We collected over 300 National Interest Waiver cases recently approved in 2012 and early 2013 (January). Information was taken from applicants at public forums (approximately 10 % of this collection) and from several lawyer firms. We want to show some numbers in order to give you an idea what are basic credentials of an average EB2 NIW applicant, how many reference letters he / she had, how long was the process (I-140) and how many cases received RFEs.
Average education of EB2 NIW applicant
From a total number of 314 collected cases there were:
- 88.8 % PhD degrees
- 10.2 % Master’s degrees
- 1.0 % Bachelor’s degrees
We were able to find out how many degrees were US or non US in 123 NIW cases:
- 64.2 % degrees from US university
- 35.8 % degrees from foreign university
Number of publications
Number of publications may be used as one of the objective proofs of petitioner’s past track. Following numbers include only more weighted journal papers (not conference proceedings). Collection of 314 cases gives us an average of approximately 12 journal articles per applicant. Median was 9 papers. However, there were 10.5 % of approved cases with very low number of publications (0 – 3 papers).
Number of citations
Citations are very important for demonstrating applicant’s impact on field of endeavor as a whole. Only independent citations are included (not self citations) in this average number calculated from 314 cases: 124 citations per applicant. Median was 60 citations. But even 8.9 % NIW cases with very few citations (0 – 5) were approved.
Number of reference letters
Testimonial letters are considered as a key evidence of every National Interest Waiver petition. Average applicant (from 112 cases) submitted 5.4 letters of recommendation with his EB2 NIW petition and 54 % of this number of letters were from independent individuals (greater weight).
Time of petition process
EB2 NIW is known for its faster application procedure compared to other green card categories. Average I-140 petition was approved in 129 days (time calculated from 314 cases). Median was 121 days. Longest decision took USCIS 675 days.
Percentage of RFEs
Sometimes USCIS requests for additional evidence (RFE) during judging National Interest Waiver petition. We noticed 17.1 % from 228 cases received such RFEs.
These are just basic available averages / medians and it doesn’t mean that EB2 NIW case will not be successful if these numbers are lower. We had also below average numbers so we built our NIW case on other stronger evidence.
Thank you ! That would be really nice to know what was the background of that 10% that got their applications approved with 0-3 papers. I guess it can tell us a lot about the other important criteria that they are looking for in the applications.
I was able to find out their fields:
Electrical Engineering
Computer Engineering
Mechanical Engineering
Chemical Engineering
Transportation engineering
Structural Engineering
Biology
Bioinformatics
Biomedical Sciences
Biochemistry
Neuroscience
Genetics
Immunology
Molecular biology
Cancer research
Petroleum Engineering
Mathematics
Computer security
Psychiatry
Computational Neuroscience
Plant Molecular Biology and Proteomics
Stem and Neural Cell Research
Accounting and Financial Services
Biostatics
Plant Science
Pharmaceutical Research
Artificial Intelligence in Petroleum Engineering
Short Filmmaking
Systems Engineering
Educational Technology
Half of them were PhDs, rest had Master’s and one case was BS.
What about hydrogeology field with expertise in groundwater remediation .
Remember, every NIW case is unique. Even if you find somebody with same field of interest, his/her background would be probably different. Succesfull NIW application is about proper presenting your case to officer (= showing strong and convincing arguments), numbers may not be so important.
I have a bachelor degree and a master degree from overseas. In addition I have a master degree of sciences in TAX from a US University. I am a member of the CPA Illinois and have the licence as a Certified Public Accountant in Illinois. I;d very much appreciate if you could tell if I satisfy the requirement of NIW EB2??
Regards
Aldo
Hi Aldo,
thank you for your question. Remember, academic degrees are not the only requirement, you need to satisfy also all 3 NIW requirements: check it here please EB-2 National Interest Waiver requirements
Hi Aldo, did you get any news about your query? I’m interested in this as well as I would like to see what the outcome is for CPAs.
No the short answer is most likely you are not qualified for NIW.
Unless you excel in the field so much that you are the top top CPA.
If you are a partner in the big 4 maybe you might qualify otherwise no CPA alone does not meet any qualifications for NIW.
Is there a way you can tell us whether there were any MDs/Physicians who got EB2 NIW approval?
I am sorry, no MDs in our records. But we made stats only from 314 cases and I am sure that there are many more approved cases each year. So theoretically there could be some MDs approved in 2012/2013.
Thanks for the stats, they are very helpful.
I have Masters in Biology from US and I work as scientist (Cancer research).
