--EB1-1 and NIW Approvals for the Same Applicant in Nebraska Service Center

Our law firm filed an EB11 and an NIW for the same client, and both cases got approved in Nebraska Service Center. The EB11 was filed on September 29 and approved on November 14, 2005. The NIW was filed on October 10 and approved on December 6. No RFE.

This is the second time that both NIW and EB11 were filed on behalf of a research associate at the same university in Iowa, and both petitions were approved.

The beneficiary is currently a key research scientist working on research projects focusing on nanomaterials based sensing devices. The research projects are fully funded by NSF, NASA and ASFOR.

After reviewing the client’s credential, we recommended that he apply for NIW and EB1A (Alien of Extraordinary Ability). None of those two categories requires employer’s sponsorship.

A member of several organizations that are integral to the field, including the prestigious Sigma Xi Scientific Research Society, the beneficiary has also authored and co-authored thirty publications. These publications included articles in journals with high impact factors, invited articles, and abstracts in conference proceedings. The beneficiary also presented his innovative research at numerous national and international conferences. Our client’s research is clearly being used by others within the area of specialization, as the work has been favorably cited more than one hundred (100) times by other researchers in the field. Another indicator of our client’s stature in the particular field of knowledge is frequent invitations to serve as a reviewer for leading scientific journals. The beneficiary has received a number of prestigious scholarships in China, including Ying-Song Scholarship and Dai An-gang Scholarship.

We have argued that the client has made groundbreaking research discoveries that have significant impact on nano-technology and materials sciences at an international level. His research is of particular importance in the area, which is crucial for the US to take a lead in nanotechnology and compete in the global marketplace, thus the research is not only national, but global in scope. This research was shown to be substantially important to the health care, economy, and national defense of the United States.

The beneficiary submitted several expert opinion letters from universities both in the US and abroad, as well as from recognized organization, including one letter from NIST. We did a thorough analysis of each writer’s background, and how the writers came to know the beneficiary, and we then drafted the letters from the perspective of the advisors, the collaborators, and independent experts. These letters attested to the importance of our client’s cutting-edge research and to the fact that our client is one of the small percentages who have risen to the very top of the field. They further attested that as a key research scientist of projects funded by important government agencies, the US national interests would be adversely impacted without his continuing contribution.

It is noteworthy that the beneficiary has done substantial research in China. We therefore advised the beneficiary to obtain one recommendation letter from China attesting to his research achievements while working toward his Ph. D degree. Based on our observation, the beneficiary’s publications and research experience in the home country are as important as the research achievements made in the US, thus should not be neglected. They convincingly established that the beneficiary has prior track of demonstrable records of achievements, which will justify his future contribution the US.

Our efforts have been repeatedly successful. Both the NIW and EB11 were approved in less than three months from Nebraska Service Center, which is notorious for its lower approval rate on EB11 and NIW cases.