On May 2^nd, 2016, we received another EB-2 NIW (National Interest Waiver) approval for a Postdoctoral Research Associate in the Field of Animal Sciences (Approval Notice).

General Field: Animal Sciences

Position at the Time of Case Filing: Postdoctoral Research Associate

Country of Origin: India

Service Center: Nebraska Service Center (NSC)

State of Residence at the Time of Filing: Illinois

Approval Notice Date: May 2^nd, 2016

Processing Time: 8 months, 5 days

Case Summary:

A little over 8 months after we filed an EB-2 NIW (National Interest Waiver) petition on behalf of an animal sciences expert from India, Nebraska Service Center took action on his case and granted their approval. Because our client chose to file I-485 applications for himself and his dependent while his NIW petition was pending approval, he trimmed down the overall wait time associated with the green card process. Roughly a month and a half after receiving the good news about his NIW petition approval, he received even better news: that he and his wife were officially American permanent residents.

Building an irrefutable case:

• Our goal was to present a strong EB-2 NIW case to the USCIS. We did not want the issuance of RFEs, NOIDs, or anything of that matter to mar our client’s journey to green card success. To our delight, everything went according to plan. Amongst other things, our client’s EB-2 NIW petition contained information on his various degrees (Bachelor of Veterinary Science, a Master of Science in Animal Health Sciences, and a Doctor of Philosophy in Animal Science), his citation count (41 citations), and his publication record (5 scientific articles).
• We also noted the significance of our client’s work on understanding how nutrients like vitamin D can be used to prevent a number of common poultry diseases, such as coccidiosis. We determined that his research results have directly contributed to sustained poultry health, which allows poultry farmers to meet production goals and consumer demands. Additionally, his research efforts on poultry immunology are contributing to the United States’ export business, which heavily depends on the sustained production of healthy birds.
• In a bid to bolster our client’s EB-2 NIW petition, we counseled him to reach out to other experts in the filed for recommendation letters. Recommendation letters serve as objective evidence that prove whether a petitioner possesses extraordinary ability that benefits the United States. In this case, our client managed to obtain six letters from his peers, one of whom stated that: “[Client] is one such scientist who has propelled himself to the forefront of this [poultry-related] research area by producing experimentally-supported nutrition recommendations that promote poultry health and help to maximize harvest yield.”

Becoming a green card holder:

Although our client was born in India, he had three immediate options to adjust his status for permanent residence: he could file his I-140 petition and I-485 application concurrently, file the I-485 while the I-140 was pending approval, or file the I-485 after the approval of his I-140 petition. He chose the second option and the reason why he did not have to wait several years for his priority date to become current—like most other NIW petitioners from India—is because the rules of cross-chargeability applied to him. This essentially means that he was charged to the numerical limitation of his spouse’s country of birth (the maximum quota of green cards offered to applicants born in that country had not been reached). We would like to congratulate our client and his wife for obtaining their green cards. It was a pleasure helping them accomplish this goal and we wish them the best as they embark on new beginnings in the United States. To find out more about the rules of cross-chargeability, please visit http://blog.wegreened.com/uncategorized/cross-chargeability/.