On April 28^th, 2016, we received another EB-1A (Alien of Extraordinary Ability) approval for a Postdoctoral Research Associate in the Field of Medicinal Chemistry (Approval Notice).

General Field: Medicinal Chemistry

Position at the Time of Case Filing: Postdoctoral Research Associate

Country of Origin: India

Service Center: Nebraska Service Center (NSC)

State of Residence at the Time of Filing: Minnesota

Approval Notice Date: April 28^th, 2016

Processing Time: 1 month, 23 days (Premium Processing Requested)

Case Summary:

Nebraska Service Center granted our client (a postdoctoral research associate from India) an EB-1A (Alien of Extraordinary Ability) petition approval. It took them 1 month and 23 days to process our client’s case and it would have taken far longer had he not decided to upgrade it to Premium Processing. Just 9 days after the upgrade, he received notification of petition approval.

What is Premium Processing?

As its name suggests, Premium Processing (PP) is a paid option offered by the USCIS for petitioners to enjoy rapid case processing. Petitioners who opt for PP will have action taken on their cases within 15 days as opposed to the 4-9 month average. All petitioners have to do is pay the USCIS $1,225 more and submit an I-907 form. They can choose PP either when they file their petitions or at any time during adjudication.

What did we do to ensure case approval?

Unfortunately, our firm cannot guarantee that every case we take on will be approved by the USCIS. It all comes down to the petitioner’s credentials and the immigration officer processing the case. However, our extensive experience with I-140 petitions has enabled us to pick up on what makes a strong case. Take this EB-1A petition for instance: we highlighted our client’s 32 peer-reviewed scientific articles and 3 granted patents, the whopping 749 citations to his work, and the dozen times he conducted peer reviews for high impact scientific journals. We used these numbers to demonstrate to the USCIS that our client’s work is being used by various medicinal chemists around the world. We also paid special attention to our client’s research on the creation of novel molecules and therapeutic procedures for treating some of this nation’s most detrimental diseases. Most of the information we gathered was from our client’s comprehensive research summary (which he presented to us so that we could better understand his area of study). We proved to the USCIS that his investigations advance the U.S. medical sector and drug development industry, and that he is an asset to the nation.

To bolster our client’s EB-1A petition, we urged him to obtain recommendation letters from other experts in the field. To our delight, our client returned with four signed letters. Here are several statements taken from these letters:

“This productive career, along with the widespread influence of his publications, have pushed [Client] to the vanguard of our scientific field.”

“… [Client] has employed his unique skillset to conduct research that has been very important to healthcare development within the United States. In my expert opinion, his capabilities as a researcher are nearly unparalleled in the field, and it would certainly be a tremendous blow to the progress of our field if [Client] were required to discontinue his research in the U.S.”

“Throughout his educational and professional career, he has developed a level of expertise rarely seen in the field. Furthermore, his talents have undoubtedly propelled him to the forefront of the competitive field of medicinal chemistry.”

Obtaining a green card:

We recently helped our client and his wife adjust their status for permanent residence based on his approved EB-1A petition. Once the USCIS approves their applications, they will obtain their green cards. We congratulate them for coming this far and thank them for placing their trust in us. North America Immigration Law Group (WeGreened.com) looks forward to congratulating them again several months from now, and we join our client and his wife as they await favorable news from the USCIS.