The EB-1A High Salary Criterion: How to Prove Your Pay Is High for Your Field, Role and City

No salary number wins the EB-1A remuneration criterion, so here is how USCIS actually compares your pay and which wage data survive review.

Part of our guide to EB-1A and EB-2 NIW.

The EB-1A high salary criterion asks one question: has your pay been high compared with others in your field? USCIS sets no dollar threshold and no percentile cutoff. You meet it with two kinds of proof placed side by side: records of what you earned (W-2s, tax returns, pay statements, bonus and equity documents, or a credible offer letter) and comparison data matched to your occupation, position and work location, such as Bureau of Labor Statistics OEWS wages for your exact job code and metro area. As of 2026-11-01 the standard is unchanged, and it is only one of ten criteria.

Status line, as of 2026-11-01: the criterion at 8 CFR 204.5(h)(3)(ix) is in effect as written, and the USCIS Policy Manual chapter that explains it says it is current as of 2026-10-27. Around it, PA-2026-05 (in effect since 2026-08-05, challenged in AAUP v. Mullin, no ruling) lets officers deny without an RFE or NOID when required initial evidence is missing. USCIS still applies the "final merits" step after the criteria count; no appeals court has ruled on it.

What the EB-1A high salary criterion actually requires

Under 8 CFR 204.5(h)(3)(ix), one of the ten EB-1A criteria is met by evidence "that the alien has commanded a high salary or other significantly high remuneration for services, in relation to others in the field." USCIS compares your documented pay with position-appropriate, location-matched wage data for your occupation. There is no fixed salary figure, and this criterion alone cannot carry a petition.

Two phrases do the work. "Commanded" means the market actually paid you this, or credibly offered it. "In relation to others in the field" means your number only counts next to a comparison. The regulation text is on the Cornell LII copy of 8 CFR 204.5, and the USCIS EB-1 page lists the same criterion in plain language.

The USCIS Policy Manual, Volume 6, Part F, Chapter 2 lists three kinds of evidence for this criterion:

• "Tax returns, pay statements, or other evidence of past salary or remuneration for services;"
• "Contract, job offer letter, or other evidence of prospective salary or remuneration for services; and"
• "Comparative wage or remuneration data for the person's field, such as geographical or position-appropriate compensation surveys."

For all ten criteria, see our EB-1A self-petition guide; this post covers criterion nine only.

What salary is high enough for EB-1A?

No number is high enough on its own, because USCIS publishes no threshold. What makes this exhibit strong is the quality of the comparison: data that matches your occupation, position and city, covers the same years you were paid, and shows a distribution (percentiles or ranges), so an officer can see where your pay falls in it.

Common misconception: "If I earn above a certain figure, I meet the EB-1A salary requirement."

Correction: The Policy Manual says USCIS "determines whether the person's salary or remuneration is high relative to the compensation paid to others working in the field." A large salary in a high-paying occupation and city can be ordinary there; a smaller one can be high in a lower-paid field.

Beating an average is not the same as being high. In a non-precedent decision (In Re: 33564231, December 18, 2024), the Administrative Appeals Office (AAO) acknowledged that the petitioner out-earned a survey's average but dismissed the appeal anyway: the survey did "not provide salary ranges, percentiles, or other means of establishing whether this difference was sufficiently significant." Such decisions bind only the parties, but they show how reviewers read thin data.

The Policy Manual lists four considerations, among others, for judging whether a comparison is accurate:

1. The description of the occupation. "Broad descriptions that include multiple occupations or multiple industries may not provide an accurate comparison." An "all occupations" table is weak.
2. The validity of the survey. "Some websites provide user-reported salary data, which may not be a valid comparison," for example when too few users reported their salaries or the data is otherwise not credible or reliable.
3. Location and currency. Officers use wage data "relevant to the applicable work location, rather than by simply converting the salary to U.S. dollars." If your best-paid years were in Bengaluru or London, you need data for that role in that city.
4. The salary rate being measured. "Officers consider whether the comparison data measures an hourly rate or an annual salary." Contractors and workers paid by the project need to document their hours.

