Familiar does not mean weak evidence
Some of the work in my EB-1A petition had been part of my life for years. That familiarity made it easy to undervalue.
Topic
Career Strategy
A collection of 13 issues
I tested my petition by reading only the headings
My EB-1A cover letter was long enough that I could not judge its structure by reading one polished paragraph at a time. A paragraph could sound clear on its own while sitting in the wrong section. Two adjacent sections could make the same argument with different words. A missing step could stay hidd
A list with my name was only the start of the award evidence
My petition included two recognitions: the Financial Times Top 100 BAME Leaders in Technology and L'Etudiant's 100 Young People Making Headlines. The pages with my name established that I appeared on those lists.
The judging invitation was not the whole record
My EB-1A petition included two judging roles. I judged the Soyoye Pitch Competition at King's College London in February 2018. I also judged the pitch session at UCL HackMed on February 23, 2020.
My future-work section started with work already in motion
Most of my EB-1A petition looked backward. It described roles I had held, initiatives I had built, media coverage I had received, judging I had done, and recognition already in the record.
An award can recognize you without proving what your work changed
My petition included recognition such as the Financial Times Top 100 BAME Leaders in Technology and L'Etudiant 100 Young People. Those records could establish that recognition happened.
An approved petition is a source, not a template
I published my full EB-1A petition because public examples helped me understand what I was trying to build. They did not give me a career to copy.
Write the career fact before the criterion label
My career was not organized as five EB-1A criteria. It contained programs, events, community work, media coverage, judging, awards, and supporting letters.
Write the case theory before the cover letter
Before I drafted my EB-1A cover letter, I forced the case into two sentences. The first sentence named my field: community building in technology and entrepreneurship.
A timeline can show continuity without pretending every year is equal
Before I drafted final merits, I put thirteen years of evidence on a timeline. The short version of that exercise is simple: list the dated facts, sources, and exhibits before trying to write a story about sustained work.