EB-2 NIW Case Study: Biochemist (Case Approved - Really Fast!)
2020 Ph.D. who was unlucky in the H-1B cap self-petitioned EB-2 NIW and was approved in just 3 months without RFE....
Today we got an approval notice for an EB-2 NIW I-140 petition (self-petition) we filed with the USCIS Texas Service Center (TSC).
The case arrived at TSC on May 9, 2022, and was approved on August 11, 2022 - very fast timing! (Approval notice arrived at our office on August 19, 2022).
This case is arguably a “classic” EB-2 NIW case -
A F-1 student who completed her Ph.D. in Biochemistry in 2020;
She was not born in India or China so we filed the EB-2 NIW I-140 and with the I-140 receipt we have also filed her I-485/I-765/I-131 applications;
At the time of filing, she had 7 years of experience broadly in biochemistry;
At the time of filing, she had 3 published peer-reviewed articles with 40+ citations;
She also had 4 conference presentations;
She is currently a scientist at a private sector company engaged in biotherapeutic research. She was not chosen in the H-1B cap.
This was a self-petition case she did completely on her own. And in fact, she recently got a job offer at another private sector company with a substantial raise in salary.
The support documentation for the case included 3 support letters plus a petitioner support letter (her letter).
A couple quotes in the petitioner’s support letter, arguing Prong 1 (proposed endeavor):
Recently, the U.S. Government issued the National Strategy for Critical and Emerging Technologies, outlining how these technologies are critical to several goals outlined in the National Security Strategy (NSS), including promoting U.S. prosperity and competition. Medical and public health technologies are one of the twenty critical and emerging technologies identified in this document. As a protein characterization scientist playing a critical role in the development of novel biotherapies and a researcher with experience developing new technologies to facilitate the assessment thereof, my proposed endeavor is directly aligned with the strategies and goals outlined by the United States government in this document.
Furthermore, the Office of Management and Budget and Office of Science and Technology Policy recently issued a memorandum outlining the Biden Administration’s research and development priorities for the 2023 fiscal year. This memo states, in reference to the COVID-19 pandemic and pandemic readiness and prevention more generally:
“As the Nation emerges from this historic event, it is more important than ever not to become complacent in ensuring readiness to meet the challenge of the next emerging pandemic. Agencies should continue to build upon previous R&D investments in early warning systems, diagnostics, therapies, and vaccine development and manufacturing to prevent and respond to pandemic and other biological threats.”
EB-2 NIW continues to be a very attractive route for certain foreign national professionals. This case was a “classic” case but our firm increasingly is representing people in a wide variety of backgrounds for EB-2 NIW filings.
