Success Stories: Hematology and Oncology Fellow from India with 78 Citations in the Field of Medical Research Receives NIW and EB-1A Petition Approval (No RFE Issued)

On June 28^th, 2016, and May 11^th, 2016 we received another EB-1A (Alien of Extraordinary Ability) and EB-2 NIW (National Interest Waiver) approval for a Hematology and Oncology Fellow in the Field of Medical Research (Approval Notice).

General Field: Medical Research

Position at the Time of Case Filing: Hematology and Oncology Fellow

Country of Origin: India

Service Center: Nebraska Service Center (NSC)

State of Residence at the Time of Filing: Michigan

Approval Notice Date: June 28^th, 2016 (EB-1A) and May 11^th, 2016 (NIW)

Processing Time: 20 Days (EB1A, Premium Processing Requested) and 258 Days (NIW)

Case Summary:

A hematology and oncology fellow from India hired North America Immigration Law Group (NAILG) to help her and her dependent obtain green cards. The first step in the green card process involved filing an I-140 petition and in this case, our client opted to file two I-140 petitions to increase her chances of attaining an approval. We helped her file one I-140 under EB-1A (Alien of Extraordinary Ability) and the other under EB-2 NIW (National Interest Waiver). She decided to file her EB-2 NIW petition first and roughly a month after the USCIS approved it, we filed the EB-1A petition on her behalf. Because she chose to upgrade her EB1A petition to Premium Processing, the USCIS took action on her case and granted their approval 20 days after filing.

Building strong I-140 cases:

As our client hired us to file two I-140 petitions on her behalf, we worked diligently to build two strong cases for her. Although EB-1A and EB-2 NIW are two very different visa categories with different requirements, several key points in both petitions overlapped. Here are where the similarities lay:

1. Description of our client’s work: Both petitions contained information on our client’s investigations in the field of medical research. With a specific focus on hematology and oncology, our client’s work addresses some of the United States’ most pressing issues in understanding the molecular mechanisms in cancer and the clinical significance of understanding these mechanisms. Her findings are important to the US medical sector as they are applied in improving the detection, diagnosis and treatment of various cancers, particularly pancreatic cancer, establishing novel treatment options for various diseases, and investigating the use of novel imaging methods for enhanced diagnosis and monitoring.
2. Her citation and publication record: When we filed the case, our client had 6 peer-reviewed scientific articles, 1 conference abstract, and 1 book chapter to her name. Thanks to Google Scholar and other similar sources, we determined that her work had been cited 74 times.
3. Her peer review experience: Our client’s leadership role in the field was further highlighted by her peer review experience. At the time of filing, she had already conducted 29 peer reviews for a variety of scientific journals.
4. Recommendation letters: The same set of six recommendation letters that our client obtained from her peers were used to strengthen both her EB-1A and EB-2 NIW petitions. According to one of her recommenders: “Through her research efforts [Client] has contributed substantially to our ability to detect, monitor, and fight some of the most devastating diseases currently faced by the United States.”

Not long after her EB-1A petition was approved, we helped our client with the second and final step of the green card process: filing I-485 applications for her and her dependent to adjust their status for permanent residence. We thank them for working with our law firm and we join them as they patiently wait for the USCIS to take favorable action on their I-485 applications.