The green card category EB1-A and EB1-B, has been reserved for individuals with extra ordinary ability and outstanding credentials in Science, arts, sports, etc. and for outstanding researchers. The applicants get an approval by passing extremely stringent criteria that essentially involves the need to prove that the applicant is truly among the best in their field globally. In Fiscal Year 2019, USCIS announced a retrogression (worldwide) for these two categories. Essentially, this means people who have proved to be among the best in the world in their respective field of endeavor will have to wait for years in limbo. It is definitely not in the nation's interest to make these exceptional individuals wait. In light of this, these two categories should be spared from the detrimental effects of retrogression by eliminating cutoff dates and fast tracking approvals.

One of the possible reasons for retrogression is the blatant misuse of a category - EB1-C which is reserved for multinational executives. In no way is this category comparable to the stringent standards set for EB1-A and B, and as such, it is unfair to categorize EB1-A and B with EB1-C, and impose retrogression on EB1-A and B due to the issues resulting from misuse and over-subscription of EB1-C category. Indian outsourcing firms have been misusing EB1-C category, and despite complaints from people regarding this for the past several years, no action has been taken to curb this practice or to raise the eligibility criteria for EB1-C candidates. 

We request that this issue be solved either by curbing the EB1-C misuse or by categorizing EB1-A and B as a separate group, and by fast-tracking these applications. Many of the applicants in EB1-A and B are top researchers and academicians working for national labs, universities, and private research firms. It is extremely crucial to retain these talented people by fixing the broken immigration system.