Case Summary:

A computational biology expert from China approached our firm for her NIW (National Interest Waiver) petition. As is customary with our firm, we looked into her academic and professional documents to find out if she qualified for the NIW criteria. Once we had done this, we countersigned the retainer agreement and began preparing her case. This meant that we had to collect data from documents furnished by her and use them to write her an impressive petition letter for the USCIS. The letter included the following information:

• Her proposed endeavor was to work on the development of improved techniques for the analysis of biological data and the advancement of biomedical and genetics research in humans, plants, and livestock.
• This research was of great importance because it details novel insights into both genetics and biomedical research, both of which hold applications in the improvement of current medical care and genetic engineering.
• Her work is also of great importance to agricultural fields as well, as her specialization in crop genetics and plant biology serves to improve the production of better food crops for world consumption.
• Her proposed endeavor also has broad implications for the United States. This is due in part to the applicability of her research in current attempts to develop functional cures for chronic conditions such as cancer, as well as the importance of advanced genetic analysis for the development of better livestock and crop breeds for American agriculture.
• Due to its clear national importance, her research has been supported with funding from the National Science Foundation, which is an independent federal organization that funds works dedicated to the advancement of the scientific fields for national benefit.
• Due to her knowledge and expertise in computational biology, theoretical genetics, programming, and bioinformatics, she has been regularly invited to conduct peer reviews for authoritative journals in the field, including 13 reviews to date.
• Her research has resulted in 12 peer-reviewed journal articles (5 of them first-authored) and has been cited a total of 119 times according to Google Scholar, thereby demonstrating that these publications are widely recognized and relied upon in the field of computational biology.
• Finally, her work has been supported by 4 letters of recommendation from experts in the field. One of them had the following passages in them:

“[Client’s] research has been applied to studies in plant and animal genetic studies. Strategies in proper crop and livestock breeding have been effectively determined through many of the same methods used to test for genetic variants in humans and prediction of the genetic predisposition to certain diseases. [Client’s] research has not only been applied to developments in the study of human genome variants, but in determining the best practices in effective breeding studies. Her work in developing genomic selection (GS) methods aids in the natural breeding of livestock with desired genetic traits that are constructively repeated in real-world applications. Considering this, [the client] holds an outstanding position, and her work has held significant weight in the expansion of the field.”

Thus, when her approval came through we were proud of having had the opportunity to work with her and we wish her all the best in her future endeavors. We are glad to know that her work is beneficial to the United States and the globe.