From January to March 2012, our firm received 67 EB-1 case approvals: 35 EB-1(a), 27 EB-1(b), and 5EB-1(c). USCIS approved 48 of these cases without a request for evidence. In addition, from January to March 2012, our firm also received 56 NIW case approvals. For the year of 2011, our firm received 286 NIW approvals, 206 EB-1 approvals, 815 I-485 approvals, as well as 269 H-1B approvals. 

Out of the 67 EB-1 cases approved in the past three months, except for thosefive people who applied for EB-1(c) immigration for multinational manager or executive, and one athlete who applied for EB-1(a), all other applicants had a Ph. D and conducted scientific research. Among samples of approved applicants, most conduct research in medical science, biology, and engineering, while others focus on computer science, physics, etc.

Ph.D	61
Master	0
Bachelor	0
N/A	6

Three of the most popular job titles for applicants who received approval were that of a “postdoctoral fellow”, “assistant professor” and “engineer”. Those specializing in these occupations mainly conduct research, produce papers, and attend conferences. Because of the nature of scientific work, it is much easier to meet EB-1 requirements. Of course, as mentioned earlier, this should not discourage you from applying if you happen to fulfil different, but equally comparable criteria. Each case varies and it is difficult to determine whether or not you qualify unless you come in for an evaluation.

In addition to the above, our firm has also compiled data on other criteria. The average number of journal papers published among these applicants was 13. The average number of citations was 132. The average number of reviews conducted was 23. The average processing time for these applicants was 132 days or about fourmonths. The longest amount of time it took to approve an application was 704 days, while the shortest was 7 days.

Journal papers on average	13
Citations	132
Reviews on average	23
Average processing date	132

 

 

 

 

 

Before you start the application process, it is imperative that you consult with a highly trained legal professional, particularly since USCIS has become stricter with EB-1 applications after a memo was released on August 18, 2010. In essence, the USCIS memo breaks the EB-1 evaluation process up into two parts – 1) evaluating whether the applicant meets the baseline criteria for the immigration category and 2) determining whether the applicant’s evidence demonstrates the required high level of expertise for the immigration category. In the second part of the review process the USCIS will evaluate the evidence to see if, as a whole, it proves by a preponderance of the evidence that the applicant is at the very top of his or her field of endeavor.

Finally, premium process was adopted in filing 21 out of the 67 EB-1 cases. In our personal experience, we have found that premium processing can expedite adjudication of your application. However, if you are not a highly qualified applicant, you could receive a RFE notice as a result. Furthermore, in our practice, we have heard that a USCIS officer only has 15 minutes to read through an application. Given the stringent time constraints, officers sometimes automatically issue a RFE to fulfil the 15 day processing guarantee while not having to approve or deny a petition. Please note, an applicant can adopt premium process when initially filing one petition or do so after the petition has been filed. In either case, USCIS will issue and serve on the petitioner or applicant an approval notice, a denial notice, a notice of intent to deny, a request for evidence or open an investigation for fraud or misrepresentation within the 15 calendar day period.

Again, before you start the application process, it is imperative that you consult with a highly trained legal professional. If you are interested in contacting us for a free consultation, please call our offices at 1-800-230-7040 or email us at info@hooyou.com.

For more information on the 67 EB-1 cases approved from January to March 2012, please refer to the table below.