But I only have 2 Publications. Should I go ahead for NIW EB2? I do have a job but I want to apply in NIW category. Please comment on my case.
Thanks
Thanks, glad it helps.
Regarding your case: I am sorry I am not allowed to give you direct legal advice what to do or my opinion about your specific case (only authorized lawyers can do that). But I am allowed to give you some general information and you can make your own decision what to do.
Numbers of publications and citations are only part of National Interest Waiver case but it is not given by any law how many of them EB2 NIW applicant should have. So he / she can be approved with literally zero publications and citations (and we saw a few such cases). If he / she doesn’t have good numbers here he / she should find another strong arguments like: significant achievements in his / her research, evidence how he / she impacted the whole field of endeavor (awards, memberships, invited talks, patents, reviewing, media asking for professional advice and of course strong testimonies from distinguished independent experts). More important is also to demonstrate that applicant is critical for the particular research, cannot be replaced and if he / she is replaced the national interest would be negatively affected (for example being a leading person of some nationally important project and it would jeopardize the success of it; covered also by strong recommendation testimonies here). And it should be shown that applicant is much better than average peer.
The number of publications can only partially help in this but it is not everything (not sufficient to be approved only on basis of these numbers) and NOT a MUST. I was also afraid about lower than average numbers so I tried to find something else that would convince. Good luck!
When you say “citations”. Is it independent citations or dependent citations?
I have 108 citations with 28 independent citations
Independent, without self citations.
what is the best way to trace these citations?
google search is not sufficient
We have submitted three sources because they show different numbers: Google Scholar, Scopus and Web of Knowledge. As far as I know only Scopus and WoK has numbers without self citations.
Thanks for such a useful blog post! I have a question regarding my own case and am particularly curious to see what your recommendation is. I am a Ph.D. student of computer science. I have a total of 9 publications (8 conferences and 1 journal) with 75 citations. Among those, only 2 are part of my Ph.D. research and the others, although are related to the same field of research, were published before I even come to the U.S. Does that really matter? Also, I am having a h-index of 6 right now. Do you recommend me to go ahead and file an application before I graduate or should I wait until I am done with my Ph.D. and then apply (which would be in summer 2015)? Thanks!
Hi dabdab,
I am not allowed to give such direct advices because I am not a lawyer;) But here is what was sufficient in our NIW case (my husband’s). At that time he had 15 publications in peer reviewed journals (4 first author), 8 conference proceedings publications (3 first author). Almost all of these publications were published before we moved to USA (we are here year and a half now). h- index of these publications was 3. He had around 70 citations (53 without self citations). But… When I started to work on his case number were slightly lower than this and I was afraid this could be considered as insufficient. I thought that only these numbers probably wouldn’t prove that third prong is satisfied. So I didn’t use publications and citations as a main argument, I only mentioned it very shortly to make our case complete. Instead of it I tried to show that my husband is invaluable for some nationally important American projects and they need him desperately for it (tried hard to find excellent recommenders who would testify that fact). This was my strategy in our case and it worked great, better than “number” argument I guess…
If you want to know some really qualified opinion to your question I would contact a lawyer for free evaluation of your case if I were you. Many attorney firms do this so you can try several of them and see what they recommend the most.
This topic (numbers, credentials) seems to be very interesting for many of you guys so I decided to write the next post about our case with all details, numbers etc.
Good luck with your case!
I am electrical engineer with two master degrees one in business and the other in engineering, I meet most of the criteria required for NIW including a license to practice the profession. I am in the 5th year of my H-1B. From your point of view is there any chance for me to get the national interest waiver. Can family members help in the application? , i.e I have a daughter born here in USA.
Thanks in advance.
Hi JOHNDC,
Remember that “Advanced Degree Professional” is only basic requirement given by law.
There are another three requirements (much more difficult to satisfy – degrees are not sufficient): please read our posts in “National Interest Waiver requirements” (focus on 3. NIW criterium – it is the most difficult one). We explain these topics in deep details there and show how these rules can be satisfied.
Do It Yourself Kit shows our successful EB2 NIW petition with all documents that we sent to USCIS.
Let us know if you need some more direction.
Re “an average of 12 journal articles” you are referring to all journal articles (not first author articles) right?
Thanks for your very helpful post 🙂
Hi Nima,
Yes, you are right, it means total number of articles.
We are glad it helped.
Hi,
Thanks for this useful and informative website. It helps me a lot. Would you please publish a checklist of the essential documents that need to be submit along with I-140?
