On May 2^nd, 2016, we received another EB-2 NIW (National Interest Waiver) approval for a Research Technician and Lab Director in the Field of Biomedical Research (Approval Notice).

General Field: Biomedical Research

Position at the Time of Case Filing: Research Technician and Lab Director

Country of Origin: China

Service Center: Texas Service Center (TSC)

State of Residence at the Time of Filing: Arkansas

Approval Notice Date: May 2^nd, 2016

Processing Time: 40 Days

Case Summary:

A little over a month after we filed an EB-2 NIW (National Interest Waiver) petition on our client’s behalf, Texas Service Center approved the case. Our client has a medical degree and a doctoral degree, both of which were obtained from a top university in her birth country of China. Her advanced degrees coupled with her extensive involvement in the field of biomedical research made her a great candidate for the national interest waiver.

Assembling applicable information:

As tempting as it was to document our client’s entire life story in her EB-2 NIW petition packet, we had to be very selective in what we incorporated into the presentation. We had to make sure that the USCIS understood the relevance of her research to the United States and that only a scant handful of researchers with similar skillsets can obtain such impressionable research results. Amongst other things, we touched on our client’s 29 journal articles, 5 conference papers, 3 books, and numerous conference presentations. We also noted the 219 citations gathered from her work and the peer reviews she conducted for 3 prominent scientific journals. Furthermore, we provided the USCIS with detailed descriptions of her work on the etiology and pathophysiology of some of the most common congenital vascular anomalies in children, including hemangioma and arteriovenous malformation.

Although we had enough information to build a strong EB-2 NIW case for our client, we needed to ensure that our presentation was airtight. We encouraged her to contact other researchers who were willing to sign recommendation letters confirming that her work advances the United States’ research community, including those of biomedical and clinical research, as well as the country’s healthcare system. Our client persuaded five experts to lend their support, one of whom noted that “It is the responsibility of the U.S. to ensure that [Client] will be able to continue to elucidate the mechanisms of IH and other diseases, lest modern medicine’s struggle against these debilitating medical problems be undermined.”

An alternative option:

Despite getting her EB-2 NIW approved, our client is hoping to obtain an EB-1A (Alien of Extraordinary Ability) petition approval. This will allow her to adjust her status for permanent residence without waiting several years for her priority date to become current (which she has to do if she files an I-485 application based on her approved EB-2 NIW). We recently helped her submit an EB-1A petition and we join her as she awaits favorable news from the USCIS. In the meantime, we wish her the best with her research ventures and thank her for allowing North America Immigration Law Group (WeGreened.com) to guide her through the complicated green card process.