A Nice Way to Start 2024: EB-2 NIW I-140 Approval on New Year's Day
This post is a short case study for a Controls Engineer approved for EB-2 NIW in 14 days (via Premium Processing).
Today is January 1, 2024, and today I received an email approval notice for an EB-2 NIW I-140 self-petition which arrived at USCIS on December 18, 2023, so 14 days from filing to approval.
Timeline:
August 14, 2023: Client signed a retainer agreement but at the same time accepted a new job and was relocating in August.
Mid-September 2023: Client sent us background information needed to prepare the case.
December 18, 2023: EB-2 NIW I-140 arrived at USCIS, via Premium Process.
January 1, 2024: EB-2 NIW I-140 approved.
Background:
Client was born in Pakistan and obtained a Bachelor’s degree in Engineering in Pakistan.
Client came to the United States in F-1 Visa Status and obtained a Master’s degree in Engineering from a U.S. university.
Client used F-1 OPT and STEM OPT to work in the United States but then immigrated to Canada.
Client stayed in Canada and obtained Canadian citizenship, got married and had a child. His wife and child are Canadian citizens.
Recently (post-pandemic), client came back into the United States on TN visa status as a Controls Engineer at employer 1 but changed to employer 2 in August 2023.
Besides a U.S. Master’s degree and several years of work experience, client’s profile included 2 articles - one published in a modest domain-specific publication and the second published for a conference. Both were published around the time of his U.S. Master’s degree, several years ago.
Client has membership in a professional association relevant to his engineering focus.
Client has worked at various companies providing engineering services focused on automating and enhancing efficiency in manufacturing, including automobile manufacturing. His work experience includes development of robotics technology and other controls and automation technology, with some experience with global auto makers (as a consultant).
Support Documentation:
Our case involved gathering and organizing documentation of client’s education and work experience, along with the 2 publications and other background information about the engineering applications supported by the client.
We worked with the client to draft just 3 letters of support (but ultimately filed with 2 letters when one letter writer became unavailable).
The case also included a detailed cover letter signed by the self-petitioner to outline the “proposed endeavor.”
Procedural Details:
The I-140 was set up for consular processing (immigrant visa processing) which is sometimes useful for Canadians in TN visa status. It is true that EB-2 Pakistan is not “current” on the Visa Bulletin and it might be 1-2 years (or more!) before the client will get his green card, but he is on the path forward and can renew his TN as needed.
By proceeding now, he is on a path to get a green card before his child turns 18 (relevant for U.S. college admissions and financial aid eligibility).
Because the case was set-up for consular processing, the client has the option to complete the green card process via the National Visa Center and U.S. Consulate in Montreal, or simply “adjust status” without filing an I-824. Anyone in a non-dual intent visa status should consider structuring an I-140 filing to request consular processing which creates optionality of either immigrant visa processing or adjustment of status without filing an I-824.
Controls Engineers with a focus on advancing manufacturing are good candidates for EB-2 NIW pursuant to Matter of Dhanasar and current adjudication standards at USCIS.
There are many Canadian and Mexican TNs in the United States who incorrectly believe their TN status prohibits them from pursuing a green card. I have handled a large number of TN to green card cases. There is no requirement to get an H-1B. It is a widely misunderstood issue. More and more F-1s are relocating to Canada after their F-1 OPT and STEM OPT expire. If they stay long enough in Canada to qualify for Canadian citizenship, they can return on TN and pursue this option. While this option is less attractive for Indian-born candidates (due to long waits on the Visa Bulletin for India EB-2), there can be reasons to pursue this even for Indian-born candidates.
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