Success Story: NIW Approval After RFE Secured for Robotics Engineering Researcher Advancing Haptic-Based Surgical Robotics
Client’s Testimonial:
"Thank you so much for your great support."
On August 26th, 2025, we received another EB-2 NIW (National Interest Waiver) approval for a Research and Teaching Assistant in the Field of Robotics Engineering (Approval Notice).
General Field: Robotics Engineering
Position at the Time of Case Filing: Research and Teaching Assistant
Country of Origin: Iran
State of Residence at the Time of Filing: New Jersey
Approval Notice Date: August 26th, 2026
Processing Time: 25 months, 18 days (Premium Processing Upgrade Requested)
Case Summary:
Earning (National Interest Waiver) NIW approval requires demonstrating that the proposed endeavor has substantial merit and national importance, that the applicant is well positioned to advance it, and that waiving the job offer and labor certification requirements would benefit the United States. When a Request for Evidence (RFE) is issued, USCIS takes an even closer look at whether the record, viewed as a whole, satisfies this standard. With the assistance of North America Immigration Law Group (NAILG), the client successfully responded to the RFE and obtained approval under the I-140 NIW category.
The client holds an M.S. in robotics engineering and has built a focused research record in robotics engineering, with particular expertise in haptic systems, soft robotics, sensor processing, human-robot interaction, and autonomous systems. At the time of filing, the client was conducting research at a U.S. university, where her work focused on robotics technologies with applications in healthcare, rehabilitation, and robotic surgery. Her proposed endeavor centered on developing and refining haptic-based teleoperation systems for robotic surgery to improve the reliability, accuracy, and performance of procedures conducted through remote robotic manipulation.
The petition demonstrated that the client’s work extends beyond a narrow technical problem. Her research may support safer robotic surgery, more effective rehabilitation technologies, improved sensor-based systems, and broader progress in autonomous robotics. We connected the proposed endeavor to U.S. interests in medical robotics, rehabilitation technology, sensor processing, data fusion, autonomous systems, and healthcare innovation, showing that the work carried both substantial merit and national importance.
To establish that the client was well positioned to advance the endeavor, the petition presented a combination of objective evidence rather than relying on any single achievement. The client had authored 2 first-authored peer-reviewed journal articles and 1 first-authored peer-reviewed conference paper. The record also documented 19 citations, showing that independent researchers had relied upon the client’s work in later studies involving soft robotic actuation, sensor-based rehabilitation systems, neural network modeling for soft robots, functional control systems, hand movement analysis, and rehabilitation robotics.
Rather than treating the citation count as sufficient on its own, the petition explained that the use of the client’s research by other scholars showed meaningful influence within a specialized area of robotics engineering. One of the client’s papers ranked among the top 20% most-cited Engineering articles for its publication year, providing additional citation context. The client had also completed at least 1 peer review, which supported the argument that her expertise was recognized by others in the field.
The petition was additionally supported by 4 recommendation letters, including 3 independent advisory opinions. These letters provided expert perspectives regarding the technical value of the client’s work in haptic feedback, rehabilitation robotics, soft robotic systems, sensor processing, and autonomous robotic technologies. One expert noted:
"[Client's] progressive research on implementing innovative robotic technologies in medicine enhances U.S. cost-efficient and patient-oriented care plans, which is of the utmost importance given the nation’s aging population."
Following submission of the premium upgrade request and review of the comprehensive response to the RFE, USCIS approved the client’s I-140 NIW petition. This approval reflects how a carefully documented record, combining a nationally important proposed endeavor, focused research achievements, independent scholarly reliance, peer-review service, expert testimony, and continued U.S. research plans, can effectively demonstrate eligibility for the NIW classification.