EB1 Extraordinary Ability Petition's Request for Evidence (RFE) Question of Reviewing Journal Articles
Question:
I applied the EB1 Extraordinary Ability Green Card application three months ago in the USCIS Texas Service Center. Now, I got a Request for Evidence (RFE) letter, asking for the evidence question of my reviewing articles for a journal. Do you think this is because that the journal is not the highest ranked journal in my field?
Answer:
USCIS Service Center often issues the Request for Evidence in EB1 Extraordinary Ability petitions with respect to the criteria of "judging the work of others." USCIS examiners question the alien applicant's work in acting as a reviewer for scientific journals, if the journals at issue were not the highest ranked journals in the field.
Under the law, serving as a referee for scholarly, peer reviewed journals meets the "judging the work of others" criteria, even if the journal is not the highest ranked journal.
Normally, USCIS examiners may ask for "documentary evidence for selection of judges in panels/referees in journals." The petitioners should get documents from the editors of the journals. If the alien petitioner was asked to review any articles for the journal, he or she can ask a letter as evidence from the editors or associate editors.
Additionally, the editors typically send out review decision letters to reviewers that they influenced the decision or outcome of the review. They may say that the decision to publish or not publish was made based on reviewer's recommendation. Such letters would play an important role for the RFE response also.
http://www.greencardapply.com/question/question15/EB1A_RFE_Reviewing_Articles_062915.htm
http://www.greencardapply.com/ea.htm