Case Summary:

An expert from South Korea working in the field of electrical engineering came to us seeking help with his NIW (National Interest Waiver) petition. He was a Ph.D. in electrical engineering and was employed as an optical fiber researcher at the time. As an expert, his work was in developing high-speed optical communication systems by enabling the 6G wireless communications systems and 400-gigabit ethernet for data-center interconnects. He wanted to support customers’ needs for server-based applications. His work was important because of these reasons for both the United States and the world at large.

One of his 4 recommendations had the following passage about his work:

“[Client’s] work on mobile fronthauls and their application in 4G and 5G, and his more general body of work on wireless network technologies, are greatly beneficial to the field. [Client’s] research efforts are critical to expanding data access and transfer capabilities, thus furthering the development of cutting-edge technologies, such as platforms for streaming services and easily accessible cloud storage services. As such, research that supports data services is crucial for the development of novel technologies with increased memory and storage capacity, which support a variety of key sectors from business to medicine. Thus, [client’s] research is intrinsically valuable to global technological growth, enabling important sectors to harness the full benefits of new technologies.”

The client’s proposed endeavor also has broad implications for the United States, since the U.S. has the third largest number of internet users in the world. Over 85% of Americans, or 313 million people, have access to the internet and are active internet users nationwide. This is what another recommendation highlights in the following passage:

“[Client’s] research on fiber optic communications is greatly beneficial to the U.S. and its interests. [Client’s] study helped illuminate methods to overcome barriers preventing optimal transmission speed in fiber optic cabling. With accelerated data transmission, internet providers are able to save millions of dollars in installation and operation costs. These savings influence internet users as well, making high-speed internet more reliable and more affordable to Americans all across the country.”

Due to his knowledge and expertise in optical communication systems, fronthaul networks, and data center interconnects, he has been regularly invited to conduct peer reviews for authoritative journals in the field and has completed at least 25 reviews to date. His research has also resulted in 20 peer-reviewed journal articles (7 of them first-authored) and 25 conference proceedings (6 of them first-authored), which have been cited a total of 390 times according to Google Scholar, thereby demonstrating that these publications are widely recognized and relied upon in the field of electrical engineering.

While these specific research contributions represent only a subset of our client’s most successful endeavors, these projects are indicative of the overall quality of his research and helped us to illustrate his particular expertise and ability to continue contributing significantly to his field and to advancing the proposed endeavor. At the same time, his 7 years of experience in the field had given him the necessary opportunity to hone his expertise.

These arguments were compiled by our team in the form of his petition letter and this is what won him the approval of the adjudicating bench in just 6 months. Thanks to our team at NAILG for their tireless efforts and congratulations to our client on this victory.