EB-2 NIW Case Study: European genomics researcher (2019 Master's degree in Biology) - approved without RFE
This brief post provides the timeline for another successful EB-2 NIW self-petition filed by our firm. (Don't get cocky kid!)
Background Facts:
European with Master’s degree in Biology gets job in clinical genomics lab at H-1B cap-exempt hospital.
Hospital handles H-1B in-house in 2020 and European moves to the US.
Her lab is prolific, so she is listed as co-author on multiple publications and garners a citation count of 45 per Google Scholar after 2 years in the lab.
Timeline:
May 2, 2022: Signs retainer agreement with Webber Law.
August 16, 2022: EB-2 NIW I-140 petition filed. Case filing includes 3 support letters plus a self-petitioner support letter, plus documentation of publications and citations and background information about her subject matter area of genomics.
December 19, 2022: I-140 approved without RFE.
Separately -
September 2022: I-485/I-765/I-131 applications filed.
October 2022: Biometrics completed.
December 2022: We are anticipating the EADAP work/travel documents to be approved in January 2023 and the self-petitioner can then pivot to a job opportunity at a higher paying private sector life sciences company in a different part of the country where she wants to live.
This is the way it is done!
Europeans being smart about U.S. immigration law - using the benefits of H-1B cap exemption to get into the U.S. market on a temporary work visa, building an EB-2 NIW profile, and then proceeding to a self-petition green card.
From the time we were retained (May 2022) to the time the I-140 was approved (Dec 2022) — it was faster than a 9141 prevailing wage determination through the sloth-like U.S. Department of Labor these days.
And if you are waiting on PERM, you need to wait on the 9141, then the recruitment campaign, then the 9089, and then finally the I-140 with an employer sponsor.
