Client’s Testimonial:
“I just received notice of the I-140 approval. Thank you for all your hard work on my case!”
On March 7th, 2016, we received another EB-2 NIW (National Interest Waiver) approval for a Graduate Research Assistant in the Field of Nutritional Biochemistry (Approval Notice).
General Field: Nutritional Biochemistry
Position at the Time of Case Filing: Graduate Research Assistant
Country of Origin: Romania
Service Center: Texas Service Center (TSC)
State of Residence at the Time of Filing: North Carolina
Approval Notice Date: March 7th, 2016
Processing Time: 9 months, 16 days
Case Summary:
A gifted graduate research assistant from Romania engaged the legal services of North America Immigration Law Group (WeGreened.com) to help him get one step closer to a green card. As an M.D from Romania with extensive experience working in the field of molecular biology and nutrition in the U.S., our client possessed the necessary qualifications to file his I-140 petition under EB-2 NIW (National Interest Waiver).
Qualifying for the National Interest Waiver:
Petitioners who wish to qualify for EB-2 NIW must possess specific credentials. In this case, our client’s medical degree served as evidence that he is armed with the skills to conduct useful research, and is equipped with the knowledge and expertise to continuously progress the field of nutritional biochemistry. Additionally, the 115 citations to his work and his 8 published papers served as further proof that his work is of value to other nutritional biologists, and by extension, to the entire field as a whole.
Although our client had strong credentials, we wanted to be sure that the immigration officers at Texas Service Center had all the evidence that they needed to grant their approval. We approached this by padding our NIW petition packet with further evidence that our client’s work on maternal and fetal health (with a focus on gene-nutrient interactions, epigenetic regulation of fatty acids metabolism, and perinatal brain development) contributed to American public health. This evidence was partly composed of strong recommendation letters provided by other experts in the field. One of these letters stated that “[Client] occupies a unique niche within the scientific community. Given his expertise, particular skill set, and background, [Client] would be difficult to replace were he unable to continue his research. Certainly this background sets [Client] apart from his peers and, furthermore, marks him as one of the brightest researchers in the field of nutritional biochemistry.” Another one of our client’s recommenders described his work as “… instrumental in ensuring that the country remains in the forefront of research and development efforts regarding the impact of maternal health on fetal development…”
Communicating with the USCIS:
Although we presented a strong EB-2 NIW presentation to the USCIS, they took additional time to adjudicate our case. As part of our services, we raised a service request on our client’s behalf when the average processing time went beyond the norm. We are pleased that the USCIS granted their approval the next day, propelling our client significantly closer to his green card.
Pending Filing:
Our client chose to file his I-485 application (final step in the green card process) while his I-140 petition was still pending approval (3 months after submitting the I-140). The I-485 application was submitted on August 28th, 2015 and his green card was mailed to him on April 25th, 2016. We congratulate him and thank him for selecting us to represent his NIW case.