Hi Sarah,
thank you very much for your feedback, we are glad it helped. Here is I-140 documents checklist
Dear Sir/Madam
I am currently doing Phd and I do not have more publications. I want to apply for NIW. Still I do not have degree available. What should I do?
Should I wait for Degree?
How many journal papers and conferences papers and recommendations letters required to file NIW.
Thanks.
Dear Parikhit,
EB2 NIW requirements doesn’t specify exact number of publications or recommendation letters. I saw case with 100 publications that wasn’t approved (case presented very poorly, NIW requirements weren’t satisfied) and the case with 0 publications that was approved (enough strong arguments to satisfy requirements).
Similarly with the letters. Imagine that I have a letter form US president covering all necessary requirements with proper explanations. Then only one letter could be enough. Or different situation: I have 10 letters from people who directly work with me and these letters don’t cover all criteria properly – this may be insufficient.
What matters here is HOW it is demonstrated that all NIW requirements were satisfied (show the strength of arguments and explaining why it is so strong). My husband also didn’t have (in my opinion) significant number of publications and citations but I found another strong arguments and most importantly I was focused on HOW to explain to the officer that requirements are met by my arguments. Numbers were not important in our case. And numbers alone don’t prove anything, these must be accompanied by proper explanations anyway. You can see how I deal with lack of publications and finding of strong arguments in description of our NIW case.
Regarding PhD requirements – people without PhD were approved but one of the following two requirements must be satisfied: Advanced Degree Professional OR Exceptional Ability.
Hey everyone.
My Story:
I am on H1B,
Non-US Graduate MD
Full appointment as an Assistant professor at two universities of medicine and Science in CA,
5 publications, 4 paper under review,only 3 citations, 18 (US) national presentation/abstracts in annual meetings
Award: Three years scholarship from NIH, 50,000$ small grant from NIH (as a PI), Nominated for a national award (not winner)
Letters of Rec. : 7 letters from full professors in Medicine and public Health.
How many publications and citations should I have to be qualified for EB2/NIW?
Thanks.
Hi H,
there is no requirement regarding publications or citations given by law. Please read previous answers in this discussion. Our numbers were better than yours but still I wasn’t confident that I can easily explain why they are better than average (this is one of the NIW requirements that needs to be proven). So I focused on different things similar to those you described (PI of important projects, critical participation in nationally funded projects etc.). These OTHER things satisfied all necessary requirements and I didn’t need any number of publications.
Hi:
Does every NIW applicant have the right to be interviewed before his or her application is turned down? I know there is a law for US visa that noone can be denied a visa without being given a chance to present their case in an interview. Is there a similar rule for NIW green card applicants?
Honestly, I don’t know, never heard about such rule. I am sorry I cannot help here…
Hi, thanks for useful information. I have MSC, 9 books, 109 journal papers and abut 100 independent citation and 3000 depending citation. I have R&D company in my country and in this company we work on robotics and nonlinear control and also training these project to bachelor and master students and after that extract some papers from projects. Do you any comments to me about niw2 case, you think I can approved or not?
Tnx
Hi farzpil,
thanks for feedback!
As you probably already know your “numbers” look very good and are much better than average in these stats. Did you already thought what strong arguments you will use to support your NIW case, specifically 3. requirement (e.g. why labor certification cannot be used in your case, why are you critical for US national interest etc.)? See this article for inspiration.
I cannot give you my personal opinion about your particular case since I am not a regular lawyer. Only lawyers can do it legally, others like me are not allowed to. Google “free NIW evaluation” and you will find plenty of lawyer companies who will do it for free for you.
Good luck with your case!
Hi
thanks for your response. All of my papers are under license of R&D company. Is it positive points? I am also have ranking in research and I am editorial board of 4 international journal papers and about 35 paper reviews and some of my students can to get scholarship. I also contact to about 4 lawyer and all of them accept my case but I’d like about your idea.
tnx
You named good points which I have seen in approved NIW cases and to be honest I wish my husband had them at that time. But he was approved even without things you mentioned. Also the fact that all 4 lawyers would take your case is a good sign because excellent lawyers don’t want to lose their reputation and time if the case is not good.
about my cases I have a question, Now I live in IRAN, is it important for NIW or not, because based on my case I cannot to get any recommendation latter from any American Prof./Dr..