What wage data can I use to compare my salary?

Use government data matched to your occupation code and metro area as the anchor, then add a credible, position-matched survey if you have one. The Policy Manual points officers to the BLS overview of wage data by area and occupation and DOL's CareerOneStop salary pages as sources that "may be helpful in evaluating the relative compensation for a given field." The weights below are our reading of the Policy Manual and of AAO non-precedent decisions (searchable on the USCIS AAO decisions page), not a USCIS scoring rule.

Salary comparison evidence for criterion (ix), as of November 2026

If you hold an H-1B, your Labor Condition Application (Form ETA-9035) already names an SOC code. Using that same code in your comparison keeps your record consistent; arguing for a different code is possible, but explain why. Our guide to searching the H-1B salary database shows how to pull LCA filings by employer, title and city.

Do stock grants and bonuses count as remuneration?

Often, yes, because the regulation reaches "other significantly high remuneration for services," not only base salary. Vested equity and bonuses paid for your work belong in the record when you can document them. The trap is comparing them with data that leaves them out.

The BLS OEWS questions page lists what OEWS wages exclude, including "Non-production bonuses", "Stock bonuses", "Year-end bonuses", "Profit-sharing payments", "Overtime pay" and "Relocation allowances". So if you set a W-2 wage total that includes vested RSUs against OEWS percentiles, you are comparing total compensation with base-style pay, and an officer can say so. The AAO has drawn exactly that line. In a non-precedent decision (In Re: 17756172, July 15, 2021), it wrote that "demonstrating that her total remuneration is high compared to the average base salaries in the field does not suffice." Two clean options:

• Compare base salary with OEWS, and present total compensation separately.
• Compare total compensation with a survey that measures total compensation for your position.

Unvested grants are different. The Policy Manual says "a credible contract or job offer showing prospective salary or remuneration" may establish the criterion even without past earnings, but an unvested grant's value depends on vesting and share price, so how to present it is a call for your immigration attorney. For founders, the Policy Manual's comparable-evidence example is showing that "the person's highly valued equity holdings in the startup are of comparable significance" to a high salary. If the criterion genuinely does not fit your role, read our explainer on comparable evidence when the ten criteria don't fit; the Policy Manual says "a general unsupported assertion" that a criterion does not apply is not enough.

Can DOL wage data prove a high salary?

It can anchor the comparison, but it rarely proves the criterion by itself. Department of Labor data shows what others earn; your W-2s, tax returns and payroll records prove what you earn. You need both, matched to each other.

Two DOL sources are often confused:

• BLS OEWS (the Bureau of Labor Statistics is part of DOL) estimates pay for about 830 occupations by nation, state and metro area, including percentile wages, which is what this criterion needs.
• OFLC prevailing-wage levels set the minimum an employer must pay on an LCA or PERM. A Level IV wage on your LCA shows the offered pay met the highest of the four floors for that code and area. It is still a minimum tied to the job's stated requirements, not a measure of where your actual pay ranks in your field (our reading). Our explainer on DOL prevailing wage levels covers how the levels work.

One OEWS change matters at the top of the pay scale. BLS says older releases footnoted some high percentiles only as "equal to or greater than" a top value, and that "beginning with the May 2025 estimates, OEWS began publishing specific wage estimates for many percentiles" that previously carried that footnote. If an older year's table footnotes the top percentiles for your occupation, it can show only that they sit at or above that top value; the May 2025 table may give a specific figure, and your attorney can decide how to present the earlier years.

Is a high salary enough without other criteria?

No. High remuneration is one of ten criteria. You need evidence that meets at least three of them, or a one-time major internationally recognized award, and then USCIS weighs everything together in a second step. Pay helps most when it corroborates the rest of the record.

