On July 16^th, 2019, we received another EB-2 NIW (National Interest Waiver) approval for a Petrophysical Engineer in the Field of Petroleum Engineering (Approval Notice).

General Field: Petroleum Engineering

Position at the Time of Case Filing: Petrophysical Engineer

Country of Origin: St. Vincent and the Grenadines

State of Residence at the Time of Filing: Texas

Approval Notice Date: July 16^th, 2019

Processing Time: 7 months, 6 days

Case Summary:

With extensive research experience in the field of petroleum engineering and a doctoral degree in the same field, a Petrophysical Engineer from St. Vincent and the Grenadines hired North America Immigration Law Group (NAILG) to help him secure an I-140 NIW petition (National Interest Waiver) approval. Filing an I-140 petition is the first step in obtaining permanent residency in the United States. The second involves filing an I-485 application (if the applicant resides in the US), or undergoing Immigrant Visa Processing (if the applicant is outside the US).

We highlighted our client’s specific strengths and achievements in the customized petition. We opted for a unique strategy that took into account his background, field of expertise, the significance of his contributions, and many other factors. With our experience of securing almost 15,000 I-140 approvals, we undoubtedly have unprecedented insight into exactly what the immigration officers are looking for when adjudicating cases.

Our client uses numerical models to understand and predict reservoir performance, fluid compositions, formation pore pressure and rock properties to support and enhance shale gas development. Shale gas development is complex and requires a thorough understanding of the physical and chemical phenomena that impacts this process. Even with advances in technology, such as hydraulic fracturing, the gas recovery process is inefficient and much of the gas remains trapped in the formation. Our client’s research focuses on improving gas recovery factors, drilling efficiency, and predicting the composition of flowback and produced water from hydraulic fracturing activities. His contributions aligns with the interests of the United States by strengthening the country’s petroleum industry, and improves the methods to produce domestic oil and gas resources in a safe and environmentally sustainable way.

In preparation for a strong NIW case for our client, we commenced by gathering information about his scientific achievements. This included his publication and citation count along with his peer-review experience. At the time of filing, our client had published 5 peer-reviewed journal articles which had garnered 37 citations. He had also conducted 39 peer-reviews for multiple well-known scientific journals. This frequent peer review service strongly affirms his status as an important part of the petroleum engineering field.

Furthermore, 6 recommendation letters contributed by several professors and experts in the field helped us strengthen the case even further. The contents of one such recommendation letter is noteworthy. It stated: “[Client]’s research focuses on developing numerical simulation techniques to predict the volume, and the composition of this toxic byproduct to aid the petroleum industry to proactively manage this wastewater. This is especially pertinent to the United States because there are numerous shale formations spanning across large segments of the country that are used to produce oil and gas. (…). The importance, magnitude and complexity of this problem speaks volumes to why [Client] work is not only crucial in the field of petroleum engineering, but is extremely important to the United States”.

After 7 months and 6 days of deliberation, the USCIS approved our client’s NIW petition. We congratulate our client for overcoming this challenge in the green card process, and we thank him for choosing us to represent his I-140 NIW case.