In most of sites, I see the recommendation letter can play important role, and US recommendation letter is bether than out side, is it correct?
thanks
Hi farzpil,
there have been approved cases coming from applicants residing outside US. Recommendation letters are very important part of the NIW petition and usually at least some of them come from experts from US institutions. This is not a strict rule or official recommendation however this is because applicant needs to prove that USA “needs him critically”. It is harder to convince if somebody outside US says: “USA must have this applicant”. In opposite, if some expert working for US institution says: “we [USA] really need this applicant because we cannot reach the US national goal without him” – this sounds much more real. That is why applicants try to get these “US letters”.
Hope you can find some “working way”, good luck!
Veronika, EB2 NIW team
Hi Veronika
Thank’s for your helpfully comment. You said correctly but how I can find “working way”, do you have any suggestion?
Thank’s for your helpfully comments
Personally I found this part one of the most difficult in the process – trying to find people willing to write such letter even they didn’t know my husband directly. What we did was a list of potential expert from his field of expertise who could possibly know the results of his work. The list can also include people who cited applicant’s work, editors of journals where he published etc. We also tried colleagues from people in his network who are outside the close inner circle but they were still aware of his work or achievements (although didn’t know him directly). Then we send them a letter (email) explaining who he is and what he does. Experts who were willing to write the letters later verified these facts. I know this can sound weird to contact strangers but this could be possible “working way”…
Thank’s for your help, so I must to communicate….
Hi,
Many thanks for your helpful article and replies.
Do you have any data or statistics on the occupation (postdoc, professor in academia vs. scientist, engineer in a company) of successful applicants at the time of NIW request? If yes, would appreciate if you share them.
I have been working in industry (as a research scientist) after my PhD, and I wonder if it can negatively impact my NIW request.
Hi Ali,
thank you very much for your feedback, I really appreciate it!
You have a very good question – I would like to know some percentage of academic vs. commercial sector too. However, I don’t have these data. I can only say that most of the cases I have seen was from academic persons. This doesn’t mean that experts from companies cannot be approved, of course.
I remember some case of a guy from company who wasn’t approved. One of the reasons was that officer wasn’t convinced that guy’s work help the whole USA, not only his company. This could be one of the potential issues…
I am sorry I cannot give some better stats here.
Hi. Thank you for your help on this matter. I wonder if there are any stats per foreign country nationality and how important of a factor is this topic in final selection. Also, being around my mid 50s, I wonder if age is a limitation. Thank you again!
Hi,
age and nationality shouldn’t be a factor in National Interest Waiver decision (I-140 petition). However, people applying afterwards for Adjustment of status (I-485) are “limited” according to their nationality – applicant’s country has to have priority date current. Typically people from China, India etc. are in longer “waiting lines” for I-485 but most of the applicants from other countries can apply immediately. I am sorry I don’t have age or nationality data in my stats, however you can see some home countries of applicants at trackitt.com database.
Please see below my case.
Education: MS in Molecular biology/Pharmacology (from US), BS in Pharmaceutical sciences (from India)
I have been working in Biotech/Pharma research for little over 5 years now. I am a research scientist at my current position, working directly with Cancer research studies and Alzheimer’s projects (And Previously, did research work on complications like TB and asthma). I can ask for the LOR for the same from the Senior scientist/Doctors/Directors i have worked with/working with. Also, i am going to submit one patent related to Alzheimer’s (for which I have supporting documents). Kindly let me know if i stand a chance to get my peition approved under NIW EB2. Thanks
Hi Jay,
thank you for your credentials. However, I am not allowed to do these case evaluations since I am not an authorized lawyer (only they can do it). I am sorry for that.
If you want you can google “free niw evaluation” and you should find several attorneys who should do this for you at no cost. Hope you understand.
Thanks EB@ NIW team for the response. I would really appreciate if you can provide your opinion about my case.
Great information. Thanks!
I have a few conference papers but one journal. My publications are only cited 5 times. However, I have about 50 Patent Applications in different jurisdictions (none granted yet). Does this count?
Hi David,
it depends how significant they are and if you are able to explain why they are so important.
Hi,
I have a quick question about NIW application process, do you have any assumption about how long it would take to receive final decision from the USCIS office at Texas?
Hi Adam,
our case was solved in Texas center at the second half of the year 2013 – my husband’s I-140 petition was approved in 29 days and both I-485 petitions (husbands and mine) in 57 days which was better than average. The time depends on the average of the certain center and probably also on the case (if the decision is clear it should be earlier). Hope it helps.
Veronika, EB2 NIW team
Thanks for your useful Information,
As i know there some processing ( labor certificate , I 140 and ……) for achieving EB2 visa and GC so i just need to know that which part is more important in this process ?
