Case Summary:

When a Nigerian expert in ethnomedicine came to NAILG for his National Interest Waiver application, we made sure that his case got approval by first collecting all relevant documents and then picking the information pieces that would solidify his position as a strong candidate for an EB2-NIW approval. Some of the key factors in getting his case approved in just 2 months and 14 days are as follows:

• His proposed endeavor was to work on identifying natural product drug candidates in order to develop therapeutics for the effective management of various degenerative diseases, like cancer, diabetes mellitus, and human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)/acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS), and reduce their prevalence.
• His research endeavor is of great importance because it is conducive to addressing one of the most pressing medical concerns of modern times, diabetes.
• His proposed endeavor also has broad implications for the United States where the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), in their 2019 report titled “Antibiotic Resistance Threats in the United States,” has identified antibiotic-resistant bacteria and fungi as ongoing and serious threats in the U.S., as annually these organisms cause about 2.8 million infections and 36,000 deaths.
• Due to his knowledge and expertise in molecular biology-related DNA quantification, polymerase chain reaction techniques, and sequencing, he has been regularly invited to conduct peer reviews for authoritative journals in the field, including 10 reviews to date.
• Due to his expertise and record of success, he is also considered a leader in the field of ethnomedicine. He has served on the editorial board of scientific journals in his area of expertise.
• His research has also resulted in 33 peer-reviewed journal articles (16 of them first-authored), and 6 book chapters (3 of them first-authored). These publications have been cited a total of 438 times according to Google Scholar, thereby demonstrating that these publications are widely recognized and relied upon in the field of ethnomedicine.
• Not only this, but he developed profiles of 23 species of medicinal plants used for holistic treatments that were based on a survey of the indigenous population. He has also reviewed and characterized a large variety of indigenous plants used to treat diverse conditions and illnesses.
• Having pursued research directly related to his proposed endeavor of identifying natural product drug candidates for 8 years has given him the necessary expertise to deal with research in his area of study in the future too.

All of these factors made his petition a strong one winning him the NIW approval without an RFE. We are glad that we could be of assistance to him in the process and we wish him the best in his future endeavors.