Case Summary:

An expert in the field of planetary science sought our help for his NIW (National Interest Waiver) petition. He held a Ph.D. in physics and was working as an associate professor during the time of filing. He informed us that he planned to continue his research on developing state-of-the-art techniques for uncovering data on planetary bodies and the characterization of astromaterials, such as asteroid particles and meteorites. He wanted to aid in the investigation of planetary bodies from space missions. His work evidently helped to improve the global understanding of the origins and chemical structure of meteorites and other astromaterials, which was vital proof for his NIW case.

We were certain that to ensure that the United States continues to serve as a global leader in space exploration and analysis, investing in researchers who study the characteristics of meteorites and other astromaterials is of the utmost importance. And our client is one such researcher and has made substantial contributions to meteorite analysis in the United States in several ways, namely by identifying organic matter and minerals in meteorites, establishing novel analytical methods to safely analyze the chemical structure of astromaterials.

Due to the clear national importance of his research, it has also been supported with funding from the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), one of the foremost, federally chartered organizations funding scientific and technological research in the United States.

This is why one of his 4 recommendations had the following passage in it:

“[The client’s] results allow NASA to empirically support the accuracy of its findings regarding the solar system’s origins and history. This data is critical to enabling the United States to maintain its status as a global leader in space exploration, a role it has sustained for the last two decades… Although these matters are pertinent to us all, the nation with the most advanced resources and most nuanced information regarding these concerns benefits in terms of preparedness, financial reward, and in multiple other dimensions too extensive to list here. Suffice it to say that [the client’s] research is vital to the national interest.”

These recommendations made it even more apparent that his work was vital for the United States. Along with this, we had his academic achievements to support his claim. This included the 5 reviews he has completed to date for national and international journals, 19 peer-reviewed journal articles (12 of them first-authored), and 1 conference paper, which has been cited 170 times already.

Additionally, his 9 long years of work in the field had resulted in multiple successful scientific projects of which we presented detailed descriptions of 4 projects as evidence of his contributions to and expertise in the field of planetary science. All of these factors contributed to the successful completion of his adjudication leading to the approval of his NIW case. We are grateful to him for choosing us and we wish him the best of luck.