SALARY ASSESSMENT LETTERS
Salary Expert Opinion Letters — prevailing wage, high salary, and analyses for immigration and beyond.
ProfVal's Salary Assessment Letters provide a data-driven, expert-signed evaluation of how an individual's compensation compares to professionals with similar roles in the United States. Used for immigration petitions — including EB-1A, O-1, EB-2, and H-1B wage level analysis — and for compensation benchmarking outside immigration.
Each letter is typically signed by a U.S.-based professor of human resources, management, or economics — bringing independent academic credibility to the wage analysis
ON THIS PAGE
USE CASES
Immigration petitions and beyond.
A Salary Assessment Letter can serve multiple purposes — depending on the visa type, the evidentiary need, and whether the use is immigration-related.
Immigration
Visa petition support
A Salary Assessment Letter may support petitions where compensation serves as evidence of sustained distinction, market demand, or extraordinary ability.
EB-1A — high salary criterion (one of the eight EB-1A criteria)
O-1 — high remuneration as evidence of extraordinary ability
EB-2 NIW — compensation as supporting evidence of distinction
H-1B — wage level analysis when salary level is questioned
Outside of immigration
Visa petition support
A Salary Assessment Letter may support petitions where compensation serves as evidence of sustained distinction, market demand, or extraordinary ability.
Employees — understand how your compensation compares to peers in your field, role, and geography
HR leaders & founders — benchmark compensation against industry standards for hiring and retention decisions
Salary negotiations — objective third-party analysis to support compensation discussions
2026 trend — H-1B wage level scrutiny: USCIS is increasingly questioning whether the offered wage correctly reflects the complexity and specialization of the position. In 2026, more H-1B petitioners are seeing wage level challenged at the RFE stage. A Salary Assessment Letter may help address this directly — and may help prevent an RFE on wage grounds when included with the initial filing.
DIFFERENT TYPES OF SALARY ASSESSMENTS
Two expert perspectives — matched to the evidentiary need.
Depending on the petition strategy and the nature of the salary argument, ProfVal offers two types of expert-signed Salary Assessment Letters.
Standard · Most common
HR & management professor
Signed by a U.S.-based professor of human resources, management, or a closely related field. Focuses on salary band positioning, external competitiveness, and market-based compensation structures. Particularly effective where the adjudicatory inquiry centers on comparative wage levels and industry norms.
Best for: EB-1A salary criterion, O-1 high remuneration, H-1B wage level analysis, non-immigration compensation benchmarking
On request
Economist-led letter
Signed by a U.S.-based economist or professor of economics. Focuses on labor-market signaling, scarcity of specialized skills, and the economic implications of sustained high compensation. Used to support arguments related to national importance, economic impact, or exceptional ability.
Best for: EB-2 NIW national importance arguments, EB-1A cases where economic scarcity of skills is a key argument
METHODOLOGY
Objective data paired with expert interpretation.
Each Salary Assessment Letter applies a structured analytical framework — assessing the petitioner's compensation against public, proprietary, and where provided, company-specific data. The goal is an objective foundation that is then interpreted through deep expertise.
Occupation-specific benchmarking
Compensation evaluated against wage data for the petitioner's SOC classification, seniority level, and functional scope.
Geographic labor market alignment
Salary comparisons calibrated to the relevant labor market — accounting for regional wage variations and cost-of-labor differences.
Company-specific metrics (optional)
Where provided by the petitioner, company compensation data can be incorporated to further contextualize the analysis.
Percentile and upper-tail placement
Rather than relying on averages, the analysis examines where the petitioner's earnings fall within the full wage distribution.
Multi-source data validation
Wage benchmarks derived from multiple established compensation databases for consistency and methodological transparency.
Expert interpretation
Quantitative findings interpreted by a U.S.-based academic expert — explaining salary significance in the context of labor-market dynamics and skill scarcity.
RELATED SERVICES & BUNDLES
Commonly paired with a Salary Assessment Letter.
Every service below can stand alone or be added to your standard EB-1A Expert Opinion Letter — but documents produced together are developed symbiotically. Shared research, case setup, and expert insight saves time and money while strengthening each individual document.
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BENEFICIARIES & PETITIONERS
Ready to build your strongest possible case?
We work exclusively with petitioners who attest that they have legal representation. Tell us about your visa type and we'll connect you with the right services.
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Receive preferred pricing if your attorney confirms legal representation.
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1:1 video call available with fully refundable deposit (see terms)
IMMIGRATION ATTORNEYS
Ready to build the strongest possible case for your clients?
AILA members and partner firms receive preferential rates. Whether you need a single EOL or ongoing support across your practice, we're built for how attorneys work.
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AILA member discount available
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Dedicated attorney onboarding
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95% of our cases are with returning clients
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Free 1:1 video call consultation when you contact us with your law firm email address.