Salary Evaluation for Immigration
ProfVal’s High Salary Expert Opinion Letters (EOLs) provide a data-driven assessment of how an individual’s compensation compares to professionals with similar roles in the United States.
Salary Letter Structure and Expert Focus
Depending on the evidentiary needs of the petition, High Salary EOLs may be developed from different expert perspectives.
For immigration attorneys and their clients, High Salary Expert Opinion Letters from ProfVal can be used in support of EB-1A, EB-2 NIW, O-1, and related petitions where remuneration serves as evidence of sustained distinction, market demand, or extraordinary ability.
In particular, they are frequently prepared to address:
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EB-1A salary criteria, strengthen arguments for EB-1A based on high salary
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O-1 visa salary requirements where high compensation is presented as evidence of extraordinary ability.
Outside of immigration, these letters can help employees understand how their compensation compares to peers and help HR leaders and founders benchmark compensation against industry standards. For these use cases, we recommend working with GuidedVenture.com, as the format differs slightly from immigration-focused letters.
Compensation and HR-Focused Expert Letters
These letters emphasize:
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Salary band positioning
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External competitiveness
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Internal and market-based compensation structures
Particularly effective where the adjudicatory inquiry centers on comparative wage levels and industry norms.
Economist-Led Expert Letters
These letters focus on:
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Labor-market signaling
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Scarcity of specialized skills
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The economic implications of sustained high compensation
Used to support arguments related to national importance, economic impact, or exceptional ability.
Methodology: Objective Data Paired with Expert Interpretation
Each High Salary EOL applies a structured analytical framework that assesses the petitioner's salary with respect to public, proprietary, and company-specific data. The goal is to provide an objective foundation that is then interpreted based on deep expertise.
Key components of the analysis typically include:
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Occupation-Specific Benchmarking: Compensation is evaluated against wage data corresponding to the petitioner’s appropriate SOC classification, seniority level, and functional scope.
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Percentile and Upper-Tail Placement: Rather than relying on averages, the analysis examines where the petitioner’s earnings fall within the wage distribution, including percentiles, when appropriate.
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Geographic Labor Market Alignment: Salary comparisons are calibrated to the relevant labor market(s), accounting for regional wage variations and cost-of-labor differences.
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Multi-Source Data Validation: Wage benchmarks are derived from multiple established compensation databases to ensure consistency, reliability, and methodological transparency. If provided by the petitioner, we can make include this within company-specific compensation metrics.
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Expert Interpretation of Quantitative Findings: Results are interpreted by one of our U.S.-based experts (either a PhD who teaches and conducts research in human resources, management, or economics, or, upon request, a U.S.-based human resources practitioner) to explain the salary significance in the context of labor-market dynamics, skill scarcity, and U.S. regional priorities.
Relevance in Immigration Adjudication (EB-1A and O-1 Focus)
When properly contextualized, high compensation may serve as objective evidence that a petitioner meets or supports key regulatory standards, including the EB-1A salary criteria (commanding a high salary or other significantly high remuneration in relation to others in the field) and comparable evidentiary considerations in O-1 adjudications.
Elevated compensation may demonstrate that a petitioner:
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Commands remuneration significantly above peer benchmarks
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Operates at a level associated with scarce or high-impact expertise
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Provides value that exceeds standard labor expectations
A High Salary EOL does not assert distinction based on income alone. Instead, it evaluates whether the market has assigned a premium to the petitioner’s professional contributions.
Scope of Use for EB-1A and O-1 High Salary Evidence
High Salary Expert Opinion Letters are particularly useful in cases involving EB-1A based on high salary or analysis of O-1 visa salary requirements, especially where:
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Job titles appear conventional despite elevated compensation
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Petitioners operate in high-variance compensation fields
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Requests for Evidence question whether salary levels demonstrate exceptional standing
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Compensation evidence must support multiple statutory or discretionary prongs
ProfVal’s Approach to EB-1A and O-1 Salary Analysis
ProfVal’s High Salary EOLs are characterized by:
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Explicit methodology
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Transparent quantitative analysis
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Occupation- and market-specific benchmarking
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Writing calibrated for adjudicators rather than employers
Each letter is tailored to the individual petitioner while remaining grounded in objective labor-market evidence and established economic principles.