How to ask your question. Read this thread first

[nomad (Abito in Via del Corso)]

Welcome to the “Questions & Answers” section

Here you can ask questions about O-1, EB-1A, EB-2 NIW visas and other immigration topics. Our experts and community members will review your situation and help determine next steps.

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Step 2: Explore the knowledge base

Before asking a question, we recommend reading articles on your topic — the answer may already be there:

O-1 / EB-1A Criteria

Criterion	Articles
Awards	Part 1 · Part 2 · Part 3
Membership in associations	Part 1 · Part 2 · Part 3
Media coverage	Part 1 · Part 2
Scholarly articles	Part 1 · Part 2
Judging	Article
Original contribution	Article
Final Merits	Article
Critical role	Part 1 · Part 2
High salary	Article
O-1 petitioner	Article
Document translation	Article

Successes and denials

• 57 EB-1A cases
• 45 EB-1A, NIW and O-1 cases
• RFE: Denial database

Consular interview

• 221(g): you weren’t refused, but the visa wasn’t issued
• DS-5535, MANTIS and Clearance
• 221(g) timelines: real statistics
• Mandamus and Congress
• Interviews: 10+ real stories
• Consulates by country

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Step 3: Create a topic with your question

→ Click here to ask a question

To help us give a useful answer, tell us about yourself:

1. Profession and field - what do you do?
2. Achievements - awards, publications, memberships, patents, anything that may be relevant
3. Current status - are you at the beginning of the process or have you already filed a petition?
4. Specific question - what exactly do you want to know?
5. Country of residence - if you plan to have a consular interview

Tip: the more details you provide about your situation, the more precise the answer will be. Don’t be afraid to write a lot — it’s better to give more context than to receive a generic reply.

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[temnyj_les (Олег)]

The section is useful, but I want to add something — when you ask a question, give specifics: which category, whether there’s a petition, and what stage it’s at. I often see “I want to go to the US, what should I do” and you can’t answer that properly. The more details, the more helpful the answer will be; it’s like debugging — without logs nobody can help.

[dimka_law (Дмитрий)]

Oleg is right about being specific — I’d also add that it’s helpful to say up front whether you’ve filed anything before or are starting from scratch. Because, roughly speaking, advice for someone with a denial and advice for someone who’s only thinking about filing a petition are two completely different conversations. And if there’s an RFE (Request for Evidence) — the text of the request is also important; sometimes the wording already hints at what the officer wants to see.

[solnyshko_m (Маринка)]

you know, I’ve seen so many times how people are embarrassed to ask “stupid” questions and then make everything harder for themselves. don’t be shy, we’ve all been through that. and Dimka was right about the RFE — sometimes half the answer is already hidden in the request itself, you just need to read it carefully.

[katyaMinovaLt (Екатерина Минова)]

I agree with what’s been said about the RFE (Request for Evidence) — when I got my first one, I didn’t understand what it said at all and ran off to reply at random. Then a lawyer looked and said, “it’s written right there in plain text what they’re missing.” So yes, read carefully, don’t panic right away, and post the details here — we’ll figure it out.