One of our clients, a Software Developer working in the U.S. retail technology space, just secured an EB-1A Extraordinary Ability Green Card.
And here’s what makes this approval stand out:
👉 No research papers.👉 No PhD.👉 No global awards.
Yet, approved.
So how did this case succeed?
The Real Reason This Case Was Approved
Instead of chasing every possible EB-1A criterion out of fear, we built a focused, defensible strategy around just three deeply connected criteria — executed with precision.
This was not about volume.It was about translation, positioning, and evidence.
The 3 EB-1A Criteria That Carried the Case
1️⃣ High Salary (Elite Market Positioning)
The client earned 65%+ higher compensation than peers in comparable software roles.
But we didn’t rely on payslips alone.
We demonstrated:
- Role-specific salary benchmarking
- Peer comparisons within retail-tech and AI-enabled engineering roles
- Internal expert letters confirming that his compensation reflected scarcity of skills and mission-critical responsibility
📌 USCIS doesn’t ask: “Is the salary high?”
📌 They ask: “Does this salary prove rarity?”
2️⃣ Critical Role in a Distinguished Retail Enterprise
This client wasn’t “just another engineer.”
He held a critical, decision-driving role at a large enterprise retail organization, where he:
- Built and scaled AI-powered systems
- Designed architectures impacting millions of end users
- Influenced core product and operational workflows
Much of this work originally lived inside:
- Team-based enterprise projects
- Internal systems
- Undocumented implementation layers
Our job was to reframe his role from contributor to indispensable architect — and document where the business depended on his technical judgment and leadership decisions.
🏢 Enterprise work doesn’t weaken EB-1A cases — undocumented enterprise work does.
3️⃣ Original Contributions of Major Significance
This is where the case was won.
Instead of patents or academic novelty, we proved real-world adoption and measurable impact.
His product and system innovations:
- Delivered multi-million-dollar operational savings
- Improved scalability and system efficiency
- Enhanced customer and user experience across retail platforms
- Were adopted across teams and workflows — beyond a single project
Unlike shelf patents, his work was actively used and scaled.
📌 USCIS values contributions that matter — not ideas that sit idle.
Strategic Reinforcement: Trade Articles & Thought Leadership
To strengthen peer recognition and field-level influence, we strategically incorporated trade articles and industry visibility.
The client:
- Was featured in industry-relevant trade publications and tech platforms discussing large-scale retail systems, AI-driven engineering, and enterprise innovation
- Contributed insights that were consumed by professionals in the same field, not the general public
- Demonstrated that his work and viewpoints were referenced and valued within the industry ecosystem
📌 Trade articles don’t need to be Forbes or Nature.
📌 They need to show industry relevance, professional readership, and subject-matter authority.
Strategic Reinforcement: Speaking & Knowledge-Sharing Roles
We also positioned speaking and evaluation activities as evidence of peer recognition, not as standalone achievements.
This included:
- Speaking engagements (internal, semi-public, or industry-facing) where he shared expertise on retail tech architecture, AI systems, and scalability challenges
- Invitations to evaluate or guide technical work, reinforcing that others in the field sought his judgment
- Knowledge-sharing roles that showed trusted authority, not just participation
📌 Speaking doesn’t have to be on a global stage.
📌 It must show that others listen because of your expertise.
Bonus (Supportive, Not Core)
To reinforce the narrative, we also included:
- Select judging and evaluation activities
- Targeted open-source contributions
These supported the case —but they were not the foundation of approval.
What This Case Proves About EB-1A
At Jinee, we tell clients one simple truth:
You don’t need to tick 6 boxes out of fear.
People chase six criteria just to feel safe.But EB-1A approvals aren’t about how many criteria you attempt —
👉 They’re about how well your selected criteria connect
👉 And whether they carry one coherent excellence story
Think of EB-1A Like Applying to Harvard
You don’t need:
- 20 clubs
- 100 medals
- Perfect scores
You need:✔ A focused profile✔ Clear excellence✔ Evidence that you’re already elite — and still rising
EB-1A works the same way.
Who This Case Is For
If you’re in:
- Software Engineering
- Product or Platform Engineering
- Data, AI, or ML
- Retail Tech, SaaS, or Enterprise Systems
…and you’ve built real, measurable impact,
👉 You may already qualify for EB-1A — even if you think you don’t.
Start Your Free EB-1A Eligibility Check
🧭 No hype🧭 No copy-paste petitions🧭 Just strategy-led approvals
📩 Email: support@jineegreencard.com
— Team JineeExtraordinary Ability. Executed Strategically.


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