#	Case Type	Degree	Research field	Journal papers	Citations	Reviews	Job title	RFE	Premium Processing	Processing time
1	EB-1A	Ph.D	Respiration, Internal Medicine	13	48	12	Postdoctoral fellow	RFE		168
2	EB-1A	Ph.D	Molecular Physiology and Biophysics	13	72	N/A	Research fellow	RFE		220
3	EB-1A	Ph.D	Genetics and Developmental Biology	42	N/A	14	Research associate			189
4	EB-1A	Ph.D	Geophysics	7	37	19	Geophysicist			240
5	EB-1A	Ph.D	Civil Engineering	17	122	10	Assistant Research Engineer			78
6	EB-1A	Ph.D	Nutritional Scie nce and Cancer Biology	10	481	30	Postdoctoral fellow		Yes	12
7	EB-1A	Ph.D	Mechanical Engineering	16	136	64	Research fellow		Yes	13
8	EB-1A	Ph.D	Theoretical/Comp ut ational Chemistry	10	65	10	Post-doctoral Research Associate			340
9	EB-1A	Ph.D	Engineering	21	292	48	Postdoctoral Research Associate	RFE		549
10	EB-1A	Ph.D	Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering	22	125	16	Research Associate	RFE		399
11	EB-1A	Ph.D	Electrical and Computer Engineering	11	44	30	Research/Teaching Assistant	RFE	Yes	47
12	EB-1A	Ph.D	Biochemistry	6	110	N/A	Research Professional Associate		Yes	18
13	EB-1A	Ph.D	Chemistry	10	170	N/A	Postdoctoral Research Associate			276
14	EB-1A	Ph.D	Electrical Engineering	6	78	9	Senior Researcher		Yes	13
15	EB-1A	Ph.D	Chemistry	13	50	29	Postdoctoral Research Fellow		Yes	13
16	EB-1A	Ph.D	Nanomedicine	7	334	8	Postdoctoral Fellow		Yes	15
17	EB-1A	Ph.D	Materials Engineering	11	140	17	Senior Research Scientist			136
18	EB-1A	Ph.D	Electrical Engineering	5	N/A	23	Software Engineer		Yes	12
19	EB-1A	Ph.D	Physics	27	131	27	Staff Research Associate			213
20	EB-1A	Ph.D	Biomedical Engineering	6	42	1	Senior Manager			704
21	EB-1A	Ph.D	Electrical Engineering	24	131	27	Staff Research Associate			217
22	EB-1A	Ph.D	Applied Mathematics	15	70	20	Postdoctoral Research Associate			185
23	EB-1A	Ph.D	Chemical Engineering	8	12	15	Postdoctoral Research Associate	RFE	Yes	108
24	EB-1A	Ph.D	Algorithms	5	28	19	Postdoctoral Researcher			213
25	EB-1A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	Athlete	RFE		71
26	EB-1A	Ph.D	Medical Science	37	274	14	Post Doctoral Associate			289
27	EB-1A	Ph.D	Physical Chemistry	19	229	40	Postdoctoral fellow			173
28	EB-1A	Ph.D	Medical Science	16	216	15	Postdoctoral Researcher			47
29	EB-1A	Ph.D	Physics	23	119	25	Post Doctoral Associate		Yes	15
30	EB-1A	Ph.D	Chemistry	30	1345	11	Postdoctoral Appointee		Yes	12
31	EB-1A	Ph.D	Chemistry	18	N/A	1	Post Doctoral Research Associate	RFE		110
32	EB-1A	Ph.D	Bioengineering	12	320	5	Research associate			15
33	EB-1A	Ph.D	Biomedical Science	10	90	13	Postdoctoral Research Associate			5
34	EB-1A	Ph.D	Bioengineering	15	67	30	Research associate		Yes	19
35	EB-1A	Ph.D	Mathematics	13	194	2	Senior Vice President			375
36	EB-1B	Ph.D	Environmental Chemistry and Technology	12	26	5	Research Scientist	RFE		263
37	EB-1B	Ph.D	Mechanical Engineering	6	58	6	Research Scientist			219
38	EB-1B	Ph.D	Microbiology and Immunology	14	132	18	Research Scientist			150
39	EB-1B	Ph.D	Pharmacy	9	34	5	Analytical Chemist			435
40	EB-1B	Ph.D	Genetics	11	83	33	Research Associate			90
41	EB-1B	Ph.D	Pharmaceutical Sciences	1	7	4	Pharmaceutical Scientist	RFE		165
42	EB-1B	Ph.D	Material Engineering	11	157	20	Senior Research Scientist		Yes	16
43	EB-1B	Ph.D	Computer and Electronics Engineering	6	22	64	Tenure Track Assistant Professor		Yes	18
44	EB-1B	Ph.D	Microbiology and Immunology	14	132	18	Research Scientist	RFE		168
45	EB-1B	Ph.D	Chemistry	10	49	N/A	Doctoral Research		Yes	14
46	EB-1B	Ph.D	Biochemistry and Molecular Biology	10	125	15	Research Scientist		Yes	15
47	EB-1B	Ph.D	Statistics	6	13	35	Assistant Professor (Tenure Track)	RFE		50
48	EB-1B	Ph.D	Education Administration & Policy Studies	10	39	27	Assistant Professor	RFE	Yes	67
49	EB-1B	Ph.D	Structural Engineering and Earthquake Engineering	8	49	20	Assistant Professor		Yes	17
50	EB-1B	Ph.D	Mechanical Engineering	11	35	5	Senior Research Scientist			69
51	EB-1B	Ph.D	Computer Science	4	61	9	Senior Scientist			110
52	EB-1B	Ph.D	Mechanical Engineering	25	53	68	Senior Research Engineer	RFE	Yes	35
53	EB-1B	Ph.D	Botany	5	27	48	Research Associate			55
54	EB-1B	Ph.D	Electrical Engineering	3	18	38	Research Engineer			131
55	EB-1B	Ph.D	Bioinformatics	7	118	19	Scientific Informatics Analyst		Yes	16
56	EB-1B	Ph.D	Mechanical Engineering	10	59	42	Senior Engineer			21
57	EB-1B	Ph.D	Mechanical Engineering	2	33	45	Engineer			193
58	EB-1B	Ph.D	Optics	17	159	69	scientist	RFE		82
59	EB-1B	Ph.D	Marine Policy	11	67	19	Policy Analyst			32
60	EB-1B	Ph.D	Petroleum Engineering	14	254	N/A	Research Chemist			49
61	EB-1B	Ph.D	Computer Science	5	197	20	Staff Software Engineering		Yes	11
62	EB-1B	Ph.D	Applied Mathematics	3	63	4	Advanced Financial Modeling Analyst			110
63	EB-1C	Bachelor	Accounting	N/A	N/A	N/A	Chairman and Manager			316
64	EB-1C	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	Executive Director	RFE		493
65	EB-1C	Bachelor	Material & Engineering Science	N/A	N/A	N/A	Director	RFE		95
66	EB-1C	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	President	RFE		81
67	EB-1C	Bachelor	Economic Management	N/A	N/A	N/A	President	RFE		196

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Founded in 1996, Zhang & Associates, P.C. offers legal services to clients nationwide in all aspects of U.S immigration law. We have successfully handled thousands of immigration cases.

At Zhang & Associates, P.C., our attorneys and supporting professionals are committed to providing high-quality immigration and non-immigration visa services. We specialize in NIW, EB-1, PERM, and I-485 cases. In the past sixteen years, we have successfully helped thousands of clients get green cards. If you plan to apply for a green card, please send your CV to Attorney Jerry Zhang (info@hooyou.com) for a free evaluation.

Zhang & Associates, P.C.

Silicon Valley • New York • Los Angeles • Chicago • Houston • Austin

Tel:	1-800-230-7040, 713-771-8433
Email:	info@hooyou.com
website:	http://www.hooyou.com

 

(04/19/2012)