EB-1A Approval Rates 2025: Complete Statistics, Trends, & What Applicants Should Expect

2. What is the EB1A Visa?

The EB1A is a green card category for individuals with extraordinary ability who have been recognized for sustained national or international acclaim.

Who qualifies and how is EB1A different?

Individuals that can demonstrate that they are at top of their field, with plentiful supporting evidence. EB1A provides for permanent residency. Whereas an O1A is a non-immigrant visa. NIW is not an employer-sponsor, but it does have a qualifying criteria at the extraordinary ability level.

3. Why Approval Rates change Year to Year?

• Changes in adjudication policies at USCIS
• Changes in filing volume
• Changes in officer training and internal guidance
• By the strength and quality of the evidence presented
• Changes in patterns of global high-skilled migration patterns

4. EB1A Approval Rates in 2025

The latest analysis of USCIS data shows a clear shift in approval rates across all employment categories. However, the recent data for this year shows an increasingly high level of scrutiny for all employment-based categories. Nonetheless, thoroughly developed EB1A applications with well-documented evidence still show a high rate of success. Quality preparation remains the key to a successful immigration case strategy and, by extension, the outcome.

The statistics for overall EB1A approvals indicate that the USCIS has strict but fair standards. Cases that present thorough evidence, deliver a clear explanation of an extraordinary achievement, and strategically provide evidence generally succeed over cases that have less preparation.

5. Understanding the 2025 Approval Landscape

Overall Approval Rate

As of 2025, the EB1A approval has a rate ranging around 67%, Q1 FY 2025 showing a distinct rebound to 63% after the sharp drop in FY 2024. Although approvals continue to recover, the adjudication environment remains stringent due to backlogs, elevated RFE rates, and a more intense focus on tangible, independently verifiable impact.

Approvals vs. Denials Trends

The approval patterns in 2025 present a stark dichotomy:

• Petitions that are sufficiently prepared continue to have strong approval rates, in particular those with objective metrics, letters from credible experts, and clearly documented evidence mapping.
• Petitions that are less well-prepared are experiencing increased denial rates, primarily petitions that articulated unrealized achievements or facts and lacked documentation.
• RFEs currently are being issued in 40% – 50% of EB-1A filings; however, effective responses to the RFE continue to record ~60% approval rates demonstrating that the crucial factor is the relative strength of the evidence not whether a RFE was issued

Year-Over-Year Comparison (2023 → 2024 → 2025)

Data shows that EB-1A adjudication has tightened significantly over the past ten years

• EB-1As were regularly approved at high (80–87%) rates.
• FY 2024 was the most aggressive year for the adjudicator in recent times.

We see a distinct improvement in 2025, but it does not resemble the leniency of 2014–2016 before FY 2017.

Nonetheless, the adjudicator is beginning to recover, but still remains much stricter than in the past decades.

6. EB1A Success Rates by Area of Practice

The EB1A success rates demonstrated by area of practice show significant variation across professional fields.

7. Understanding the 2025 Approval Environment

The EB-1A approval environment for 2025 is influenced by a number of interconnected drivers: rising RFE rates, more stringent evidentiary review, volume of filings, and approving trends based on country and industry.

Rising RFE Rates and What they mean?

Perhaps the most compelling development regarding 2025 is the uptick in RFE rates, which now impacts 40-50% of EB-1A applications. And while this rate is not reflective of decreased approval rates, it suggests a stricter and more nuanced standard for review. In short, applicants have continued to paint the best picture when responding to RFEs, and can expect a strong outcome of around 60% approval rates (on par with applicants/applications that never received an RFE). This must mean that RFEs are a request for clarification because if well-planned and supported, an applicant can still expect approval (at a rate on par with those who never received an RFE).

8. What is prompting the fluctuations of 2025 Approval Standards?

Better Evidence Interpretation

USCIS individuals are emphasizing extraordinary ability criteria in deeper, richer ways. Applicants are being required to demonstrate a stronger evidential basis for a measurable impact, independent recognition, and duration of career. Analysts following the USCIS EB-1A data indicate the cases that contain vague accomplishments or allegations without backup are the ones under the greatest scrutiny in this stricter review environment.

Increased Filing Volume

The ebbs and flows of post-pandemic mobility in the global marketplace, particularly as it relates to U.S. technology, research and innovation sectors, have contributed to an increase in EB-1A filings. Scientists, technologists, founders, and creatives are filing at remarkable levels resulting in a more competitive market. This volume is likely to increase scrutiny of evidence affiliated with palpable accomplishments of individuals.

The Rising RFE Issue

Requests for Evidence (RFE) are appearing more frequently; while extending time frames they are not necessarily bad. The challenge is to create evidence that responds specifically to the officer's concerns that are verifiable. Applications that are strong and/or robustly structures, backed by evidence of meeting criteria, continue to perform remarkably well, irrespective of RFEs, while the weaker applications typically do not recover after a RFE.

