Federal Court Rules USCIS Must Approve EB-1A Petition

Thu, 09 Apr 2026 00:00:00 +0000

A federal district court in Nebraska has ruled that the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) was wrong to deny an EB-1A petition, stating that the denial was “arbitrary and capricious.” The Department of Justice (DOJ) has since filed an appeal to the Eighth Circuit, which will examine the validity of USCIS’s two-step Kazarian framework used in evaluating EB-1A cases.

Key Details:

Court ruling: USCIS must approve the EB-1A petition previously denied.
Appeal filed: DOJ is appealing the decision to the Eighth Circuit.
Framework questioned: The court scrutinized USCIS’s application of the Kazarian framework, which assesses whether applicants meet three of ten criteria before a subjective final merits review.
Current process: No changes to the EB-1A adjudication process will occur while the appeal is pending.

This ruling could have significant implications for future EB-1A cases, as the Eighth Circuit’s decision may alter how USCIS evaluates extraordinary ability petitions. Need help with your immigration case? Visit QuickFiling.us for professional immigration services.

Kazarian Framework on US Immigration, Explained Daily

Federal Court Rules USCIS Must Approve EB-1A Petition