What does the USCIS do if it finds your award less significant than you claim in the EB-1?

If the USCIS concludes that an award is less important than you claim, it may simply give less weight to that evidence or even decline to accept it as proof of extraordinary merit in the EB-1. The award is not dismissed arbitrarily: it enters the overall analysis of your profile.

In practice, when there is doubt about the relevance of an award, the agency commonly requests clarification or additional documentation before reaching a decision. This typically gives you the opportunity to better contextualize the distinction by showing, for example:

• Who grants the award and what prestige it carries in the field.
• The selection criteria and the level of competition involved.
• The reach and recognition of the award within and beyond your country.

That is why how you present each award matters as much as the award itself. A well-documented and contextualized distinction reduces the risk of it being read as less significant than it truly is. Even so, the assessment is made on a case-by-case basis, and the final decision always rests with the USCIS.

To prepare this documentation safely, it is worth reviewing the updated guidelines from the official source (USCIS) or going over your case 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.