On June 29^th, 2016, we received another EB-1A (Alien of Extraordinary Ability) approval for a Postdoctoral Fellow in the Field of Pharmaceutical Science (Approval Notice).

General Field: Pharmaceutical Science

Position at the Time of Case Filing: Postdoctoral Fellow

Country of Origin: China

Service Center: Texas Service Center (TSC)

State of Residence at the Time of Filing: North Carolina

Approval Notice Date: June 29^th, 2016

Processing Time: 79 Days (Premium Processing Requested)

Case Summary:

Exactly 79 days after North America Immigration Law Group (NAILG) filed an EB-1A (Alien of Extraordinary Ability) petition on behalf of a gifted postdoctoral fellow from China, Texas Service Center granted their approval. It would have taken far longer for them to process our client’s case had she not elected to upgrade it to Premium Processing. Additionally, we are pleased that the USCIS did not issue a Request for Evidence (RFE) as it would have lengthened the overall timeline.

What is Premium Processing (PP)?

PP is a service offered by the USCIS that allows petitioners to have action taken on their I-140 cases within 15 calendar days instead of 4-9 months. Those interested in PP need to submit an I-907 form and pay the USCIS an additional $1,225. As great as PP is, there is a catch: not all visa categories qualify for PP. Fortunately for our client, EB-1A is one of the approved categories. Just 13 days after the upgrade, she received notification that her EB-1A petition had been approved.

What is a strong EB-1A petition packet composed of?

NAILG made sure to focus on our client’s various achievements in the field of pharmaceutical science. We detailed her work on drug delivery systems and highlighted the importance of her findings in improving medical therapies, reducing drug waste and costs, and advancing the American pharmaceutical industry. Furthermore, we proved that our client is a leader in the field by listing her 8 peer-reviewed scientific articles and one book chapter as well as the 37 times she assessed the work of her peers for scientific journals. We also noted the 137 times her work had been cited by researchers around the world (at the time of filing). To fortify her EB-1A petition, we encouraged her to reach out to a handful of other influential members of the pharmaceutical science community and ask them to sign recommendation letters. Amongst other things, these letters briefly described our client’s professional achievements and the importance of allowing her to continue her work in the US. This is what one of our client’s recommenders signed off on: “Because of the critical and unprecedented research that she has conducted on this impervious disease, [Client] and her research are much needed assets which our country cannot afford to lose.”

We congratulate our client for obtaining an EB-1A petition approval and thank her for retaining our services to help her and her dependent adjust their status for permanent residence.