On April 18^th, 2016, and April 20^th, 2016 respectively, we received an EB-2 NIW (National Interest Waiver) approval and an EB-1B (Outstanding Professors and Researchers) approval for a Staff Scientist in the Field of Immunology (Approval Notice).

General Field: Immunology

Position at the Time of Case Filing: Staff Scientist

Country of Origin: India

Service Center: Texas Service Center (TSC)

State of Residence at the Time of Filing: Ohio

Approval Notice Date: April 18^th, 2016 (EB-2 NIW) and April 20^th, 2016 (EB-1B)

Processing Time: 3 months, 20 days (EB-2 NIW) and 12 days (EB-1B, Premium Processing Requested)

Case Summary:

To increase his chances of obtaining petition approval, our client (a staff scientist from India) chose to file three I-140 petitions under each of these visa categories: EB-2 NIW (National Interest Waiver), EB-1B (Outstanding Professors and Researchers), and EB-1A (Alien of Extraordinary Ability). At the time of writing, our client had obtained approval notices for the first two petitions. We are especially pleased that one of his EB-1 petitions was approved because this means that he can file an I-485 application without worrying about his priority date. In this case, our client may proceed with the final step of the green card process using his approved EB-1B petition.

Obtaining NIW and EB-1B Petition Approvals:

There are distinct differences between the EB-2 NIW and EB-1B visa categories. For instance, NIW can be self-petitioned whereas EB-1B must be petitioned by one’s employer (in this case, our client’s EB-1B petition was sponsored by his university). Even so, both petitions contained several similarities:

1. Professional Accolades: When we field the petitions, our client’s work had obtained 69 citations. Additionally, he had 7 peer-reviewed scientific articles, 1 review, 1 book chapter, and numerous full-length, peer-reviewed conference publications to his name.
2. Academic Achievements: Our client is a proud holder of a Master of Science in Soil Microbiology and a Doctor of Philosophy in Immunology. His impressive educational background has armed him with the necessary skills needed to continue conducting impactful research in the field of immunology.
3. Recommendation Letters: Because our client’s NIW and EB-1B petitions were filed only 4 months apart, we used the same six recommendation letters to support both petitions. Here is what one of our client’s recommenders had to say about him: “… [Client] is one of the most distinguished researchers engaged in immunology research today. Only a scant handful of fellow researchers in this field can boast similar records of success and acclaim, and thus [Client’s] work continues to be in high demand throughout the academic community.”
4. Research Outcome: In order to present strong petitions to the USCIS, we had to demonstrate the significance of our client’s research on analyzing the complex immune system in order to develop novel vaccines and effective immune-therapies for the treatment of cancers and the reversal of weakened immune responses. We reviewed his research summary and concluded that his work advances the United States’ abilities to develop novel medical treatments and vaccines with minimal side effects, lower the death rates associated with lymphopenia, cancer, and other widespread public health concerns, and lower overall medical expenditures.

The team at North America Immigration Law Group (WeGreened.com) would like congratulate our client for obtaining approval notices for both his EB-2 NIW and EB-1B petitions. We recently filed I-485 applications (last step in the green card process) for our client and his wife, and we join them as they await a favorable decision from the USCIS.