Success Stories: Despite RFE, NIW Approval Made Possible for an Iranian Researcher in Fisheries Management by Our Team of Diligent Experts at NAILG

Case Summary:

An Iranian expert in fisheries management came to our team for his National Interest Waiver filing. He had an M.S. in fisheries and was working as a researcher in the area at the time. Having worked with thousands of clients, we have collected valuable experience on how to prepare and win case approvals. This comes in handy while preparing our clients for the adjudication process. And this is exactly what we were able to do for our client. We looked into his academic and professional background and made a list of important factors such as his proposed endeavor, his publication history, citations, etc. Some of the data we collected are as follows:

• His proposed endeavor was to work on utilizing fisheries stock assessment and statistical analysis for the development of regulations for fishing and harvesting fisheries resources to provide sustainable fishing and fish harvesting practices.
• This research was of great importance because it greatly contributes to the prevention of overfishing around the world by providing strategies to efficiently and sustainably produce fish in marine cage cultures.
• His research also provides strategies to monitor fish biomass, and in this way, how much specific fish species are being overfished. Both of these benefits from his research align with the United Nation’s goals for sustainable development.
• The Food and Agriculture Organization has identified aquaculture as a key resource for using fish consumption to end world hunger. His work on fish stock assessment and marine cage culture contributes to achieving sustainability in the fishing industry, which thus makes his work critical to ending world hunger.
• His proposed endeavor also has broad implications for the United States as his skillset is more broadly apt for advancing American fish stock management so that the United States is able to efficiently maintain sustainable fisheries.
• Not only this, but he has also completed at least 80 reviews to date and his research has resulted in 39 peer-reviewed journal articles (10 of them first-authored), 1 accepted article, and 3 books which have been cited a total of 368 times.
• We also added that he has pursued research directly related to his proposed endeavor for 22 years.
• Additionally, we found evidence of the implementation of his research by the U.S. National Museum of Natural History of the Smithsonian Institution, the Museum & Art Gallery of the Northern Territory (Australia), and the National Museum of Natural History (Netherlands).
• He also collected 2 letters of recommendation from other experts who valued his research highly.

All of these factors and details of his research added to the weight of his case and led him to the NIW approval despite the RFE. We are happy that we could be of help to him in this case and we wish him the best in his future endeavors.