EB-2 NIW Approved in 17 days: African Materials Chemist Ph.D. with 4 citations
This case study provides details on the timing and framing of a successful EB-2 NIW case.
Here is the timeline of a successful EB-2 NIW case our firm handled:
2016 = Candidate earned Bachelor’s degree from U.S. college.
2021 = Candidate earned Ph.D. in Materials Science from U.S. university.
Feb 2022 = Candidate joins large international company (not our client) as R&D Chemist using F-1 OPT work authorization.
Dec 21, 2022 = Candidate retains Webber Law to handle EB-2 NIW self-petition.
April 10, 2023 = EB-2 NIW self-petition I-140 filed via premium process.
April 27, 2023 = EB-2 NIW self-petition I-140 approved.
So approximately 4 months from when we were hired to when he got an I-140 approval notification.
The candidate has F-1 visa status and was born in Africa. He is using F-1 OPT to work at his employer who tried to get him an H-1B in the H-1B cap lottery earlier this year (March 2023). The employer will have 2 more chances to try for an H-1B and in the meantime he is positioned to file an I-485 hopefully this fall.
The candidate has a couple research publications and 4 citations, per Google Scholar.
The evidence for the case included documentation of his Ph.D. in a STEM field, evidence of his publications and other research-oriented contributions to the field, and 3 letters of support; plus a detailed self-petitioner cover letter that outlined eligibility pursuant to Matter of Dhanasar.
One key strategic consideration was framing the case to make clear that the candidate’s contributions and areas of interest met broader areas of national (public) interest. Often when a candidate works at a private sector employer - even a large, international employer - the USCIS can push back and question whether there is a proposed endeavor of national importance, versus a more narrow, “private” benefit to the sponsoring employer and customers of the sponsoring employer.
Here, the candidate was involved in developing next-generation materials and analyzed the impact of those materials on sustainability considerations. Specifically, the candidate had credible documentation of his proposed endeavor:
“developing novel polymers that are sustainable and recyclable while ensuring that these sustainable polymers are cost-effective to produce to facilitate their widespread adoption. In doing so, I seek to help the U.S. and the world transition away from high-pollutant single-use plastics and towards the widespread use of sustainable polymers for a range of applications, facilitating the creation of a circular economy in plastics.”
Note that it is still true that this candidate must now wait for his priority date to be current in order to file his I-485 adjustment of status application but he has OPT until the end of 2023, and STEM OPT for 2 more years and I think it is reasonable to assume that EB-2 ROW (Rest of World) will become current in that period of time.
Too many research-oriented professionals are working at companies in the United States in F-1 OPT or STEM OPT and waiting passively for their employers to sponsor them for H-1Bs or maybe PERM. It is true that this candidate had to pay out-of-pocket for the process and of course each person must make an individualized cost/benefit assessment, but having an approved I-140 that is a self-petition and not tied to employer, position, or location, gives this Ph.D. materials chemist the ability to know he has positioned himself for a green card in the next 2 years.
Is there a possibility that having a US based degree also facilitated the process?