An Analysis of EB-1 Cases Approved from July to September 2012

From July to September 2012, our firm received 62 EB-1 case approvals: 44 EB-1(a), 16 EB-1(b), and 2 EB-1(c). USCIS approved 47 of these cases without a request for evidence. In addition, from July to September 2012, our firm also received 92 NIW case approvals. For January to September 2012, our firm received 192 EB-1 approvals and 255 NIW approvals.

Out of the 62 EB-1 cases approved in the past three months, most 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 chemistry, mathematics, aerospace, etc.

Ph.D.	51
Master	5
Bachelor and others	6

Three of the most popular job titles for applicants who received approval were that of a “postdoctoral research associate”, “research scientist” 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 fulfill 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 18. The average number of citations was 174. The average number of reviews conducted was 30. The average processing time for these applicants was 118 days or about four months. The longest amount of time it took to approve an application was 767 days, while the shortest was 7 days.

Average number of journal papers	18
Average number of citations	174
Average number of reviews	30
Average processing days	118

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 25 out of the 62 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 fulfill 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 62 EB-1 cases approved from July to September 2012, please refer to the table below.

	Case Type	Degree	Research Field	Journal papers	Citations	Reviews	Job Title	RFE	Premium Processing	Process- ing Time
1	EB-1A	Bachelor	Aerospace	3	N/A	20	Professor	No	No	19
2	EB-1A	Ph.D.	Materials Science	13	130	147	Researcher	No	Yes	12
3	EB-1A	Ph.D.	Mechanical Engineering	17	63	28	Engineer	No	No	141
4	EB-1A	Ph.D.	Chemistry	17	325	15	Biomedical Scientist	No	No	147
5	EB-1A	Ph.D.	Bioanalytical Chemistry	17	30	14	Postdoctoral Research Associate	No	Yes	12
6	EB-1B	Ph.D.	Pharma- ceutical	63	360	4	Research Scientist	Yes	No	97
7	EB-1A	Ph.D.	Nanoscale Material Science	28	400	15	Postdoctoral Research Associate	No	Yes	17
8	EB-1B	Ph.D.	Vision	27	616	3	Research Associate	No	Yes	18
9	EB-1A	Master	Manufacturing Technology	N/A	N/A	N/A	Researcher head	No	Yes	11
10	EB-1A	Ph.D.	Environmental Epidemiology	33	165	25	Assistant Researcher	No	No	238
11	EB-1A	Ph.D.	Mechanical Engineering	9	73	14	Research Scientist	No	No	145
12	EB-1A	Ph.D.	Cell Biology	14	225	12	Postdoctoral Research Associate	No	Yes	10
13	EB-1B	Ph.D.	Medical	N/A	N/A	N/A	Postdoctoral Research Scientist	Yes	Yes	36
14	EB-1A	Ph.D.	Metabolic Engineering	12	54	34	Researcher	No	Yes	19
15	EB-1A	Ph.D.	Computer Science	14	113	24	Financial Software Developer	No	No	157
16	EB-1A	Ph.D.	Electrical Engineering	36	171	N/A	Professor	No	Yes	12
17	EB-1B	Ph.D.	Chemistry	3	57	N/A	N/A	Yes	Yes	107
18	EB-1A	Ph.D.	Biomedical	8	61	9	Postdoctoral Researcher	Yes	No	291
19	EB-1B	Ph.D.	Anesthesia	5	34	22	Instructor	No	Yes	7
20	EB-1C	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	Manager	Yes	No	251
21	EB-1C	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	CEO	No	No	251
