Success Story: Detailed Evidence of Research Impact Leads to NIW Approval After RFE
Client’s Testimonial:
"Thank you! And thank you for helping make this possible!”
On August 13th, 2026, we received another EB-2 NIW (National Interest Waiver) approval for a Research Professional in the Field of Chemical Engineering (Approval Notice).
General Field: Chemical Engineering
Position at the Time of Case Filing: Research Professional
Country of Origin: South Africa
State of Residence at the Time of Filing: Wyoming
Approval Notice Date: August 13th, 2026
Processing Time: 14 months, 16 days (Premium Processing Requested)
Case Summary:
When USCIS issued a Request for Evidence (RFE) on March 18th, 2026, it had already accepted that the client’s proposed endeavor possessed substantial merit and national importance. The dispute instead centered on whether the client was well positioned to advance research developing environmentally friendly processes that use natural resources to produce sustainable polymers and green fuels, as well as whether waiving the job offer and labor certification requirements would benefit the United States. North America Immigration Law Group (Chen Immigration Law Associates) therefore structured the RFE response around these remaining issues, supplementing the original record while explaining why the evidence had to be evaluated collectively under the preponderance of the evidence standard.
We addressed the officer’s specific concerns about education and experience, publication and citation evidence, collaborative research, recommendation letters, research funding, and future plans. The response documented a record that included:
- Ph.D. in chemical engineering
- 5 peer-reviewed journal articles
- 81 citations in the updated record
- Research support from a national public research-funding organization
A central part of the strategy was showing what those credentials meant in practice. USCIS had questioned whether the client’s work had been sufficiently utilized and had characterized certain citations as background references. In response, we provided detailed examples showing how independent researchers actually relied on the client’s methods and findings. We also supplied expert testimony explaining these specific uses. The response further clarified the client’s technical role in collaborative coal-to-asphalt research, countering the implication that work should carry less evidentiary weight merely because it was co-authored.
We separately confronted USCIS’s treatment of recommendation letters and funding evidence. The response explained that the four recommendation letters submitted with the original filing contained specific assessments of the client’s contributions and their relevance to sustainable chemical engineering, and argued that this testimony should be considered alongside the objective record. We also highlighted evidence that the client’s research had received external support from a national research-funding institution.
The RFE response ultimately showed not only that the client had produced scholarly work, but that other researchers had used those findings, external organizations had supported the research, collaborators valued the client’s specialized contributions, and the client had a concrete path for continuing this work in the United States. Following this comprehensive response, USCIS approved the NIW petition on August 13th, 2026, after 14 months and 16 days of processing. We are pleased to have helped the client overcome the RFE and move forward with research aimed at developing more sustainable materials and chemical processes.