Success Stories: EB-1A Petition Approved for Chinese Postdoctoral Associate with 136 Citations in the Field of Biomedical Science (PP Upgrade, No RFE)
Client’s Testimonial:
“Thank you very much.”
On August 16th, 2016, we received another EB-1A (Alien of Extraordinary Ability) approval for a Postdoctoral Associate in the Field of Biomedical Science (Approval Notice).
General Field: Biomedical Science
Position at the Time of Case Filing: Postdoctoral Associate
Country of Origin: China
Service Center: Texas Service Center (TSC)
State of Residence at the Time of Filing: North Carolina
Approval Notice Date: August 16th, 2016
Processing Time: 20 Days (Premium Processing Requested)
Case Summary:
A prominent postdoctoral associate from China hired North America Immigration Law Group (NAILG) to file two I-140 petitions on his behalf. The first was filed under EB-2 NIW (National Interest Waiver) and the other was filed under EB-1A (Alien of Extraordinary Ability). It is not unusual for petitioners to file two I-140s as it increases their chances of obtaining a petition approval. At the time of writing, our client had received notification of EB-1A approval and was waiting for the USCIS to take action on his EB-2 NIW. Even so, he can proceed with the final step of the green card process without worrying about whether his EB-2 NIW will be approved—this is because his EB-1A priority date is current, allowing him to adjust his status for permanent residence now. On the other hand, he would need to wait several years for his EB-2 priority date to become current if he files an I-485 application based on his EB-2 NIW.
What did his winning EB-1A petition contain?
Our legal strategy involved highlighting our client’s various accomplishments in the field of biomedical science. We noted the 14 journal articles and 4 book chapters to his name as well as the 18 times he judged the work of his peers for a handful of scientific journals. Moreover, we documented the 136 times his research results had been cited by researchers in the field.
Besides information on his achievements, our client’s EB-1A petition packet also contained six recommendation letters signed by other influential members of the biomedical science research community. These letters played a crucial role in securing petition approval. One such letter read, in part, “[Client] has an objectively identifiable track record of excellence in biomedical science, placing him in an ideal position to continue to aid the U.S. in its efforts to achieve its scientific and health goals, especially as they pertain to viral and cardiovascular diseases.”
Furthermore, we thoroughly accounted for our client’s research on signaling pathways involved in cardiovascular diseases, hepatitis virus immunoreactivity, and analyzing the genome of the human rotavirus. We demonstrated that his findings are applied in the prevention of widespread health problems due to outbreaks of infectious diseases and the minimization of the negative impacts of chronic diseases, such as cardiovascular diseases, on human health.
Taking one step closer to green card success:
Our client elected to upgrade his EB-1A petition to Premium Processing (PP), which greatly reduced the wait time for a decision. Generally, it takes the USCIS 4-9 months to process I-140 petitions but with PP, they had to get the job done within 15 days. A week after we filed our client’s EB-1A petition, he opted for the PP upgrade and true to their word, the USCIS took action on his case 13 days later. As the icing on the cake, they did not issue a Request for Evidence (RFE). We congratulate our client for attaining a sought-after EB-1A petition approval and we wish him the best as he adjusts his status for permanent residence with the help of our I-485 D.I.Y. Packet.