Case Summary:

Our EB1-A client is one of the few leading physiology, cellular and molecular biology, and genetics experts in plant biology, and she has achieved a consistent and notable record of success and influence in these areas of study. We made sure that the primary criterion of the EB1 visa was fulfilled through our petition letter and additional documents. Since the USCIS requires any individual applying to this category to be able to prove beyond doubt that their work is indeed extraordinary, our team used information such as the following to make this possible:

• We started with detailed information about our client’s educational background and her current research work in the area. This helped put into perspective the EB1-A claim that she was making.
• We showed that the field has recognized her authority by inviting her to review and evaluate the work of her peers at least 20 times for 9 separate journals.
• We indicated that her work in the field has resulted in 36 peer-reviewed scientific articles.
• And these works have attracted a wide audience and have been cited an enormous 10,596 times in other peer-reviewed journal articles, according to Google Scholar by researchers both in the United States and abroad.
• According to the ESI citation percentile charts, she has to her name 1 publication that ranks among the top 0.01% most-cited works in the field, 1 publication that ranks among the top 0.10% most-cited works in the field, 9 publications that rank among the top 1% most-cited works in the field. Impressively, these citations place her in the top 0.1% of most highly cited authors publishing on topics in biology and plant physiology over the past 20 years according to Microsoft Academic.
• We also presented evidence of her major funding sources namely the National Science Foundation (NSF) and the National Institutes of Health (NIH).
• Last but not the least, we added 4 letters of recommendation written by other experts in her favor, supporting these facts. A few extracts from these are as below:

“[The client] was the first to study the applications of melatonin in plants under stressful conditions, and her findings have established a research foundation for improving crop yields. This is increasingly important to scientific efforts to improve the ways plants adapt to conditions like droughts and shortened growing cycles exacerbated by climate change. For this reason, [client’s] research is vital to improving food security and nutritional safety in the United States.”

“The United States is one of the world leaders in agricultural production, generating over $135 billion per year in agricultural exports alone. However, predictive reports estimate that agriculture is one of the activities that are most vulnerable to adverse climate changes. Developing new agricultural techniques focused on combating the effects of climate change on plant growth is crucial to reducing the negative impacts of rising global temperatures on the country’s food supply. [The client] is working to devise new ways to improve plant yields under stressful conditions to address this national food security issue, and therefore her work is highly valuable to the United States.”

Thus, her impressive background, strong record of past achievements, recognition of expertise by journals seeking her services to review manuscripts, and unique knowledge relevant to her current and future work indicate not only that she qualifies as an alien of extraordinary ability but also that her entry will substantially benefit prospectively the United States. This is what led to her case approval in just 33 days. We are proud of having had the opportunity to work with her and our team wishes her the best of luck in all future endeavors.