On May 25^th, 2016, we received another EB-1A (Alien of Extraordinary Ability) approval for an Assistant Professor in the Field of Chemical Engineering (Approval Notice).

General Field: Chemical Engineering

Position at the Time of Case Filing: Assistant Professor

Country of Origin: India

Service Center: Nebraska Service Center (NSC)

State of Residence at the Time of Filing: Pennsylvania

Approval Notice Date: May 25^th, 2016

Processing Time: 4 months, 25 days (Premium Processing Requested)

Case Summary:

Nearly 5 months after North America Immigration Law Group (NAILG) submitted an I-140 EB-1A (Alien of Extraordinary Ability) petition on behalf of an assistant professor from India, the USCIS granted their approval. It was a smooth sailing ride to the finish line and to make things even better, our client received news that his I-485 application (last step in the green card process) was also approved a little over a month later. He is now a proud green card holder and we are pleased to have played a role in his journey towards permanent residency.

Concurrent Filing:

The reason why our client only waited less than two months between both approval notices is because he chose to file his I-140 petition and I-485 application simultaneously. A major benefit of doing this is that the total processing time for the green card is generally shorter since the USCIS is able to start processing the I-485 sooner. In a nutshell, the sooner the I-485 is filed, the earlier the USCIS can start processing it, trimming down the overall wait time involved in the two-step green card process.

Building a persuasive EB-1A case:

Although our client had very strong credentials, he needed our help to compile evidence and build a convincing case for him. We were essentially tasked with proving to the USCIS that our client is an important member of the chemical engineering research community and that his investigations are of extreme importance to the United States. We detailed his research on bioengineering, drug discovery and development, environmental engineering, disease biology, and medical diagnosis and treatment, and proved that his work addresses some of the country’s most pressing issues in understanding how to remove harmful pollutants from primary water sources and enhance treatment strategies for life-threatening diseases.

“[Client] has produced research that significantly advances our ability to study and devise treatments for these diseases, thus bringing us much closer to reducing the human and financial costs of them to the American people.”

“Given the social, economic and personal burden of major diseases afflicting millions throughout the United States, it is my strong belief that it is in our nation’s interest to retain [Client] as a scientist. In conclusion, I support [Client’s] application for Permanent Residency with the highest possible enthusiasm.”

These statements were made by two expert chemical engineers who signed recommendation letters that supported our client’s EB-1A petition. Not just that, they were joined by four other influential members working in the field who also contributed recommendation letters that advocated for the approval of our client’s petition. Besides these recommendation letters, our client’s EB-1A petition was also comprised of details on the 11 publications to his name, the 139 times his work was cited, and the 25 times he assessed the work of his peers for 9 scientific journals.

Obtaining green card success:

NAILG would like to congratulate our client for becoming our firm’s latest green card story of success. We thank him for working with us and we wish him well as he embarks on new beginnings in the United States as an official permanent resident.