Does EB-1C require a PhD or Master’s degree?

No. The EB-1C does not require a master’s degree, PhD, or any other advanced academic credential. This category was designed for executives and managers transferred within a multinational company, and the focus is on leadership experience, not academic titles.

What truly matters are requirements tied to your professional track record, such as:

• Having served in a managerial or executive role at a company abroad, for a qualifying period recently before the transfer.
• Being set to occupy an equally managerial or executive position at the U.S. company.
• A qualifying corporate relationship between the two entities (parent, branch, subsidiary, or affiliate).

In other words, an advanced degree may enrich your profile, but it is not what determines eligibility here. The weight lies in the executive or managerial nature of the role and the corporate structure of the companies involved.

Since immigration rules are detailed and change over time, it is worth verifying the updated requirements at the official source (USCIS) or with a specialist before filing.

About the author

Victoria Harper

Editor-in-Chief

Meet the author

As a journalist and lead editor at Visto n’ Visa, Victoria helps ensure that immigration topics are covered in a clear, trustworthy, and easy-to-understand way. Her focus is on delivering useful, human, and relevant content for people exploring new paths abroad.