On May 2^nd, 2016, we received another EB-2 NIW (National Interest Waiver) approval for a Postdoctoral Fellow in the Field of Chemistry (Approval Notice).

General Field: Chemistry

Position at the Time of Case Filing: Postdoctoral Fellow

Country of Origin: Indonesia

Service Center: Texas Service Center (TSC)

State of Residence at the Time of Filing: Florida

Approval Notice Date: May 2^nd, 2016

Processing Time: 10 months, 8 days

Case Summary:

An Indonesian postdoctoral fellow working in the field of chemistry hired North America Immigration Law Group to help him navigate the mindboggling green card process. There are two steps involved: filing the I-140 petition and the I-485 application. After evaluating our client’s credentials, we confirmed that his I-140 petition should be filed under the EB-2 NIW (National Interest Waiver) visa category. 10 months and 8 days after we submitted the EB-2 NIW petition on his behalf, Texas Service Center took action on his case and granted their approval. The only problem we encountered along the way to petition approval was the lengthy processing time. We raised one service request after the case was considered outside the normal adjudication timeframe and to our delight, our client received notification of case approval roughly a month later.

Compiling relevant information:

Our client’s petition was supported by five of his peers, all of whom are experts in the field of chemistry. From Mexico to Iran, these recommenders hail from all over the world, solidifying our argument that our client’s findings are beneficial to various scientists at home and abroad. According to one of these recommenders—a well-known assistant professor: “Given the highly specialized nature of drug discovery through synthetic organic chemistry, it is my professional evaluation that [Client] is one of a very few researchers worldwide who is capable of completing this work.” Alongside these recommendation letters stood evidence of our client’s leadership position in the field. We listed the 83 times his findings were cited by other chemists and noted his 9 publications that appeared in high impact scientific journals. Furthermore, we acknowledged our client’s Ph.D. in Chemistry and extensive experience conducting fieldwork on the design of pharmacologically relevant molecules and specific molecular inhibitors and probes for the purposes of studying and treating various diseases including malignant cancers. We were able to present a strong argument to the USCIS that highlighted the value of our client’s work to the United States’ clinical health industries and to expert oncologic research communities around the world.

Taking the final step towards a green card:

Not long after our client’s EB-2 NIW petition was approved, he retained our services to help him file an I-485 application. As this is the final step in the green card process, our client will obtain permanent residence once the USCIS processes and approves his application. We join him as he waits for a positive outcome, and we wish him the best with his continued research efforts.