Success Story: NIW Approved Despite RFE! Our Expert Team Strategically Positioned Trustworthy AI Research for Success
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On December 31st, 2025, we received another EB-2 NIW (National Interest Waiver) approval for a PhD Student in the Field of Information Science (Approval Notice).
General Field: Information Science
Position at the Time of Case Filing: PhD Student
Country of Origin: China
State of Residence at the Time of Filing: California
Approval Notice Date: December 31st, 2025
Processing Time: 23 months, 15 days
Case Summary:
North America Immigration Law Group (Chen Immigration Law Associates) is pleased to share an I-140 EB-2 National Interest Waiver (NIW) approval for the client, an information science researcher advancing methods that make artificial intelligence systems more trustworthy, resilient, and equitable across demographic groups. Although the case received a Request for Evidence, the petition was ultimately approved based on a clear, evidence-driven presentation of the client’s work and its national importance.
Research Focus With an M.S. in robotics, cognition, and intelligence, the client’s proposed endeavor is to continue developing state-of-the-art, trustworthy, and fair artificial intelligence systems that reduce adversarial loopholes and algorithmic bias. This research targets practical weaknesses that can undermine real-world AI systems, including vulnerabilities that allow models to be manipulated and disparities in performance across populations, which are central concerns as AI is deployed at scale in high-impact settings.
The client is currently conducting research in the field at a U.S.-based research university, with ongoing work spanning trustworthy machine learning, low-resource language understanding, and fair artificial intelligence systems. This current role supports the client’s continued progress toward the proposed endeavor, while also enabling sustained dissemination of results through peer-reviewed venues.
An Evidentiary Record In NIW cases, publication and citation metrics are useful only when they are framed as evidence of independent reliance and measurable influence, not treated as automatically sufficient. In responding to the RFE, we organized the record to show that the client’s research is both consequential and already being used by other researchers tackling related problems in AI reliability, robustness, and fairness.
The petition highlighted the client’s scholarly record and demonstrated impact:
- 1 first-authored peer-reviewed journal article
- 16 peer-reviewed conference articles (including 4 first-authored)
- 2 papers accepted for publication in peer-reviewed conferences
- 1 first-authored preprint
- 156 citations
Peer-Recognized Authority Because publication norms in computer and information science often place significant weight on top peer-reviewed conferences and selective venues, the petition also provided context to ensure the client’s record would be evaluated fairly and accurately. We emphasized that the client’s work was selected by respected peer-reviewed outlets in the field, supporting the conclusion that the research meets rigorous standards and addresses problems recognized as important by expert reviewers.
In addition, the record included evidence of major research support, including funding tied to U.S. national priorities through agencies. Strategically, this funding was presented as corroborating evidence that the client’s research direction aligns with high-value objectives related to reliable and secure AI, and that the work has earned confidence from highly selective funding mechanisms.
Expert Recommendation Letters To further strengthen the RFE response and reinforce the objective evidence, the petition included two letters of recommendation from established experts. These letters were used to connect the client’s technical contributions to broader impact, explaining how the client’s work helps close critical gaps in trustworthy and fair AI and why continued progress would benefit the United States.
“Given the vulnerability of modern autonomous driving systems and large retail recommender systems, and the catastrophic implications of their malfunctioning, it is readily apparent that [Client’s] new fortification and security schemes are of major technological and public safety value. Indeed, his work is a boon for modern artificial intelligence and machine learning systems in these and other critical sectors. It is thus important that his work go unabridged.”
The Result The NIW I-140 petition was approved, reflecting that the case presentation successfully addressed the RFE and demonstrated the national importance of the client’s proposed endeavor, the client’s strong positioning to advance it through a peer-recognized publication record and meaningful citations, and the broader benefit of waiving the job offer and labor certification requirements.