Case Summary:

Arrayed with an MS degree in chemical engineering, a postdoctoral fellow based in Massachusetts contracted with North America Immigration Law Group to help him in filing his I-140 NIW (National Interest Waiver) petition. Our substantial experience in preparing for the NIW case established his research in the most highlighted way, focusing on constructing interfacial tension models to analyze wettability and fluid-fluid displacement to improve environmental and industrial processes such as hydrocarbon recovery, soil remediation, and heavy oil recovery. We were certain that his research is relevant to supporting the United States energy sector and developing more efficient energy practices. Thus, we agreed to the attorney-client relationship and organized a strong case on his behalf by documenting the following:

• Since his research seems to be of great importance because it enables and advances techniques that support cleaner, more efficient fuel extraction, agricultural, and industrial practices, it has also been supported with funding from the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE). This funding is reserved for research advancing the national interest, including research related to energy, nuclear, or environmental topics, therefore, its support to our client’s research proves that he is conducting transformative and nationally important work.
• Additionally, he already had an established record of success at the time of filing his NIW case, including the 90 citations, which were altogether gathered from 9 peer-reviewed journal articles (5 of them first-authored) and 1 peer-reviewed conference article, published in no fewer than 4 highly ranked peer-reviewed journals. This notable work reflects his peers’ recognition of the value of this research.
• Also, we discussed how our client’s research has an urgent need in the U.S. by incorporating five recommendation letters in his petition packet, corroborating that our client’s work is environmentally and nationally beneficial as it is improving the efficiency of oil and gas extraction procedures and subsequently reducing the overall energy footprint in the United States. One of his recommenders contributed the following:

“One environmental engineer whose work surrounds the processes that aid sustainable practices is [client], a researcher at a renowned Institute of Technology who studies interfacial fluid dynamics and flow in porous media. His cutting-edge research also supports the fabrication of other technological endeavors that the United States pursues, such as self-cleaning and electrowetting surfaces, micro-reactor droplet manipulation, and E-book screens. Since his research is wide-reaching, and since it directly correlates to the United States’ research-related priorities, he is a boon to both the United States and the field of environmental engineering.”

Despite a long wait, we are glad that USCIS took a good amount of time adjudicating our client’s petition packet and without any further request of evidence granted him the NIW case approval. We generously thank him for having faith in us throughout his I-140 case adjudication process and wishing him well for advancing his chosen field of environmental engineering.