Approval Rates by Industry

Approval rates vary by industry based on available documentation and standard industry practices. In conversations with fellow experts, our summarized findings are as follows:

• Scientific research: The specific research field demonstrated the strongest acceptance patterns.
• Medical (other sciences): Demonstrated the following highest approval rates due to clear metrics like peer-reviewed articles and clinical-level innovations.
• Creative and performing arts when an applicant can identify their level of national exposure specifically, did well.
• Athletics and sports also continued to demonstrate a strong pattern, as evidenced by their validation in documenting quantifiable career accomplishments.
• Startup founders with funding traction, or reputable accelerators performed primarily firmly based on the example documents.

These reflect broader EB-1A approval statistics across diverse professional domains.

9. Trends in EB-1A Approval for Indian Applicants in 2025

More Scrutiny Attention

USCIS is scrutinizing more closely the context and impact of achievement. They are looking for evidence that applicants make an impact in their field, not only do good work in their field. This has resulted in more focus on citation metrics, market or industry adoption, measurable innovation, and the role of press.

RFE and NOID Rates

The RFEs and NOIDs have changed to now focus on ambiguity, unsupported achievements, and repetition as well as weak expert letters. The relatively 'strong' petitions can solve the problems; weak petitions do not.

More Emphasis on Measurable Impact

More attention is placed on contract - energy involved, citations made, things helped to change, clinical outcomes, contributions to outside of previous work or jobs to gain new participation, revenue gained (ex.) Professor A led coding innovation; Professor A developed patent goggles to be used in clinical evaluation to ensure placebo standard; Professor A received money to give to others to apply or win at challenge or in biomechanical award programs.

The Role of Premium Processing

Premium processing does allow for faster timelines, but does not lessen expectations. In many instances, the timeframe of a response is faster, but with more RFEs, rather than a simpler approval process.

Commonality with Approved Applications

Primarily, the approved cases came with:

• Clear mapping of evidence to factors
• Independent press and outlet validation
• Strong letters from respected authority
• Evidence delivered with measurements and impact.

Most Common Reasons for EB-1A Rejections

• Inadequate evidence of sustained recognition
• Absence of measurable or independently verifiable influence
• Lack of third-party verification (media coverage, awards, citations)
• Weak or generic expert letters
• Poor organization of the narrative, with insufficient basis for extraordinary ability

10. What the Highest Approval Prospective Applicants did differently in 2025?

Approved applicants in 2025 generally had:

• Clear detailing of evidence to each criteria
• Firm objective metrics supported by verifiable evidence
• Independent media and press coverage
• An explicit and principled expert letter from a powerful and engaged person or entity
• Demonstrated impact on the field and not only success in their profession

Comparing the EB-1A Approval Rates to Other Immigrant Categories

• EB-1B: higher approval rates, as applicants received petitionary support from an employer and the standards were much stricter.
• EB-1C: lower approval rates because of strict multinational manager requirements.
• O-1A: higher rates, but non-immigrant; less stringent than EB-1A.

11. How 2025 Trends will impact Prospective Applicants who file in 2025 - 2026?

Predictions

• Continued emphasis on objective, data-driven evidence
• Increased scrutiny of independent validation
• Italian specificity with the RFEs regarding influence and evidence sharing qualifications.

How to Prepare Yourself?

• Enhance expert letters
• Plan on adding tangible metrics (citations, revenue, adoption, outcomes)
• Establish independent press visibility
• Get careful about the utility of evidence mapping or visualizations

What is Demonstrated by the Assessment Process?

• Quantifiable influence
• Meaningful third-party emphasis
• Demonstrated capacity for shaping the field
• Demonstrated originality or innovation

The EB-1A environment in 2025 has increased scrutiny, more RFEs, and an increased emphasis on measurable professional impact. Despite the increased review, applicants with a clear, organized petition – complete with documented quantifiable accomplishments – are continually approved at significant rates.

As we enter 2026, we can expect the same patterns. In the end, the strongest applicants will be those who devote time and energy to ensure reliable documentation, credible expert letters, and strategic evidence presentation.

EB-1A Experts can ensure that someone is building a petition that meets the contemporary standards of USCIS. Our assistance includes individualized strategy, documentation support, and end-to-end development of your petition.

Promote your evaluation today and enhance your likelihood of EB-1A Approval.

12. FAQs

1. What is the EB-1A approval rate in 2025?

It ranges roughly 55–70% depending on the quarter and case strength (Add 1 more line).

2. Why are approval rates fluctuating this year?

Tighter adjudication standards and increasing filing volumes.

3. Do Indian applicants face lower approval rates?

Slightly lower, mainly due to high competition and evidence gaps—not bias.

4. Which fields have the highest EB-1A success rate?

Sciences, medical research, arts, athletics, and funded startup founders.

5. How do RFEs impact approval rates?

They reduce success primarily when responses are weak or incomplete.