The Policy Manual bases that second step on Kazarian v. USCIS, 596 F.3d 1115 (9th Cir. 2010): does the whole record show you are among the small percentage at the very top of the field, with sustained acclaim? See our explainer on the Kazarian two-step and the final merits determination. In court, Mukherji v. Miller (D. Neb., 2026-01-28) ordered an approval and the government dropped its Eighth Circuit appeal on 2026-06-10, while Agarwal v. Miller (D. Neb., 2026-09-25) upheld final-merits review, according to a Cyrus Mehta analysis of the two rulings. There is no appellate precedent, and USCIS still applies final merits (our post on the court split).

At final merits, an officer can ask whether your pay reflects recognition of you or simply a high-paying employer's pay band (our reading of the acclaim standard). If every engineer at your level and company earns what you earn, the salary exhibit carries less weight there, even if it clears step one.

The odds are not abstract. In USCIS's I-140 data for FY2026 Q3, the EB-1A approval rate (approvals divided by approvals plus denials) was 47.5% in Q1, 41.8% in Q2 and 32.2% in Q3 (April to June 2026). All three quarters predate PA-2026-05, so the data says nothing about that policy's effect. What the policy says still matters: if required initial evidence is missing, an officer may deny without first sending an RFE or NOID, and 12 weeks is the RFE maximum.

A worked example: a staff ML engineer on H-1B in Seattle

Ananya (hypothetical) is a staff machine-learning engineer in the Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue metro area, in H-1B status since October 2023. Her LCA lists SOC 15-1252, Software Developers. In November 2026 she and her attorney test whether criterion (ix) is worth claiming.

• Year-matched data. She pairs 2023 pay with the May 2023 OEWS metro table, 2024 with May 2024 and 2025 with May 2025, not three years against one table.
• Like with like. Her base salary sits near the top of the published percentiles in each year. Because OEWS excludes stock bonuses, she does not set her W-2 total (which includes vested RSUs) against OEWS. Total compensation goes against an industry survey that discloses its sample and covers staff-level roles in the region.
• Corroboration. An HR letter confirms her title, base pay, bonus and equity for each year, matched to her W-2s and vesting statements. A written promotion offer for 2027 is added as prospective remuneration.
• Final merits check. Her pay matches her employer's staff band, so her attorney leans on her stronger criteria (judging and original contributions) and treats salary as support, not the headline.

None of that makes the case approvable. It makes the salary exhibit hard to pick apart.

How to build the salary exhibit, step by step

1. Collect W-2s, tax returns and pay statements for every year you plan to claim, plus offer letters, equity grant agreements, vesting confirmations and bonus letters, so each dollar on the W-2 is explained.
2. Find the SOC code on your H-1B LCA (Form ETA-9035), or ask your attorney which code fits your role.
3. Download the OEWS metropolitan-area tables from bls.gov/oes for that code and area, one release per year claimed.
4. Check the OFLC wage search at flag.dol.gov and the LCA disclosure files on dol.gov as cross-checks, not as the main comparison.
5. Request a letter from your employer's HR or payroll office confirming title, base pay, bonuses and equity by year.
6. Ask your immigration attorney whether to claim criterion (ix) at all, how to treat unvested equity, and how it reads at final merits.
7. Finish the comparison exhibit before any Form I-140 (edition 06/07/24) is filed. Under PA-2026-05 an officer may deny without first sending an RFE or NOID in various situations, including when required initial evidence is missing.

Where this fits with your H-1B, STEM OPT or F-1 status

The USCIS EB-1 page tells extraordinary-ability applicants, "You may apply for yourself by filing a Form I-140," so no employer sponsor is needed, though you still need your employer's payroll records. A pending or approved I-140 does not change your H-1B status.

• Priority dates. In the November 2026 Visa Bulletin, EB-1 is Current for the rest of the world but has cutoffs for India (Final Action 2023-02-01) and China (2023-08-01). USCIS requires the Dates for Filing chart (2024-07-01 for both) for November I-485s; consular cases use Final Action Dates.
• Timing. The USCIS processing-times tool showed 32.5 months for EB-1A I-140s (80% of cases, read 2026-11-01); premium processing is 15 business days. Check the live processing-times tool before planning around either.
• F-1 and OPT. F-1 requires nonimmigrant intent and is not a dual-intent status, so a filed immigrant petition can be raised at a later F-1 visa interview or at entry. Our comparison of which visas allow dual intent explains the difference; talk to your DSO about your SEVIS record and to an immigration attorney about the petition before filing.