Also pls let me know that is there any chance for Accountant with BS University degree and more than 10 years experience?
Hi Mohi,
thank you for your feedback. This category (EB2 NIW) is a subcategory of EB2 which actually doesn’t require labor certification (and employer as a petitioner). You can submit self petition without labor certification. The core of the whole process is to satisfy National Interest Waiver requirements (ALL 3) and prepare documentation which will prove it. Regarding your chances – I am not a lawyer so I am not allowed to tell my opinion however you can always ask attorneys – they often evaluate your case for free (google “eb2 niw evaluation”).
Hi:
Any idea if it significantly improves one’s chances if one hires a lawyer to file one’s case? Your thoughts on filing oneself instead of using a lawyer? What kind of fees do lawyers usually charge (just asking for order of magnitude)?
Also, does the NIW green card come with any strings attached?
Hi A,
thanks for your question. It always depends how the requirements are met and how it is presented in the case – first one is in the hands of applicant and second one might be done greatly by lawyer as well as by the applicant himself. That is why so many people do it by themselves. I have create the application just by my own skills for my husband and created this website as an information resource for all people who want to try the same thing. Look around and you will see 🙂
Lawyers’ fees vary but usually they ask something between $5-10,000 for legal services (this price doesn’t include fees to USCIS, couple more thousands). NIW green card is very good because there are almost no strings attached – as far as I know, applicant should stay in the same field for a while (don’t ask me how long, it is not very clear).
Veronika, EB2 NIW team
I’m wondering how much this is a numbers game? I’m currently working in a field that has a significant national interest. My research has essentially been as part of a small team that have opened up a whole new subfield. The problem is that there are very few people that have yet ventured into it, because there’s a significant software component that most people would have to overcome (it took 3 years of coding for our team to implement what we needed into a working thing).
It seems like many have just been using our tool, but without a culture for using tools in this field to help with research I know many papers where our tool was used to verify results, but we were not cited, since the tool itself was not part of finding them. There are probably many more that I don’t know of. This is similar to, say, Mathematica not being cited when calculations have been done using it.
Consequently, we’re globally around 10 people working directly in the area, so we’re the only ones citing each other. Of course citation counts will remain very low. Especially, since the papers have been published in the past year.
Thank you for very good question. In my opinion, NIW is not about the numbers. At least, my husband didn’t have “good numbers” so I didn’t use it as a “selling point” in his case. I described more national interests he was working on and explained why he is critical for that job. Then we let recommenders to confirm these statements in the letters. That was, in my opinion, the main reason for approval of our NIW green card. Not the number of citations or publications.
I applied EB-2, NIW in the Texase Service Center. Status sows “Case Was Received”. Almost 5 months passed. Should I call to USCIS for the update status ? How long is the processing time nowadays at Texas Service Center ? Can anyone advise ….
Hi Hasan,
you can find processing times at uscis.gov website however these are average times. Every case is different so they might have different processing times. Regarding the calls – you might try it but usually they will not tell you anything. I am sorry you have to wait so long. Wish you good luck!
Veronika
EB2 NIW team
Hello EB2NIW team,
I was wandering whether this is a one-time application? I am currently on OPT status, I just finished my PhD in USA, and I am doing my postdoc here. So I was wandering if I applied to this now, and get rejected can I improve my credentials during 27 months I have on OPT and apply again later?
Thanks
HI rslegeris,
you can apply later even after denial.
Veronika
EB2 NIW team
Hi,
I have a Masters from an Ivy League University in the field of Public Administration. My questions pertains to the area of Affordable Housing which is believed to be an area of immense National Interest. I have worked in the mentioned sector for over 5 years now, with not only government agencies and non profits, but also developers who do affordable housing.
My question is that have you seen any evidence of a similar application that makes use of the Affordable Housing case?
Thanks much,
J
Hi Joyeta,
personally I didn’t see such case but it doesn’t mean anything. I recommend to submit your credentials to several law firms (google “free niw evaluation”) They might do initial consultation for free and tell you how hard it would be to build successful case. I wish you good luck!
Veronika
EB2 NIW team
Hello 🙂
Can recommendation letters be written by non-green card holder? One of my advisory is not US citizen, can he still write this kind of letter for me?
Hi Iwona,
yes, we had also letters from people who are not green card holder or citizens. They even don’t live in US.
Veronika
EB2 NIW team
My father wants to apply for a NIW. He is from india. If his case gets approved, should he wait till he gets his priority date to be current to move to USA? Or can he move here after he has his I-140 approved?If yes, which visa?
