Brazilian EB-2 NIW Petition approved in 2 months! (Bioinformatics Professional)
This short post provides the timeline of a successful EB-2 NIW self-petition.
The following is a timeline for a successful EB-2 NIW self-petition I-140 handled by our firm:
July 2022 = Retained by client;
Nov 7, 2022 = Filed I-140 petition for Ph.D. bioinformatics professional. The case was slightly delayed as we were waiting on another support letter but we decided to go forward with just 2 support letters, plus a detailed self-petitioner cover letter. Petitioner had done peer-reviewed research with 90+ citations to his articles, plus other “traditional metrics” which are favorable for EB-2 NIW. Self-petitioner client was (and is) working at a top-rated hospital system in F-1 OPT.
November 25, 2022 = Filed I-485/I-765/I-131 applications with I-140 receipt.
January 19, 2023 = EB2 NIW I-140 petition approved with no RFE. Case was approved by the Nebraska Service Center. That is a total of 73 days from “received date” to “approval.”
Traditionally when USCIS introduces premium processing to a new category, or re-introduces it after a break, the agency will clear out the backlog of pending cases in that category as much as possible. So the fast processing time here may have simply benefited from when it was filed and when premium processing was introduced. Plus it was a strong case and should have been approved (but that often does not matter to the processing time!).
The open question now is whether EB-2 NIW petitions will continue to be processed quickly via non-premium processing now that premium processing is available. I suspect non-premium processing cases will be VERY SLOW.
Regardless, we have a happy camper client!
