Indian Chemist: Self-Petition EB-2 NIW approved years after EB-3 PERM approval
This post provides a short case study of a client who embraced this 'golden age' of EB-2 NIW to get a self-petition I-140 approved, giving him flexibility for the long wait ahead.
We are living in a golden age for EB-2 NIW. Who knows how long it will last. But cases are getting approved quickly by USCIS (even without premium processing) and the adjudication standards are eminently reasonable.
This is a short case study of an EB-2 Indian who already had a PERM-based I-140 approved (in EB3), who pursued a self-petition I-140 in the EB-2 NIW category.
His new self-petition approval will give him various benefits (but alas, it is true he is still in the long wait for EB-2 India).
Background Facts/Profile:
Indian-born H-1B chemist who earned a Master’s degree in the US. Married with a spouse with H-4 EAD.
Approved I-140 in the EB-3 category. Priority date not current.
2 research-based publications (one very old), no first-authorship, 20 citations per Google Scholar.
Working in R&D at a private sector company.
Timing:
July 6, 2022: Client signed retainer agreement to work with Webber Law.
Dec 21, 2022: I-140 petition filed. Evidence included 3 support letters plus a self-petitioner support letter outlining eligibility per Matter of Dhanasar.
February 16, 2023: EB-2 NIW I-140 petition approved without premium processing.
Benefits:
Now he has a self-petition EB-2 NIW approval. This means the client now has the benefit of being able to change jobs, location, and/or employer, and he will not require a new I-140 filed for him. He is currently pursuing a M.B.A. and is interested in management and business development opportunities. Even if he stays at the same employer, he would arguably need a new PERM approval for a new promotion which can take a long time and is subject to unpredictability due to this weird economy and labor market. He can now pursue his career at the same company or at a different company or even get involved in a start-up without worrying that he needs a new PERM and I-140.
So many Indians are told that they really should not change jobs or risk having to do a new green card process. He has taken that issue out of the equation now.
This client can even go abroad and know that he is exempt from the H-1B cap if he chooses to return to the United States during the long wait for his now EB-2 priority date to be current.
It is a long-shot, but this client can keep building his profile, perhaps with a managerial and business development angle, and stretch for EB-1A in the future.
CONCLUDING THOUGHTS
The “per-country” limits that create absurd backlogs for green cards for people born in India should end. I support the end of these per-country limits. But very likely the only change possible will require an act of Congress. And Congress does not seem inclined to act.
In the meantime, we live in real life and in real time. And Indian H-1B workers can assess the benefits of EB-2 NIW and whether having a self-petition I-140 approved and attached to them personally provides benefits ‘worth the cost and hassle’ to seek the EB-2 NIW approval.
In the current era of unpredictable layoffs and extremely slow PERM processing, having something attached to you personally provides peace of mind to people even if the wait times for a green card are WAY TOO LONG
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