Actually, meeting at least two of the required tests is only a first step. There is an additional inquiry by USCIS after they determine that at least two of the Outstanding Professor or Researcher requirements have been met. This is the result of a case known as “Kazarian” – formally, Kazarian v. USCIS, 2010 WL 725317 (9th Cir. 2010).
Mr. Kazarian’s Extraordinary Ability case (not, notice, and Outstanding Professor or Researcher case) had been denied although on paper he met at least the mandated three of the requirements. USCIS essentially said that although he technically did, his accomplishments weren’t really all that impressive and that congress wanted this category to be for the truly impressive when they created the law that permitted it. The Kazarian decision instructed that USCIS was to examine whether at least three of the criteria were met or not…without determining how impressive these accomplishments actually were.
However, the court referenced the concept of a “final merits determination” where the quality of a subject individual’s standing would be analyzed. USCIS then interpreted this as a requirement that they needed, as part of adjudicating not only Extraordinary Ability Petitions but also Outstanding Professor or Researcher petitions and Exceptional Ability petitions, to perform a formal “final merits determination.” In other words, they needed to decide whether the individual had received “sustained national or international acclaim” and whether the individual “is one of that small percentage who has risen to the very top of the field of endeavor” after they had determined that at least three of the original criteria had been met.
So, a petition submitted since the Kazarian ruling in this category now needs to address both whether the individual meets at least three of the core criteria, and whether the individual has received sustained national or international acclaim/is one of that small percentage who has risen to the very top of the field of endeavor.