He previously worked as a software engineer at a well-known international tech company, which filed a green card petition for him; his I-140 was approved and his priority date was retained. He later chose to start his own company and did not want to keep working for his former employer, so he decided to leave employer sponsorship and self-petition using the priority date he had retained. After founding the company, he rode the AI wave: the company reached a valuation of over $10 million and raised more than $6 million, and he was named to several young entrepreneur lists, including Forbes and Hurun.

Leaving his former employer's sponsorship for a self-petition meant proving that he personally, not his company, met the extraordinary ability standard. The demands of running a startup also caused him to put the case on hold for a full year, compressing the time available to prepare materials.

We built an evidence framework proving his individual extraordinary standing around his technical achievements at his former employer, his startup's fundraising and valuation, media coverage, and rankings on authoritative lists, without relying on his former employer's endorsement.

Approved quickly without RFE. His priority date became current on the day of approval, so he changed status from H-1B to EB-1A directly within the United States.