Case Summary:

Some of the key factors in any successful National Interest Waiver (NIW) case are:

• A strong and well-defined proposed endeavor
• Proven ability to continue work in the chosen area of research
• Academic achievements and professional accomplishments
• Letters of recommendation from experts
• Funding information
• Details of previous significant work in the chosen field

So, while preparing the NIW petition of a South Korean doctoral student in neuroscience, we personalized her petition by using the following information:

• As a neuroscience expert, her proposed endeavor is to continue her research on elucidating the inhibitory mechanisms underlying new learning and memory formation in order to develop novel therapeutic strategies and improve treatment outcomes for neurological conditions such as Alzheimer’s disease.
• Her research advancing her proposed endeavor is of great importance because it is directed toward gaining a fuller understanding of the molecular processes underlying learning and memory formation, thereby providing necessary basic insights that pave the way for novel therapies for a variety of neurological conditions.
• Her proposed endeavor also has broad implications for the United States. Out of the tens of millions of people suffering from Alzheimer’s disease globally, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates that as many as 5.8 million are Americans.
• Due to its national importance, her work has been supported with funding from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) through three of its constituent institutes: the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH), the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) and the National Institute on Aging (NIA).
• Her research has resulted in 5 peer-reviewed journal articles (2 of them first-authored) and these publications have been cited a total of 51 times according to Google Scholar.
• Her work on the neural mechanisms underlying learning and memory has also advanced the field and the work of her peers by focusing on a heretofore understudied neuronal population responsible for learning and memory impairment, and by employing novel in vivo methods to study mice during the act of learning.
• Additionally, she has pursued research directly related to her proposed endeavor of elucidating the inhibitory mechanisms underlying new learning and memory formation for 8 years.
• These factors were also supported by 4 strong letters of support from experts who knew her work and thought of it as important for the U.S.

When these factors were woven together into her petition, it became clear that she had a strong case in her favor. The premium processing further helped her get the approval in just 9 days. So when the approval came through, we were very happy to have helped her get it and we thank her for choosing our firm for this endeavor.