Success Story: Thanks to Our Assistance, NIW Approval for a Therapeutic Drug Discovery Researcher
Client’s Testimonial:
"Thank you for all your help with this approval!”
On April 13th, 2026, we received another EB-2 NIW (National Interest Waiver) approval for a Graduate Research Assistant in the Field of Therapeutic Drug Discovery (Approval Notice).
General Field: Therapeutic Drug Discovery
Position at the Time of Case Filing: Graduate Research Assistant
Country of Origin: South Korea
State of Residence at the Time of Filing: Illinois
Approval Notice Date: April 13th, 2026
Processing Time: 7 months, 29 days (Premium Processing Upgrade Requested)
Case Summary:
With an M.S. in biological sciences, the client built a strong case for I-140 NIW approval through research in therapeutic drug discovery. Her proposed endeavor was to continue discovering effective therapeutic strategies for cancer and other life-threatening diseases with limited treatment options in order to improve survival rates and enhance quality of life for patients facing severe conditions. At the time of filing, the client was already continuing this work in a U.S. research role, which helped show that her plan was concrete, field-specific, and well aligned with ongoing research efforts rather than a future possibility alone.
What gave this case force was the way the petition connected the client’s research record to real treatment gaps. Her work had focused on identifying therapeutically useful compounds from natural products, studying the mechanisms behind potential treatment effects, and examining pathways relevant to drug resistance in cancer. The filing also outlined her continuing work on cancer-related projects involving novel therapeutic agents, immune modulation, and treatment risk assessment. Framed together, these efforts showed a coherent research direction centered on expanding options for patients with serious diseases that still lack sufficiently effective therapies.
The client’s publication record supported that narrative. She had authored 6 peer-reviewed journal articles and 5 first-authored conference abstracts, and her work had been cited 76 times. In an NIW case, those metrics are most useful when they show that the field is engaging with the research rather than merely recording output. Here, the petition used the citations to show that other researchers were relying on her findings in areas such as inflammation control, cancer therapy, and disease mechanism research.
The filing also included two recommendation letters supporting the significance of the client’s research and her ability to continue advancing this work in the United States. One expert insight noted:
“Ensuring that [Client’s] work proceeds is thus not only important to the field, but to the United States as well."
We are proud that our firm had the opportunity to assist this client in securing an I-140 NIW approval.