Success Story: Overcoming an RFE to Secure EB-2 NIW Approval for a Colorectal Surgeon Advancing Colorectal Cancer Research and Patient Care
Client’s Testimonial:
“Thank you for all of your help with this process!”
On September 5th, 2026, we received another EB-2 NIW (National Interest Waiver) approval for a Colorectal Surgeon in the Field of Colorectal Cancer (Approval Notice).
General Field: Colorectal Cancer
Position at the Time of Case Filing: Colorectal Surgeon
Country of Origin: Mexico
State of Residence at the Time of Filing: Texas
Approval Notice Date: September 5th, 2026
Processing Time: 11 months, 3 days (Premium Processing Upgrade Requested)
Case Summary:
Medical research and patient care often depend on physicians who study how diagnostic, treatment, and follow-up strategies influence patient outcomes. The client’s work focuses on advancing medical knowledge and improving the evaluation of disease progression, treatment response, and long-term patient outcomes. Holding an M.D., the client sought classification under the EB-2 National Interest Waiver category to continue research aimed at examining clinical practices, treatment approaches, and patient monitoring strategies. This work may support improved survival, more effective care, better health outcomes, and enhanced quality of life for patients. At the time of filing, the client was employed as a physician at a U.S.-based healthcare institution while continuing to develop this research program.
A central part of the petition focused on demonstrating that the client was well positioned to carry this work forward. Rather than relying on a single achievement, North America Immigration Law Group (NAILG) presented a combination of scholarly accomplishments that reflected sustained contributions to the field. The client had authored 10 peer-reviewed journal articles, including 1 first-authored publication, 15 abstracts, including 4 first-authored abstracts, and 2 book chapters, including 1 first-authored book chapter. The published work had accumulated 486 citations.
The citations were presented not merely as numerical evidence, but as proof that independent researchers had relied upon the client’s findings to advance their own work in colorectal cancer, cancer diagnosis, surgical oncology, and related clinical research. The petition also placed the citation record in context by showing that several of the client’s papers ranked among highly cited Clinical Medicine articles for their publication years, including 1 paper ranked among the top 10% and 2 papers ranked among the top 20%. This helped demonstrate that the client’s work had received meaningful attention within the field.
Another important component of the case involved demonstrating that the client’s research had significance beyond academic publication. We showed that other researchers had referenced and built upon the client’s findings in related studies. This helped establish that the client’s work contributed to ongoing research and broader efforts to advance the field.
By carefully connecting the client’s education, clinical background, current employment, publication record, citation impact, independent scholarly reliance, and future research plans, we demonstrated that the proposed endeavor extends beyond routine clinical practice and addresses issues of significant importance to public health. After USCIS issued a Request for Evidence (RFE), the RFE response reinforced these points and clarified how the client’s record supported continued contributions to the field. USCIS ultimately approved the client’s I-140 National Interest Waiver petition, allowing the client to continue pursuing research that may contribute to improved colorectal cancer care and patient outcomes in the United States.