publications, recommendation letters — that was enough; the main thing is to package everything correctly to meet the criteria.
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I prepared for a very long time — and honestly, I lost a lot of time because of lawyers. Most of them said I should start with an O-1 because the chances for EB-1 were too slim; that set me back about a year and a half. Then I started researching it myself and realized my case was strong. In the end I put everything together on my own and filed without an attorney — I got approved without an RFE under premium processing. So it’s totally doable, just don’t believe those who say up front that you don’t stand a chance.
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It’s a nightmare trying to figure everything out on your own — the number of nuances is off the charts. Every little thing can potentially trigger an RFE; it’s only doable if you can spend about five hours a day on it. And count the money too: the filing fee for the form is $715, premium processing is another $2,805 on top — and that’s just the I-140; if they approve it, there’ll be more costs.
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