Success Stories: EB-1A Petition Approval for Materials Science Assistant Professor in Iran Makes Him Eligible for Immigrant Visa Processing
Client’s Testimonial:
“I would like to thank you for your professional and excellent work which finally led to my case Approval.”
On March 28th, 2016, we received another EB-1A (Alien of Extraordinary Ability) approval for an Assistant Professor in the Field of Materials Science (Approval Notice).
General Field: Materials Science
Position at the Time of Case Filing: Assistant Professor
Country of Origin: Iran
Service Center: Nebraska Service Center (NSC)
State of Residence at the Time of Filing: N/A
Approval Notice Date: March 28th, 2016
Processing Time: 34 Days (Premium Processing Requested)
This case involved an assistant professor working in the field of materials science. He needed North America Immigration Law Group’s expertise to get him one step closer to a green card.
Immigrant Visa Processing (IVP):
For petitioners based in the United States, there are two steps in the green card process: the I-140 petition and the I-485 application. As our client does not reside in the U.S. but rather, in his birth country of Iran, he cannot file an I-485 application. Instead, he is eligible for Immigrant Visa Processing (IVP). Amongst other things, IVP involves submitting the relevant paperwork, paying the fees, and scheduling an interview at an American consulate or embassy. If our client does well at the interview, he will be granted an immigrant visa that will allow him and his dependent(s) to enter the United States as permanent residents. Although IVP differs from an I-485 application, it leads to the same end goal: a green card.
Getting an I-140 Petition Approval:
Our client’s I-140 petition was filed under the EB-1A (Alien of Extraordinary Ability) visa category. He chose to upgrade his case to Premium Processing nearly a month after we filed it on his behalf, and received an approval notice from Nebraska Service Center 11 days after the upgrade. Here are some of the things the well-prepared EB-1A petition dossier focused on:
- Citation Count: Collection of 260 citations at the time of filing.
- Publication Record: 43 peer-reviewed scientific articles and one book chapter.
- Peer Review Experience: 26 peer reviews for a variety of well-known scientific journals.
- Research Exploits: Focused on the discovery and preparation of coatings for various metal substrates designed to improve overall corrosion resistance and biodegradability.
- External Support: Recommendation letters provided by six expert materials scientists, one of whom stated that “Were [Client] unable to continue with his research, there are few with similar levels of expertise who could take on the task of developing an improved thermal barrier coating. This would be a great loss to both fellow academics and the electrical industry, which depend on [Client's] knowledge of this subject for insight and guidance.”
Because we were able to prove to the USCIS that our client is an asset to the United States and that his important research significantly benefits the country (especially its coatings and biomedical technologies), the USICS was persuaded to approve our client’s EB-1A petition. We join our client as he celebrates this occasion, and we wish him well with IVP.