Success Story: NIW Approval for Transportation Planning Research Shaping the Future of Mobility
Client’s Testimonial:
"Thank you all for your great work on my case!”
On August 6th, 2026, we received another EB-2 NIW (National Interest Waiver) approval for an Assistant Professional Researcher in the Field of Transportation Planning (Approval Notice).
General Field: Transportation Planning
Position at the Time of Case Filing: Assistant Professional Researcher
Country of Origin: South Korea
State of Residence at the Time of Filing: California
Approval Notice Date: August 6th, 2026
Processing Time: 16 months, 13 days (Premium Processing Requested)
Case Summary:
How people travel is being reshaped by shared mobility services, new technologies, remote activities, and changing residential preferences. The client’s proposed endeavor focused on studying these shifts through advanced quantitative analysis of survey data and large-scale, high-resolution mobility and location data. North America Immigration Law Group (Chen Immigration Law Associates) connected these research objectives to broader U.S. transportation needs, including urban mobility, congestion relief, and sustainable transit systems.
The client entered the NIW process with an established record of scholarship and recognition in transportation planning:
- Ph.D. in city and regional planning
- 21 peer-reviewed journal articles and 1 first-authored book chapter
- 951 citations, with the submitted bibliometric evidence placing the client within the top 1% of the field based on citations accumulated during the preceding five years
- At least 78 completed peer reviews for scholarly journals and conferences
- Service as a guest editor for a special issue of a scholarly journal
- Research support from the Department of Transportation (DOT)
The significance behind these numbers was also reflected in expert testimony. One recommender described the client’s contributions by stating:
“[Client] stands at the top of his field, given his achievements in revealing generational shifts in travel behavior, showing the impact of local infrastructure on mobility choices, and identifying the growing importance of urban amenities in young adults' migration decisions.”
We further demonstrated the practical value of this record by detailing how independent researchers were already applying the client’s work. Outside experts adopted the client’s machine learning techniques and quantitative models to analyze shared mobility demand, the impact of the built environment, and evolving generational travel preferences. Building on this established foundation, the client’s future endeavor was structured to investigate fleet electrification and the effects of remote activities on broader travel behavior.
A premium processing upgrade was submitted on June 4th, 2026. The petition resulted in a successful approval by seamlessly connecting an influential track record in transportation research with a forward-looking plan to generate actionable evidence for future infrastructure decisions. We are pleased to have supported the client in reaching this milestone and look forward to the client's continued contributions to the study and planning of evolving transportation systems.