u/Away_Airline_6142 — reddlx

Hi everyone – I’m considering asking my employer to reassess EB-1A sponsorship and would appreciate a realistic evaluation of my profile. All data anonymized. Thanks in advance. I am working as a Senior Data Scientist for a FAANG company.

DEGREE: M.S. from top 10 universities of U.S.

CRITERION: JUDGING

23 peer reviews for top venues: ICLR, TPAMI, Neural Networks, EAAI, ESWA
Judge for Global Spotlight Awards 2026 (AI, data science, cybersecurity, tech)
Independent editorial feature published April 2026 recognizing my role (third-party validation)
Published 10+ technical thought leadership:
- Platform A: 86K lifetime views, 7 articles on DS/ML
- Platform B (enterprise tech): 2 articles on enterprise AI
- Platform C: technical articles on optimization & business analytics

CRITERION: MEMBERSHIP

IEEE Senior Member – requires endorsement from IEEE Fellows

CRITERION: ORIGINAL CONTRIBUTIONS

Documented $450M savings (FY25–FY26 combined)
Taylor & Francis journal publication (Production Planning & Control): 66 citations, adopted by 30+ companies
Measurable applied impact beyond my organization

CRITERION: HIGH SALARY/COMPENSATION

Salary $340k in Austin ~ top 0.5% for Data Scientists in a major tech hub
Formal employer recognition of contributions

REFERENCES

5 Dependent
3 Independent (all IEEE Fellows)

Questions for the community:

Does this profile meet the EB-1A “extraordinary ability” bar, or is it still better suited for EB-1B / EB-2 NIW?
Which criteria are strongest vs. weakest here?
Would you recommend I add any specific type of evidence (e.g., media about me, patent, keynote)?

Thank you – happy to clarify anything without breaking anonymity.