On August 30^th, 2019, we received another EB-2 NIW (National Interest Waiver) approval for a Postdoctoral Associate in the Field of Water Resources Engineering (Approval Notice).

General Field: Water Resources Engineering

Position at the Time of Case Filing: Postdoctoral Associate

Country of Origin: Ethiopia

State of Residence at the Time of Filing: Virginia

Approval Notice Date: August 30^th, 2019

Processing Time: 5 months, 23 days

Case Summary:

A postdoctoral associate born in Ethiopia approached North America Immigration Law Group (NAILG) to represent his EB-2 NIW (National Interest Waiver) case. After going through his credentials, we concluded that his work is invaluable to the United States as his research focuses on improving hydrologic and terrestrial processes by determining how land use and climate change affect water quality, quantifying model uncertainty, and developing a forecasting guide for watershed management —elements important to the United States’ fishing, tourism, shipping, related industries and the academic community.

Our client is undoubtedly a force to be reckoned with and our team worked diligently to prove it to the USCIS. With our experience of securing 15,000 I-140 approvals, we have unprecedented insight into exactly what the immigration officers are looking for when adjudicating cases. The comprehensive petition packet our legal team put together contained an array of convincing evidence of the benefits of our client’s research to the country.

At the time we filed his case, he has assessed the work of his peers for at least 3 times. His 7 peer-reviewed journal articles and the citation record of 41 also indicated the relevant nature of his studies to other researchers working in water resources engineering in the US and around the world. These numbers attest to the relevance and prestige of the research conducted by our client, and offer additional evidence that his research is applicable to projects beyond the scope of his own studies and has facilitated the work of others.

In addition, his achievements have been lauded by other influential figures in the field, one of whom wrote the following in his recommendation letter: “Pollution is detrimental to public health, the economy, and the environment worldwide, placing conservation practices in many domains at the vanguard of scientific research and government policies (…) His novel work contributes to the development of better policies and agricultural management practices worldwide to protect the health and sustainability of natural resources like water and soil and reduce watershed pollution”. Six letters of recommendation we included in the petition exemplified the multidisciplinary applications of his findings and endorsed his continued stay in the country.

We received notification of NIW approval a little less than 6 months after filing. We are pleased that our client obtained I-140 petition approval—which was adjudicated based on Matter of Dhanasar, the framework for assessing eligibility for the National Interest Waiver. We wish him the very best with the last step in the green card process (filing an I-485 application) and thank him for choosing us to represent his NIW case.