Success Stories: NIW and EB1A Granted to Scientist in the Field of Environmental Engineering, Backed by NAILG

Client’s Testimonial:

“Very professional and excellent!! I am impressed! Very professional and excellent!! Fully relied on you!!”

On April 9^th, 2024, and May 7^th, 2025, we received another EB-2 NIW (National Interest Waiver) and EB-1A (Alien of Extraordinary Ability) approvals for a Scientist in the Field of Environmental Engineering (Approval Notice).

General Field: Environmental Engineering

Position at the Time of Case Filing: Scientist

Country of Origin: China

State of Residence at the Time of Filing: California

Approval Notice Date: April 9^th, 2024 (NIW) and May 7^th, 2025 (EB1A)

Processing Time: 1 year, 1 month, 2 days (NIW) (Premium Processing Requested), and 1 year, 25 days (EB1A)

Case Summary:

A leading researcher in environmental engineering has been granted EB1A approval in recognition of her pioneering work in biogeochemistry, pollutant removal, and sustainable environmental technologies. With a previous NIW already secured, her EB1A petition required a strategic shift in legal framing to demonstrate that she ranks among the top experts in her field. For this critical phase, she partnered with The North America Immigration Law Group (NAILG).

Her original contributions span a wide range of high-impact areas, including the development of black carbon materials for pollutant removal, the optimization of sorption capacity assessments, strategies for greenhouse gas mitigation, and innovations in waste management.

Our client’s academic and scientific accomplishments include:

● 15 peer-reviewed journal articles (9 first-authored), and 20 scientific abstracts
● 293 citations from researchers in at least 37 countries, placing her in the top 3% of authors in environmental engineering
● At least 9 peer reviews completed, underscoring her professional recognition
● Funding from top-tier institutions such as the Strategic Environmental Research and Development Program (SERDP), the National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA), the National Science Foundation of China (NSFC), the International Science and Technology Cooperation Program, China, and the National Science Foundation (NSF)

One expert described the value of her work as follows:

“In sum, based on her original discoveries, their practical, real-world implications, and her overall level of scientific rigor and expertise, it is my firm belief that [client] is one of the foremost scholars in the environmental engineering community today. She is incredibly well-positioned to make many more unparalleled contributions to the scientific literature, which, in turn, translates to sustainable engineering approaches for the control and remediation of environmental pollutants. For these reasons, she is deserving of every available opportunity to continue her research here in the United States.”

NAILG developed a targeted legal strategy that showcased how our client’s pioneering research addresses urgent environmental challenges through practical, scalable innovations. Rather than simply listing her credentials, the petition connected her work to national and global priorities, demonstrating how her discoveries support sustainable pollution control, greenhouse gas mitigation, and ecosystem protection. This strategic framing helped establish her as a researcher of extraordinary ability, resulting in the approval of her EB1A petition. We are proud to have played a central role in securing this milestone in her distinguished scientific career.

North America Immigration Law Group (Chen Immigration Law Associates) is a U.S. immigration law firm dedicated to representing corporations, research institutions, and individuals from all 50 U.S. states regarding I-140 immigration petitions. We specialize in employment-based immigration petition and have a proven record of high success rate for the categories of: EB2-NIW (National Interest Waiver), EB1-A (Alien of Extraordinary Ability), EB1-B (Outstanding Researcher/Professor) and O-1 (Alien of Extraordinary Ability).

Our Ten Thousand I-140 Approvals Provide Unprecedented Insight into the USCIS Adjudication Trend

With more than 58,000 EB-1A, EB-1B, EB-2 NIW and O-1 cases approved, we have first hand information on the manner in which the USCIS adjudicate I-140 cases. As the USCIS has constantly changed its adjudication standards for the EB-1A, EB-1B and EB-2 NIW categories, our firm's huge database of successful cases gives you unprecedented insight to USCIS adjudication trends. We carefully analyze the data for all of our cases and apply the results of our analyses toward giving our clients up-to-date advice and adapting our strategies such that we remain on par with the ever-shifting landscape of immigration law in the U.S. With us, you will always have access to important updates, strategies, and information so that you can make the most informed decisions about your case.

We Have Helped Hundreds and Thousands of Clients with Credentials and Backgrounds Similar to Yours

With our exceedingly large number of successful petitions, no matter what credentials you have, no matter your background and field of expertise, no matter your visa status or nationality, chances are we have helped hundreds or even thousands of clients just like you. Our clients are usually impressed with how well we understand their research and work. Our insight and understanding stems from the fact that we have handled many cases with elements similar to yours already, and this helps us devise the best strategies for each individual petition.

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For years, our firm has attracted new clients based solely on word of mouth, recommendations, and the positive collaboration experiences shared with them by their friends and family. We take pride in our reputation and work hard to ensure that we provide a green card application experience that our clients are happy to share with their friends and colleagues. That is how our cumulative total of approved cases grew from 600 in 2013 to over 58,000 in 2025.