22	EB-1A	Ph.D.	Plant Pathology	9	89	32	Postdoctoral Research Associate	No	No	54
23	EB-1A	Ph.D.	Cardiovascular Medicine	9	27	5	Research Fellow	No	No	73
24	EB-1B	Ph.D.	Navigation	7	80	10	Research Scientist	No	Yes	12
25	EB-1A	Ph.D.	Mathematics	9	44	4	Assistant Professor	No	No	95
26	EB-1A	Ph.D.	Biomedical	18	N/A	18	Postdoctoral Research Associate	No	No	80
27	EB-1A	Ph.D.	Material Science	12	98	38	Research Associate	No	No	65
28	EB-1A	Ph.D.	Materials Science	16	102	34	Engineer	No	No	71
29	EB-1B	Ph.D.	Biomechanics	7	63	54	R&D Engineer	No	Yes	10
30	EB-1A	Ph.D.	Biomedical	9	70	16	Research Follow	No	No	145
31	EB-1B	Ph.D.	Information Systems	6	N/A	30	Research Scientist	Yes	Yes	109
32	EB-1A	Ph.D.	Electrical & Computer Engineering	28	308	40	Chief Scientist	No	No	237
33	EB-1B	Ph.D.	Computer Science	4	165	14	Computer Research Scientist	No	Yes	11
34	EB-1A	Ph.D.	Nanotech- nology	38	166	33	Researcher	No	Yes	11
35	EB-1A	Ph.D.	Microbial Ecology	23	96	20	Postdoctoral Research Associate	Yes	No	10
36	EB-1A	Master	Aerospace	13	N/A	N/A	Consultant	No	No	767
37	EB-1A	Ph.D.	Biomedical Engineering	29	107	117	Postdoctoral Research Fellow	No	Yes	10
38	EB-1B	Ph.D.	Biomedical	8	80	20	Research Scientist	No	No	615
39	EB-1A	N/A	Scientific Research	N/A	N/A	N/A	CEO	Yes	No	343
40	EB-1A	Ph.D.	Statistics	39	220	13	N/A	No	Yes	11
41	EB-1B	Ph.D.	Urban Planning	9	N/A	5	Transpo- rtation Research Analyst	No	Yes	283
42	EB-1A	Ph.D.	Nanotech- nology	30	75	63	Postdoctoral Research Associate	No	No	22
43	EB-1B	Ph.D.	Astroche- mistry	17	71	11	Research Associate	No	No	76
44	EB-1B	Ph.D.	Atmospheric Science	12	80	20	Research Associate III	No	No	48
45	EB-1A	Ph.D.	Materials & Energy Electroche- mistry	16	N/A	9	Postdoctoral Research Associate	No	Yes	41
46	EB-1A	Master	Engineering	3	N/A	5	Senior Project Engineer	No	No	105
47	EB-1A	Associate	Chinese Literature	28	9	12	Freelance Writer	No	No	245
48	EB-1A	Master	Public Health	9	75	4	Physician	Yes	No	295
49	EB-1A	Ph.D.	Electrical Engineering	17	N/A	30	Lead Engineer	No	No	69
50	EB-1A	Ph.D.	Biomedical Imaging	21	112	52	Postdoctoral Research Associate	No	Yes	13
51	EB-1A	Ph.D.	Peptide Chemistry	34	172	76	Postdoctoral Research Associate	No	Yes	25
52	EB-1A	Ph.D.	Environment Engineering	35	135	84	Researcher	No	Yes	59
53	EB-1A	Ph.D.	Chemical Engineering	10	80	22	Program Manager	Yes	No	169
54	EB-1A	Ph.D.	Nanote- chnology	5	81	79	Research Scientist	Yes	No	55
55	EB-1A	Ph.D.	Image Processing	63	706	28	Vice President	No	Yes	12
56	EB-1A	Ph.D.	Molecular Genetics	10	173	62	Research Associate	Yes	No	183
57	EB-1A	Ph.D.	Bioinformatics	19	1494	14	Research Fellow	No	No	149
58	EB-1A	N/A	N/A	5	N/A	N/A	General Manager	No	No	154
59	EB-1A	Ph.D.	Medicinal Chemistry	14	N/A	16	Postdoctoral Research Associate	Yes	No	261
60	EB-1B	Ph.D.	Biophysics	5	52	41	Postdoctoral Research Associate	Yes	No	138
61	EB-1B	Master	Energy Industry	8	N/A	N/A	Chemical Research Engineer	Yes	No	159
62	EB-1B	Ph.D.	Solid State Lighting	25	88	23	Device Design Engineer	No	Yes	54

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.

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Tel:	1-800-230-7040, 713-771-8433
Email:	info@hooyou.com
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(11/07/2012)