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.

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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.”

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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.