You do not need a Nobel Prize for this criterion. You need an award that you received, that carries national or international recognition, and that was granted for excellence in your field. Most failed claims break on the first of those three, not the second.
- Recipient identity first. The focus is your receipt of the award, not your employer's
- Team awards are fine if you are one of the recipients
- Nobel-level prestige is not required. These are expressly the "lesser" prizes
- Recognition must reach beyond one employer, school, or locality
- Some scholastic and dissertation awards qualify, if the recognition is there
What the regulation says
"Documentation of the alien's receipt of lesser nationally or internationally recognized prizes or awards for excellence in the field of endeavor" 8 CFR 204.5(h)(3)(i)
The word "lesser" is doing deliberate work. It sits in contrast to the one-time achievement route, the major internationally recognised award such as the Nobel Prize. USCIS confirms the point:
"As indicated by the plain language of the regulation, this criterion does not require an award or prize to have the same level of recognition and prestige associated with the Nobel Prize or another award that would qualify as a one-time achievement." USCIS Policy Manual, Volume 6, Part F, Chapter 2
Hurdle one: you have to be the recipient
This is the sentence that decides most claims, and it is the one companies walk their employees straight into:
"The description of this type of evidence in the regulation indicates that the focus should be on the person's receipt of the awards or prizes, as opposed to the employer's receipt of the awards or prizes." USCIS Policy Manual, Volume 6, Part F, Chapter 2
Your employer winning an industry award is your employer's achievement. Being listed on the company's press release about it is not receipt. This is the same distinction that governs press coverage, where material about the company is not material about you, covered in earning press coverage without a publicist.
Team awards, though, are explicitly allowed:
"Nothing precludes the person from relying on a team award, provided the person is one of the recipients of the award." USCIS Policy Manual, Volume 6, Part F, Chapter 2
So the practical test is whether you are named or otherwise identifiable as a recipient. A citation naming the team with a roster, an award certificate carrying your name, the organiser's announcement listing recipients: any of those establish receipt. A company trophy in a lobby does not.
Hurdle two: national or international recognition
USCIS gives examples of awards that may qualify:
- Certain awards from well-known national institutions or well-known professional associations
- Certain doctoral dissertation awards
- Certain awards recognising presentations at nationally or internationally recognised conferences
Note the repeated "certain". None of these categories qualifies automatically, which is why the file has to document the award itself, not only your receipt of it.
The considerations USCIS lists for whether the basis for granting was excellence in the field:
| Factor | What to document |
|---|---|
| The criteria used to grant the awards or prizes | The published rules, judging process, and basis of selection |
| The national or international significance of the awards or prizes in the field | Coverage of the award, its history, who else has won it |
| The number of awardees or prize recipients | How many are given each cycle, out of how many entrants |
| Limitations on competitors | Who was eligible to compete |
The scope test is drawn sharply:
"For example, an award available only to persons within a single locality, employer, or school may have little national or international recognition, while an award open to members of a well-known national institution (including an R1 or R2 doctoral university) or professional organization may be nationally recognized." USCIS Policy Manual, Volume 6, Part F, Chapter 2
That is the practical dividing line for most people. Employee of the quarter, an internal hackathon, a departmental prize: little reach. A prize awarded by a national professional body: reach.
The limitations you might expect to disqualify you
One passage here is more generous than most people assume, and it matters for anyone early in a career:
"While limitations on competitors can be a relevant factor, in some instances the evidence may establish that an award or prize is nationally or internationally recognized despite being limited to youth, amateur competitors, or early-career professionals." USCIS Policy Manual, Volume 6, Part F, Chapter 2
The example USCIS offers is that awards presented to new players or "rookies" in major sports leagues may garner national or even international media coverage. The transferable principle is that a restricted field of competitors does not by itself sink an award, provided the award's recognition can be documented. There is, the guidance says, "no specific requirement that an award be open to all members of the field, including the most experienced".
Scholastic awards get the same treatment: many lack the requisite level of recognition, but "there may be some that are nationally or internationally recognized as awards for excellence such that they may satisfy the requirements of this criterion."
What to file
- Proof you received it: the certificate, the citation naming you or your team, the organiser's announcement
- The award's published selection criteria, dated, from the awarding body's own site or materials
- Evidence of who awards it: the institution or association, and its standing
- Scale: entrants, recipients, cycles, and the geographic reach of eligibility
- Independent coverage of the award, ideally in the field's own press
- For team awards, documentation of your role in the work that was recognised
Assemble this at the time you win. Reconstructing an award's 2019 selection rules from an archived page in 2026 is possible, and it is much more painful than saving the page on the day.
The second step still applies
Satisfying this criterion is step one of the two-step review. In the final merits determination the officer weighs everything together to decide whether the record shows someone in the small percentage at the very top of the field. A well-documented national award contributes substantially to that argument. Three thin ones do not add up to it. When your profile is ready to file covers the second-stage question, and the most common RFE reasons covers what happens when a file only argues the first.
Sources
All accessed 23 August 2026.
- USCIS Policy Manual, Volume 6, Part F, Chapter 2. The criterion 1 discussion, source of every Policy Manual quotation, the qualifying examples, and the considerations table above.
- 8 CFR 204.5(h)(3)(i), eCFR. The text of the criterion.
- USCIS, Employment-Based Immigration: First Preference EB-1.
- Kazarian v. USCIS, 596 F.3d 1115 (9th Cir. 2010), the origin of the two-step framework.
This article describes evidence-building strategy in general terms. It is not a substitute for advice from your attorney about your own case.
Frequently asked questions
Does a company award count for EB-1A?
Only if you were a recipient. USCIS states the focus should be on the person's receipt of the awards or prizes as opposed to the employer's receipt, so a prize your company won while you worked there does not satisfy this criterion.
Do team awards count?
Yes. The guidance says nothing precludes the person from relying on a team award, provided the person is one of the recipients of the award.
Does the award have to be as prestigious as a Nobel?
No. USCIS says the plain language of the regulation means this criterion does not require an award with the same level of recognition and prestige as the Nobel Prize or another award that would qualify as a one-time achievement.
Can a student or dissertation award qualify?
It can. USCIS lists certain doctoral dissertation awards among qualifying examples, and notes that while many scholastic awards lack the requisite recognition, some are nationally or internationally recognised as awards for excellence.
Do internal or local awards count?
Generally not. The guidance contrasts an award available only within a single locality, employer, or school, which may have little national or international recognition, with one open to members of a well-known national institution or professional organisation.
Green Card Guide AI is not a law firm and this article is not legal advice. It describes evidence-building strategy in general terms; your attorney determines what belongs in your petition and how it's argued.