Case Summary:

The O1-A or the Outstanding Professor and Researcher category of the nonimmigrant visa is for individuals who possess extraordinary ability in the sciences, arts, education, business, or athletics, or who have a demonstrated record of extraordinary achievement in the motion picture or television industry and has been recognized nationally or internationally for those achievements.

So, when we received an O1-A filing request from an Italian associate professor working in the field of quantum chemistry, our team made sure that his petition letter was well-written and convincing. We realized this by tapping into the immense potential of our client, who had scores of published papers and thousands of citations to his name.

We were able to find out from his CVs, transcripts, certificates, etc. that he had made substantial contributions to the field of quantum chemistry. His specialized research has focused on developing new algorithms to simulate the properties of materials and molecules from first principles. He is particularly well-known for his research on advanced capabilities for materials modeling with Quantum ESPRESSO. It also soon became evident that his research addresses some of our nation’s most pressing issues in understanding and addressing the complexity of problems posed in modern experimental and technological applications. Thus his unique and expansive background of expertise and experience has enabled him to contribute significantly to the field of quantum chemistry, extending the reasonable expectation that he will continue to do so within the United States. We supported this claim with the following facts and recommendations:

• His work has resulted in 57 peer-reviewed scientific articles published in top-ranked journals demonstrating that it has been recognized as some of the best in the field. Since these journals are extremely selective with a rigorous peer review process, making publication in them is a rare accomplishment achieved by only the best researchers in the field.
• According to Google Scholar, these works have also been cited 5,572 times in other peer-reviewed journal articles.
• At the same time, he has conducted at least 80 reviews. He has also served as a co-organizer of an international scientific workshop in his area of expertise.
• We also added evidence of his major funding source namely the EU FEDER-FSE Lorraine et Massif des Vosges 2014-2020.
• We made good use of the 4 expert recommendations that he was able to obtain at our behest supporting his claim to this category. Two such recommendations are quoted below:

“[The client’s] contemporaries have found immense value in his methods. [Client’s] algorithms directly contribute to the production of approximately 40 papers that rely on his algorithms each year. Together, such implementation of his work testifies to [the client’s] standing as a top-tier researcher in the field of quantum chemistry.”

“Overall, [the client] has distinguished himself as a leader in the field of quantum chemistry. His work presents new approaches that are needed to more efficiently model simulations of materials that are used in a wide variety of applications. As a fellow expert in this field, I consider [the client] to be an outstanding researcher and believe he is fully deserving of pursuing his research efforts in the United States.”

It was hence evident that his strong background in quantum chemistry, condensed matter physics, and computer science has allowed his research to be particularly original, with applications such as interpreting experiments and predicting new materials and properties. Moreover, the totality of the evidence submitted was enough to establish that he has sustained national and international acclaim, thereby demonstrating that he qualifies as an individual of extraordinary ability. So, when we received his case approval just 10 days from filing, we were happy to know that our efforts had borne fruit. We are thankful to the client for allowing us to help him with this case, and we wish him the very best in life.