Case Summary:

“One of the leading structural engineers working to counteract these events is [the client]. [Client’s] past and current work designing, testing, and implementing structural measures to improve buildings’ ability to withstand seismic activity has tremendous implications for the United States in its effort to minimize the damage inflicted by earthquakes and other weather- and climate-related events.”

One of the 4 letters of recommendation that our NIW client from Iran was able to obtain had the above statement about him and his work in it. His research in the field of structural engineering was clearly of great importance because it provides the tools to create more resilient structures, thereby protecting citizens and properties from seismic activity. This was a clear indication to our team that his I-140 of the National Interest Waiver claim had merit. Since the NIW category demands proof of the petitioner’s nationally important work, our team had their work cut out for them. We went through his academic and professional documentation and found the following information, which we used to customize his application:

• He has been invited to conduct peer reviews for authoritative journals in the field, and he has completed at least 1 review to date, indicating that he is considered a reliable resource in the field.
• His research has also led to the publication of 8 peer-reviewed journal articles (2 of them first-authored) and 19 peer-reviewed conference papers (5 first-authored).
• These publications have been cited a total of 95 times according to Google Scholar, thereby demonstrating that these publications are widely recognized and relied upon in the field of structural engineering.
• Finally, we were able to attach 4 letters of recommendation along with several other documents such as transcripts, updated CVs, and so on to solidify his claim to NIW further.

In one of these letters of recommendation, an expert wrote the following:

“Improvements to American infrastructures, such as buildings that are able to withstand greater environmental pressure, are crucial to reducing the immense economic and structural damage caused by such natural disasters. To that end, [the client’s] expertise in structural engineering makes him a major asset to the United States.”

So, when the NIW approval arrived less than 5 months after filing the petition, we were overjoyed to inform our client of this victory. We knew that his education, experience, expertise, the record of publication and citation, and history of successful research in the field all indicate that it is beneficial to the United States to waive the requirements of a job offer and labor certification for him. We thank him for giving us the opportunity to work on his case and we wish him the very best in all future endeavors.