On December 6^th, 2019, we received another NIW (National Interest Waiver) approval for a Visiting Scholar in the Field of Ophthalmology (Approval Notice).

General Field: Ophthalmology

Position at the Time of Case Filing: Visiting Scholar

Country of Origin: Indonesia

State of Residence at the Time of Filing: Illinois

Approval Notice Date: December 6^th, 2019

Processing Time: 6 months, 3 days

Case Summary:

6 months and 3 days after we filed an EB-2 NIW (National Interest Waiver) on our client’s behalf, Nebraska Service Center approved his petition. Our client, a visiting scholar from Indonesia has years of experience working in the field of ophthalmology and is currently focused on corneal wound healing with mesenchymal stem cells treatment and corneal nerve regeneration.

Client’s Credentials:

In order to qualify for EB-2 NIW, one must possess specific credentials. We noted our client’s MD and established that his advanced degree has equipped him with the skills needed to carry out practical and useful research. Moreover, we noted the 39 citations gathered from his 9 peer-reviewed journal articles (1 of them first-authored) and 15 abstracts which proved that other researchers in the field rely on our client’s findings to progress their work. We also noted the 6 times our client assessed the work of his peers which demonstrated his position as a leading expert in his field. Additionally, we summarized that our client’s investigation in his area is of great importance because it addresses corneal disorders, one of the leading causes of blindness. By identifying a type of bacterium that inhibits wound healing and by focusing on stem cell research, our client is researching innovative methods to treat these disorders. We also concluded that not many other similarly qualified researchers can attain the same level of research success.

Third-party Support:

To increase our chances of attaining a petition approval from the USCIS, we encouraged our client to obtain recommendation letters from other experts in the field. We needed these letters to fortify our claim that our client’s work is of utmost importance to the United States and that his findings benefit other researchers. Our client managed to get 5 signed letters, one of which stated that: “[Client’s] research is indispensable in this regard, offering ophthalmologists and researchers new therapeutic answers to eye diseases that afflict millions of Americans. [Client’s] work on stem cells provides a better understanding of the process of recovery. Thanks to his results, researchers are now better positioned to pinpoint how stem cells from either the bone marrow or even the cornea itself are used to improve the recovery process.”

With our help, we are delighted that his NIW petition was approved in 6 months and 3 days. Our client also retained us for his I-485 application, which was filed after we helped him obtain the J-waiver.