On January 11^th, 2017, we received another EB-1A (Alien of Extraordinary Ability) approval for a Data Analysis Expert in the Field of Data Analysis (Approval Notice).

General Field: Data Analysis

Position at the Time of Case Filing: N/A

Country of Origin: China

Service Center: Nebraska Service Center (NSC)

State of Residence at the Time of Filing: California

Approval Notice Date: January 11^th, 2017

Processing Time: 28 Days (Premium Processing Requested)

Case Summary:

With a Ph.D. in Earth System Science and ample experience in the field of data analysis, our client seemed like a model EB-1A (Alien of Extraordinary Ability) petitioner. Despite being unemployed at the time of filing, she had no problems qualifying for EB1A as it is a self-petitioned I-140 category and does not require employer sponsorship. As part of our services, we had to prove to the USCIS that our client’s research findings are of great importance to the USCIS. This is how we did it:

1. We started off by convincing our client to contact other experts in the field of data analysis and ask for recommendation letters. We needed the USCIS to know that other influential members of the field look up to our client and hold her research in very high regard. Our client returned with six signed letters, one of which stated that: “In addition, her statistical modelling is immensely beneficial to global efforts, proving [Client’s] future work will similarly target large commercial and political initiatives. In summation, [Client] is a leading professional applying computer science models to real-world problems, whose work is singularly valuable to the United States.”
2. Thanks to Google Scholar we were able to confirm that our client’s 9 publications had collected 253 citations at the time of filing.
3. We also noted our client’s impressive peer review experience: 30 reviews conducted for a variety of scientific journals.
4. A vital part of our client’s EB1A petition involved details on her research on numerical modeling and data analysis techniques to study climate changes. We carefully reviewed our client’s work and concluded that her findings address the most pressing issues in understanding glacial evolution and its environmental impact.

Just 28 days after we filed the EB1A petition on our client’s behalf, she received notification of case approval. The reason why our client did not have to wait the standard 4-9 months for action to be taken on her case is because she upgraded her case to Premium Processing (PP) two weeks after filing. PP grants petitioners to chance to have their cases processed within 15 calendar days. We congratulate her for obtaining EB1A approval and join her as she awaits good news from the USCIS regarding her I-485 application. Once approved, she will become an American permanent resident. In the meantime, we thank her for working with us and wish her the best as she continues to conduct her important research.