How do I prove a ‘leading role’ if I had no official title but colleagues always came to me for guidance?

It is possible to sustain a ‘leading role’ in an EB-1 petition even without a formal leadership title. The criterion looks at your actual influence, not just your job title: if colleagues regularly turned to you and your input helped shape decisions and outcomes, that can be read as leadership in practice. The challenge is turning that informal recognition into evidence.

To do that, it helps to gather proof that shows the weight your contributions carried, such as:

• Letters and testimonials from colleagues and supervisors describing your role as a go-to reference.
• Concrete examples of decisions, projects, or challenges in which your analysis was decisive.
• Records linking your contribution to meaningful results for the team or organization.

The goal is to clearly contextualize why you became the person others relied on and how that translated into impact. Because each case is evaluated individually, it is worth verifying current requirements and preparing your file with the support of 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.