Common mistakes

• Total compensation against OEWS base wages. OEWS excludes stock and year-end bonuses; match the measures.
• A broad category or one table for every year. Match the occupation, the area and each year's data.
• Converting a foreign salary to dollars. Officers use data for the work location.
• Treating a Level IV LCA as proof. It is a pay floor your employer met, not a ranking in your field.
• Salary-site screenshots. User-reported data "may not be a valid comparison."
• Beating an average. Without percentiles or ranges, an officer cannot tell how far above typical you are.
• Treating the criterion as the case. Even three met criteria still face final merits.

Frequently asked questions

What salary is high enough for EB-1A?

USCIS publishes no salary threshold or percentile cutoff for the high salary criterion at 8 CFR 204.5(h)(3)(ix). An officer asks whether your pay is high relative to others in your field, using comparison data matched to your occupation, position and work location. As of November 1, 2026 that standard is unchanged.

What wage data can I use to compare my salary?

The USCIS Policy Manual names geographical or position-appropriate compensation surveys as comparison evidence. Bureau of Labor Statistics OEWS percentile wages for your exact occupation code and metro area are the usual government anchor, and a credible industry survey with a stated method can add depth. The Policy Manual warns that user-reported salary websites may not be a valid comparison, and that broad categories mixing occupations or industries may not give an accurate one.

Do stock grants and bonuses count as remuneration?

The regulation covers a high salary or other significantly high remuneration for services, so vested equity and bonuses paid for your work can be part of the record when documented with W-2s, grant agreements and vesting statements. Compare like with like, because OEWS wages exclude stock bonuses and year-end bonuses. How to present unvested grants is a judgment call for your immigration attorney.

Can DOL wage data prove a high salary?

It can anchor the comparison but rarely proves the criterion alone. OEWS data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, part of the Department of Labor, shows what others in your occupation and area earn, with May 2025 the latest reference period as of November 2026, while your W-2s and pay records prove what you earn. A prevailing wage level on an H-1B LCA is a wage floor, not a ranking against your field.

Is a high salary enough without other criteria?

No. High remuneration is one of ten EB-1A criteria, so you need evidence meeting at least three, or a one-time major award, and then USCIS weighs the whole record in a final merits determination. A federal district court upheld that second step in Agarwal v. Miller on September 25, 2026, no appeals court has ruled, and USCIS still applies it.

Sources

• 8 CFR 204.5, Cornell LII
• USCIS Policy Manual, Volume 6, Part F, Chapter 2
• USCIS, Employment-Based Immigration: First Preference EB-1
• USCIS PA-2026-05, evidentiary standards
• USCIS I-140 data, FY2026 Q3
• USCIS AAO decisions; AAO non-precedent decisions In Re: 33564231 (December 18, 2024) and In Re: 17756172 (July 15, 2021)
• BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, OEWS questions and answers and BLS overview of wage data by area and occupation
• DOL OFLC performance data and OFLC wage search
• USCIS adjustment of status filing charts and processing times tool

How we checked this: between 2026-11-01 and 2026-11-02 we read 8 CFR 204.5(h), the USCIS Policy Manual chapter (current as of 2026-10-27), the USCIS EB-1 page, the BLS OEWS pages, two AAO non-precedent decisions on this criterion, the PA-2026-05 policy alert, USCIS FY2026 Q3 I-140 data (and recomputed the approval rates from it) and the USCIS November 2026 filing-chart page.

This is general information, not legal or tax advice. Your own notices and records govern your case; take petition questions to a licensed immigration attorney, and anything about F-1, OPT or SEVIS to your DSO.

If you are on H-1B or STEM OPT and want your next role to strengthen both your career and your green-card record, F1Jobs helps international professionals run a focused search for employers that sponsor.