Success Stories: NIW Petition Approved Without RFE for Iranian Ph.D. Student in the Field of Optics and Photonics
Client’s Testimonial:
"Thank you very much for the good job!”
On January 14th, 2020, we received another NIW (National Interest Waiver) approval for a Ph.D. Student in the Field of Optics and Photonics (Approval Notice).
General Field: Optics and Photonics
Position at the Time of Case Filing: Ph.D. Student
Country of Origin: Iran
State of Residence at the Time of Filing: Florida
Approval Notice Date: January 14th, 2020
Processing Time: 8 months, 21 days
Case Summary:
Exactly 8 months and 21 days after we filed an EB-2 NIW (National Interest Waiver) petition on behalf of a Ph.D. student from Iran, the USCIS approved his case. At first glance, our client was suitably qualified for the national interest waiver as amongst other things, he possessed an M.Sc. in optics and photonics as well as many years of experience researching the same field.
Assembling a Strong NIW Petition:
Part of the process in getting our client closer to his green card involved presenting his various achievements to the USCIS. These were several of the points we focused on:
- We noted our client’s significant citation record: at the time of filing, he already had 209 citations to his published research. Moreover, he had six peer-reviewed journal articles (four of them first-authored) and fourteen conference proceeding articles (five of them first-authored), which we highlighted in the petition.
- Our client’s work is concentrated specifically on the development of on-chip lasers and multicore optical fibers. His research in this area is of great importance because it contributes to a global effort towards improved technological development. His work contributes to new technological developments that aid in the exploration of enhanced optical communications and offers enhancements to advance current technology into next-generation ideas.
- Of additional significance were the 4 recommendation letters that were signed by our client’s peers, all of which were included in our client’s well planned NIW dossier. One of these letters stated: “Because [client’s] research is so valuable to this important sector of the American economy and to the optics and photonics field of study in general, it would be a major setback if his ongoing research in the United States were to be interrupted.”