On March 8^th, 2017, and August 17^th, 2017, we received another EB-1A (Alien of Extraordinary Ability) and EB-2 NIW (National Interest Waiver) approval for a Travel Demand Modeler in the Field of Transportation Planning (Approval Notice).

General Field: Transportation Planning

Position at the Time of Case Filing: Travel Demand Modeler

Country of Origin: India

Service Center: Nebraska Service Center (NSC)

State of Residence at the Time of Filing: Washington

Approval Notice Date: March 8^th, 2017 (EB1A) and August 17^th, 2017 (NIW)

Processing Time: 4.5 Months (EB1A, PP Requested) and 1 year, 2 days (NIW)

Case Summary:

With a doctorate in transportation engineering and many years of experience advancing the field of transportation planning, we found our client to be a suitable candidate for both EB-1A (Alien of Extraordinary Ability) and EB-2 NIW (National Interest Waiver). The reason he chose to file two I-140 petitions is because doing so would increase his chances of obtaining petition approval.

Despite being two different I-140 categories, we used some of the same material to build our client’s EB1A and NIW petitions. For instance, we included data on the 217 citations gathered from his dozen publications. We also listed the 10 times our client assessed the work of his peers for several scientific journals. Further, as both petitions were filed less than a year apart, we used the same set of recommendation letters to strengthen both cases. These letters were contributed by other influential members of the transportation planning industry, one of whom had this to say about our client: “His choice models have already provided precise and usable information for land use planners as well as policy-makers focused on combating childhood obesity, both of which strongly impact many citizens’ quality of life. Therefore, allowing [Client] to continue pursuing his research in the United States is a necessary measure for the realization of widely beneficial policies.”

Perhaps the most important element of both petitions had to do with our client’s research. We carefully reviewed his research summary and detailed his work on developing models and cutting-edge frameworks that explain travelers’ choices and facilitate the accurate forecasting of forthcoming transportation demands in metropolitan areas the nation over. We demonstrated to the USCIS that our client’s findings are applied in resolving traffic congestion for means of achieving global climate change goals. Additionally, his research efforts pertaining to children’s school travel mode choices are contributing to the United States’ efforts in tackling rising rates of childhood obesity.

We congratulate our client for obtaining not one, but two I-140 approval notices. We wish him the best as he adjusts his status for permanent residence, and we thank him for choosing our law firm to represent his cases.