On January 24^th, 2019, we received another EB-2 NIW (National Interest Waiver) approval for a Visiting Scholar in the Field of Agricultural Economics (Approval Notice).

General Field: Agricultural Economics

Position at the Time of Case Filing: Visiting Scholar

Country of Origin: Iran

State of Residence at the Time of Filing: Kentucky

Approval Notice Date: January 24^th, 2019

Processing Time: 10 months, 22 days

Case Summary:

It took almost 11 months for a Visiting Scholar from Iran to receive an approval for his NIW (National Interest Waiver) petition. Despite the long wait, we were confident that our strong presentation of our client’s qualifications and research would ultimately lead to an approval. In fact, he received the good news that he and his spouse’s I-485 applications were also approved roughly 4 months later, and they are now US permanent residents. The reason our client’s I-485 application was approved so soon after his I-140 is because he chose to file them concurrently.

As an expert in the field of agricultural economics, our client’s research is of great importance since agricultural economics is the study of the production and consumption of food in both developed and developing countries along with analysis of the policies that shape the world’s largest industry. One area of expertise of our client is to identify arable crops through climatic analysis, finding barley, corn, wheat, and sugar beets to be ideal candidates, in which he developed a water consumption model and determined the average gross income and variable costs of the crops. This research has been applied and extended by other fellow scientists into more sustainable agricultural approaches worldwide, demonstrating the national value and importance of his work.

In the petition letter, we have also discussed the 40 times our client’s 21 peer-reviewed scientific articles were cited. The number of articles published in the field’s top journals suggested the high level of his research activities, and the citations he garnered from his peers are also a sign of the influence of his research. Besides, our client has conducted 21 peer reviews for highly acclaimed journals in the field. His frequent review activity showed his constant service to ensure the quality and credibility of the research in the field.

To strengthen the petition, we have also incorporated 6 signed recommendation letters to discuss how his work sustained national and international acclaim. According to one of them, “One of the most common complaints among American farmers is that there is a dearth of up-to-date marketing information available to them for the purpose of setting prices as competitively as possible. (…). Questionnaires and analysis performed by [Client] are essential for giving American farmers the information they need to retain maximum margins and avoid capital loss to other members of the agricultural supply chain, thereby benefitting the United States agricultural economy”.

Throughout the case preparation process, our team worked closely with our client, and gathered all the necessary supporting documentation in recognition to his solid reputation in the field of agricultural economics. Once again, we congratulate our client for obtaining a green card, and we thank him for choosing North America Immigration Law Group (NAILG).