Success Stories: EB-1A Approval for a Chinese Geophysicist in Less than 4 Months Despite RFE

Posted by wegreened on January 30, 2026 in Geological Engineering (Marine Technology, Geophysics, Geoscience)

On January 14^th, 2019, we received another EB-1A (Alien of Extraordinary Ability) approval for a Geophysicist (Approval Notice).

General Field: Geophysics

Position at the Time of Case Filing: Geophysicist

Country of Origin: China

State of Residence at the Time of Filing: Texas

Approval Notice Date: January 14^th, 2019

Processing Time: 3 months, 17 days

Case Summary:

A Chinese geophysics researcher hired North America Immigration Law Group (NAILG) to assist him with the first step in the green card process. After carefully reviewing his credentials during our initial evaluation, we were convinced that he would be a good fit for an EB-1A (Alien of Extraordinary Ability) petition. Once we were retained, our legal team began collecting evidence to prove that our client has met 3 out of 10 criteria set by the USCIS. We have focused on the following areas:

1.Original Contributions: At the time of case filing, our client’s work has resulted in as many as 144 citations.

2.Authorship: His multiple years of research work has led to 11 peer-reviewed scientific articles.

3.Judge of Others’ Work: Our client has conducted at least 54 reviews, and has served as an editorial board member of the journals in his field.

Besides the 3 criteria listed above, the petition letter drafted by our team have detailed his specialized work of advanced methods for seismic imaging, which positively impacts natural gas and petroleum exploration industries. In addition, our experienced legal team commands a good understanding of the mechanics of charts, graphs and diagrams, which supplemented the argument in the petition letter regarding our client’s impactful research works. We also assisted our client in obtaining 6 signed recommendation letters, and according to one of the recommenders who has not worked with our client personally but has relied upon his publication stated: “Other recognized experts have also cited [Client]’s work. Such citations reflect the impact of [Client]’s contributions and support his high standing among his peers.”.

Though our client had a strong case, the USCIS issued a Request for Evidence (RFE), to which we promptly responded, and effectively dealt with all doubts about his qualifications. We congratulate him for coming this far in the green card process, and we wish him the best as our client continues his undertaking here in the U.S.

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North America Immigration Law Group (Chen Immigration Law Associates) is a U.S. immigration law firm dedicated to representing corporations, research institutions, and individuals from all 50 U.S. states regarding I-140 immigration petitions. We specialize in employment-based immigration petition and have a proven record of high success rate for the categories of: EB2-NIW (National Interest Waiver), EB1-A (Alien of Extraordinary Ability), EB1-B (Outstanding Researcher/Professor) and O-1 (Alien of Extraordinary Ability).

Our Ten Thousand I-140 Approvals Provide Unprecedented Insight into the USCIS Adjudication Trend

With nearly 64,000 EB-1A, EB-1B, EB-2 NIW and O-1 cases approved, we have first hand information on the manner in which the USCIS adjudicate I-140 cases. As the USCIS has constantly changed its adjudication standards for the EB-1A, EB-1B and EB-2 NIW categories, our firm's huge database of successful cases gives you unprecedented insight to USCIS adjudication trends. We carefully analyze the data for all of our cases and apply the results of our analyses toward giving our clients up-to-date advice and adapting our strategies such that we remain on par with the ever-shifting landscape of immigration law in the U.S. With us, you will always have access to important updates, strategies, and information so that you can make the most informed decisions about your case.

We Have Helped Tens of Thousands of Clients with Credentials and Backgrounds Similar to Yours

With our exceedingly large number of successful petitions, no matter what credentials you have, no matter your background and field of expertise, no matter your visa status or nationality, chances are we have helped hundreds or even thousands of clients just like you. Our clients are usually impressed with how well we understand their research and work. Our insight and understanding stems from the fact that we have handled many cases with elements similar to yours already, and this helps us devise the best strategies for each individual petition.

Vast Majority of Clients Came to Us Because of Referrals

For years, our firm has attracted new clients based solely on word of mouth, recommendations, and the positive collaboration experiences shared with them by their friends and family. We take pride in our reputation and work hard to ensure that we provide a green card application experience that our clients are happy to share with their friends and colleagues. That is how our cumulative total of approved cases grew from 600 in 2013 to nearly 64,000 in 2025.

Track Record of Success EB-1 and NIW Approvals

(2020.01 - 2024.12)

Category	Approval or Refund^®		Approval or Refiling^TM
Category	Approved Sum	Success Rate	Approved Sum	Success Rate
NIW	28,946	99.52%	3,030	98.31%
EB1A	4,322	91.76%	2,870	88.91%
EB1B	793	98.51%	236	90.77%
Total	34,061	98.44%	6,136	93.39%