Case Summary:

An NIW (National Interest Waiver) requires proof of a petitioner’s nationally relevant work. This proof can be in the form of the academic or professional achievements of the applicant. So when we at NAILG got a client from Sri Lanka who wanted to file his NIW petition with our help, we ensured that he won the approval with little difficulty. We ensured this by including the following in his petition:

• As an expert in the field of biophysical chemistry, his proposed endeavor is to continue his research on elucidating mechanistic details in DNA double-strand break repair, homologous recombination, and retroviral integration.
• He wanted to develop more effective treatments and cures for pernicious viruses and genetic diseases such as cancer.
• We found that his research advancing his proposed endeavor is of great importance because it has broad implications for the field of biophysical chemistry and the world.
• The research that he is conducting is of vital importance in developing effective treatments and cures for life-threatening diseases, including HIV. By uncovering the mechanistic details of biophysical and chemical processes in cells, he is making important contributions that advance the field toward developing a cure for diseases like HIV/AIDS that have taken millions of human lives.
• His research is of great national importance because it involves the treatment of life-threatening diseases, including cancer, especially since the National Cancer Institute reports that in 2020 there were approximately 1,806,590 new cases of cancer, and a third of those diagnosed were predicted to die of cancer.
• Due to its clear national importance, his research has in fact been supported with funding from the National Institutes of Health and the National Science Foundation.
• Due to his knowledge and expertise in single-molecule fluorescence microscopy, he has also been invited to conduct peer reviews for the authoritative journal at least once.
• His research has resulted in 7 peer-reviewed journal articles (4 of them first-authored) and 1 first-authored letter to the editor.
• These publications have been cited a total of 114 times according to Google Scholar, thereby demonstrating that these publications are widely recognized and relied upon in the field of biophysical chemistry.
• He has pursued research directly related to his proposed endeavor of elucidating the mechanistic details in DNA double-strand break repair, homologous recombination, and retroviral integration for more than 10 years.
• There is a particularly urgent national need for his continuing contributions considering the increased rates of cancer in the United States. His work is thus valuable for the hundreds of thousands of Americans that are expected to continue dying of cancer each year.
• At the same time, is also uniquely well-positioned to pursue this work considering the breadth of his 13 years of experience as well as his leadership and expertise in the field.
• Finally, he had at least 4 letters of recommendation at his disposal which helped corroborate the work he has done in the field.

Thus, when his case approval came through, our client knew that the team at NAILG was responsible for this success. We are glad to have worked with our client and we wish him all the very best in future endeavors.