Success Story: NIW Approved Without RFE for an Artificial Intelligence Researcher Advancing Secure Digital Systems and Strengthening Cybersecurity
Client’s Testimonial:
“Thank you very much for your kind message and congratulations. I truly appreciate all your support and guidance throughout my I-140 NIW petition process.”
On September 3rd, 2026, we received another EB-2 NIW (National Interest Waiver) approval for a Software Developer in the Field of Artificial Intelligence (Approval Notice).
General Field: Artificial Intelligence
Position at the Time of Case Filing: Software Developer
Country of Origin: Bangladesh
State of Residence at the Time of Filing: Virginia
Approval Notice Date: September 3rd, 2026
Processing Time: 2 months, 12 days (Premium Processing Requested)
Case Summary:
Artificial intelligence (AI) plays an increasingly important role in helping organizations strengthen digital security, protect sensitive information, and respond more effectively to evolving technological risks. The client’s work focuses on applying AI and machine learning methods to cybersecurity and secure data systems. The petition was supported by 2 expert recommendation letters. One expert emphasized:
“These contributions highlight the national significance of [Client’s] work in strengthening cybersecurity, protecting economic systems, and advancing secure digital infrastructure in the U.S.”
For National Interest Waiver (NIW) petitions, the strongest cases demonstrate not only that a proposed endeavor serves an important national objective, but also that the researcher has already established a record showing the ability to advance that objective. North America Immigration Law Group (NAILG) structured the petition around these considerations, demonstrating that the client’s work in AI-driven cybersecurity, threat detection, and secure digital systems had relevance beyond a single employer or isolated technical project.
At the time of filing, the client held an M.S. in information technology and was employed as a software developer at a U.S.-based technology company. In that role, the client continued work involving software development, system security, vulnerability assessment, and AI-enabled cybersecurity solutions. This current employment aligned closely with the proposed endeavor, which focused on developing and applying AI-based methods to strengthen real-time threat detection and improve the security of important digital systems.
NAILG organized the evidence so USCIS could evaluate the client’s impact through clear, objective indicators, including a publication record consisting of 14 peer-reviewed journal articles, 2 of which were first-authored, 6 peer-reviewed conference articles, including 1 accepted article, and 1 registered design, as well as a citation record showing that the client’s work had been cited 160 times by other researchers.
Rather than presenting these credentials as automatically satisfying the NIW standard, the petition explained how an adjudicator could interpret them in context. Several of the client’s papers were cited at high rates for their publication years, helping show that the client’s work had received meaningful attention within the field. The petition also showed that independent researchers had relied on the client’s work in later studies involving AI, cybersecurity, data analysis, secure digital systems, and technology-driven decision-making.
USCIS approved the client’s I-140 National Interest Waiver petition without a Request for Evidence, recognizing a record defined by scholarly output, citation impact, independent reliance by other researchers, expert support, current work aligned with the proposed endeavor, and continued contributions to a nationally important area of AI. This approval supports the client’s continued work in advancing secure digital infrastructure and AI-driven cybersecurity systems in the United States.