Success Story: A Materials Scientist's Journey from Pakistan to NIW Success Without RFE
Client’s Testimonial:
"Having my personal experience, I strongly recommend Chen's law team for filing the I-140 NIW cases. My degree and research experience were not US-based, so to be honest, I almost lost my hope seeing the current strict screening process and declining acceptance ratios, but they were quite confident that I would win my case with my background skills, and it happened eventually. Thanks."
On April 30th, 2026, we received another EB-2 NIW (National Interest Waiver) approval for a Researcher in the Field of Materials Science and Solar Photovoltaics (Approval Notice).
General Field: Materials Science
Country of Origin: Pakistan
State of Residence at the Time of Filing: Iowa
Approval Notice Date: April 30th, 2026
Processing Time: 14 months, 24 days
Case Summary:
"I strongly support the application of [Client] for permanent residency in the United States, as her contribution to photovoltaic research has been immense and has directly addressed the scientific and technological priorities of the nation, which justifies her position as a great asset to the scientific community."
This statement comes from one of four recommendation letters submitted as part of an I-140 NIW petition for a materials science researcher from Pakistan who holds a Ph.D. in physics. Drawing on experience from over 32,000 successful cases, the law firm prepared a strong petition in the field of materials science and solar photovoltaics, securing approval in 14 months and 24 days.
In preparing the NIW petition, North America Immigration Law Group (NAILG) highlighted the client's pioneering research in developing state-of-the-art material characterization approaches to identify ideal materials for photovoltaic applications, particularly the advancement of low-cost and highly stable perovskite solar cells (PSCs). The client's work addresses critical challenges in PSC commercialization, including humidity sensitivity, thermal instability, and charge recombination, directly supporting U.S. national priorities in clean energy infrastructure, energy security, and greenhouse gas reduction.
The client has authored 13 peer-reviewed journal articles (3 first-authored) and 10 conference abstracts (all first-authored). Their work has been cited 55 times. Due to the national importance of this research, the client's work has been supported by a broad and distinguished portfolio of funding sources, including the U.S. Army, the World Academy of Sciences, the Pakistan Science Foundation, the Ministry of Education in Saudi Arabia, the Valais Energy Demonstrators Fund, the Qatar National Research Fund, the Research Council of Lithuania, the European Union's Horizon 2020, and the Higher Education Commission of Pakistan. This exceptional breadth of international funding underscores the globally recognized significance of the client's research agenda.
With detailed documentation of the client's accomplishments and expert testimonials confirming the major significance of the client's contributions, NAILG demonstrated that the client meets the NIW requirements as an advanced professional whose work is both substantially meritorious and nationally important.
This successful outcome reflects NAILG's commitment to supporting exceptional researchers whose work drives technological progress and sustainability. The client's contributions to perovskite solar cell technology are expected to continue playing a key role in advancing the United States' transition to clean, affordable, and resilient energy solutions.