M.D. in cancer research got both NIW and EB-1A approvals in less than one month

In February of 2009, Dr. Wang contacted Attorney Zhang to evaluate her opportunity of NIW petition. She has been working as a researcher in the specialized field of cancer research at a prestigious medical school. She had a M.D. from China and was expecting a Doctor of Science degree in 2009. She had a total of 18 journal and conference papers and she had served as a peer-review judge for 6-7 papers. Despite the fact that she did not have a doctoral degree, due to her background, Attorney Jerry Zhang informed Dr. Wang that with the help of an experienced attorney, she had a good chance of NIW approval. Dr. Wang then retained our firm for her NIW petition.  

The case was assigned to our attorney who has succeeded in many EB-1A and NIW petitions. During the preparation of Dr. Wang’s NIW, considering Dr. Wang’s background and the shortage of visa numbers for NIW petitioners born in China, our attorney suggested that Dr. Wang may also try for EB-1A classification. Although her Alien of Extraordinary Ability case would only be average because she had not received any national awards, her papers were newly published and had not been cited, and there were no media reports about her work, our attorney believed that she had a fair chance of EB-1A if she could get very strong recommendation letters that stressed Dr. Wang’s influence on cancer research.  

Dr. Wang accepted our attorney’s suggestion and added her EB-1A petition. She cooperated closely with our attorney in drafting strong recommendation letters. In both the recommendation letters and the petition letter, our attorney emphasized:

1) The important applications of Dr. Wang’s research. As you may know, USCIS takes very serious consideration of petitioners’ influences to other researchers. It does not matter what you have done, what matters in your immigrant petition is what others have done because of your research. Thus, in order to determine a person’s impact, USCIS examines petitioners’ citation records, applications of petitioners’ results, media report about petitioners’ research. Since Dr. Wang lacked both media report and citation, our attorney stressed the implementations of Dr. Wang’s results in detail.

2) The high reputation of the journals that published Dr. Wang’s papers. Dr. Wang has a comparatively impressive publication record. Some of her papers were published in leading journals. In order to prove the high quality of her research, our attorney emphasized the journals’ reputations, impact factors, and recommenders’ evaluation of Dr. Wang’s publication record.

3) Her paper review experience. Dr. Wang has done a decent number of paper reviews. In recent trend of EB-1A petitions, USICS has challenged the number of paper review. The Centers do not believe that only one paper review is sufficient to satisfy the EB-1A requirement. Thus, EB-1A petitioners shall provide at least 3-4 paper reviews in order to demonstrate their international reputation as an expert. In this petition, our attorney not only stressed the quantity of paper reviews, but also mentioned the reputation of journals that invited Dr. Wang for paper review. In addition, recommenders’ strong evaluation of such paper reviews was been extensively cited in the petition letter.

By discussing the impacts of Dr. Wang’s past and continued work in the field, our attorney was able to build a solid case. After careful preparation, both the NIW and EB-1A cases were submitted to USCIS on May 28, 2009, less than three months after Dr. Wang retained us.

On June 22, 2009, less than one month after the cases were filed, both NIW and EB-1A petitions were approved by USCIS. Although this is not typical of all cases, it demonstrates that even average cases can have an excellent chance of approval with the help of a highly skilled attorney. EB-1A petitioners do not have to satisfy all ten requirements of EB-1A. As long as you can persuasively prove that you meet at least three requirements, you have a chance to succeed. Please always consult with your attorney of the possibility of EB-1A.  In addition, experienced attorneys shall also initiate the discussion of EB-1A. In Dr. Wang’s case, whereas Dr. Wang only intended to file a National Interest Waiver immigration petition, her knowledgeable attorney advised her that she had a better chance of obtaining a visa number sooner with an EB-1A petition. Dr. Wang has benefited from the crafting of strong recommendation and petition letters, and from this sound legal advice.

Because of limited visa numbers available for EB-2 China or India-born aliens, it takes a relatively long time for them to file I-485 petitions. As you know, pending I-485 applications not only provide petitioners with working permission and travel documentation, but they also provide the same benefits to petitioner’s family members. In light of the recession, many employers do not want to sponsor H-1B visas. If you have an I-485 pending, you can work for any employer as an EAD card holder, as can your family members. In contrast to EB-2 petitions, EB-1(a) and EB-1(b) petitions provide China or India-born researchers with opportunities to concurrently file their I-485 applications because the visa numbers for these two petitions are current.

In addition, the option of requesting Premium Processing for the Form I-140 Immigrant Petition for Alien Worker will now be available to all applicants filing under: EB-1(A), EB-1(B), EB-2 (except NIW), and EB-3 applicants. For an additional $1000 fee, a petitioner who is filing in one of the eligible categories can elect to file for Premium Processing. With Premium Processing, petitioners are guaranteed to receive an approval notice, intent to deny, or a request for evidence within 15 days of USCIS receiving their petition. If USCIS fails to fulfill their 15 day guarantee, a full refund will be awarded to the petitioner. This new development is extremely valuable for those aliens who would like to try EB-1A and EB-1B petitions, as you can now know your case result within 15 days. You have more time and options to make your career plan as well as your family’s life plan.  

We encourage you to send us your CV to determine whether you have a good chance to succeed under EB-1(a) or EB-1(b) categories. An experienced attorney’s help is essential for researchers like Dr. Wang who do not believe that their Eb-1(a) could be approved at first. Experienced attorneys can enhance your chance of approval even if you only have an average case. What makes your green card application different is whether you are willing to try. 

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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 thirteen 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, PC.

Houston ∙ New York ∙ Chicago ∙ Austin ∙ Los Angeles
Tel：1-800-230-7040, 713-771-8433
Email: info@hooyou.com
website：http://www.hooyou.com

(07/09/2009)

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