Hi Trupthi, I am not allowed to give this direct legal advice since I am not a lawyer. I am sorry.
Veronika
Founder of EB2 NIW project
I assume that the Average Time Processing for the I-140 is included people who have RFE. Do you also have the number for people excluding RFE? RFE’s must make average significant higher I would say.
We submitted our I-140 in early January and are waiting our first response after getting confirmation of receipt. Lot’s of things are depending on the feedback, but I also would like to get better understanding of when can expect first feedback: approved, RFE or dissapproved. Thanks in advance.
Hi Willem,
these average times were calculated from 314 cases and only 39 of them were with RFE. I do not have numbers for cases without RFEs. Several clients wrote me last year (2015) and most of them said it took many months now (even more than half year). It seems it is slow now… Sorry for such message.
I wish you good luck to have it soon in your hands!
Veronika, founder of EB2 NIW project
Hi Veronika,
Ok that is bad news… Thanks for the answer though! We will keep waiting.
Willem
Hello, I have Ms degree in structural engineering, and 10 years experience in the this field. Also, I am about to release 4 technical articles. But maybe it is difficult to get a reference letter from someone that live in US.
What are my chances for applying?
Thanks.
Hi CAVN,
thank you for your question. I am not allowed to evaluate cases because I am not a lawyer. However, I recommend to google “free niw evaluation” and you might find several attorney firms. They should do it for free. Good luck!
Veronika
Founder of EB2 NIW project
Hi,
I haven’t been able to understand this one aspect of NIW. It falls under EB2 category, and for EB2 priority dates for India (and China too) is retrogressed. Does that mean for NIW, the priority dates are also retrogressed or are they current (C) like the EB1 category? What I mean is that, whether one can apply for adjustment of status (I-485) immediately (just like EB1, where priority dates are always current) or do they have to wait for years before applying for I-485?
Sayan
Hi Sayan,
unfortunately it should be the same as in the case of EB2 category (waiting line), I am sorry about that. BUt as far as I know you can stand in this waiting line and “save your priority date”. Later, if other application is submitted, they should use your saved priority date from earlier submission. I don’t have direct experience with it and didn’t do proper research, just what I read “somewhere”. Please verify…
Veronika
Founder of EB2 NIW project
Hi,
Thanks for your useful site.at the first i want to know ,if you have any information for the medical researcher?how can we make our chance?with how much citations in how many years?
Hi Spd,
thanks for your question. All NIW criteria must be satisfied, one by one. But non of the criteria prescribes that there should be any specific number of citations or how many years. Some fields and some people simply dont have citations and were approved. We also didnt have any impressive number of citations so I rather focus on highlighting other strong arguments like explaining why my husband is critical for his particular research, what are the benefits of his research and how losing these benefits affect USA national interest. Think about your arguments, they will be very specific regarding your particular job (very likely they will be different than other medical researchers). Good luck!
Veronika
Founder of EB2 NIW project
Hi,
I have Master’s degree in Physics and now I am a PhD candidate in Biophysic. I have 2 journal publications in a decent journals along with 7 citations. Also I have given a talk in a conference along with few research presentations in the workshops. How is my chance of getting NIW approved? Also, can you please also suggest me whether it is good to wait till my graduation, which is likely going to be in 2 years, or not?
Thanks!
Hi RT,
it is harder to convince that young scientist has impact on the field, significant achievements etc. But I am not allowed to evaluate your case because I am not a lawyer. Put “free niw evaluation” to Google and you will find several law firms who will evaluate your case.
Good luck!
Veronika
Founder of EB2 NIW project
Hello,
I recently joined the military under a Military Accession Vital to National Interest program. Would you recommend I get a letter from the military to USCIS as the basis for NIW?
My concern is, I have an MS degree that does not relate to my military career. I also have over 5 years of experience. How do I combine these?
Thanks
Hi,
I am not allowed to provide direct legal advice of this kind because I am not a lawyer. I am sorry…
Veronika, Founder of EB2 NIW project
Hi! this is very helpful! Would you mind to provide likelihood of EB2 NIW approval for the following case: MD with extensive research in cardiovascular medicine who is currently in training in a prestigious academic center in the US on H1B visa. He has more than 60 peer-reviewed publications, more than 500 citations, has been invited multiple times as faculty at international cardiology conferences, has reviewed more than 30 times work of others for high impact factor scientific journals. He is also currently an investigator for several large prospective studies in the US. Thanks!
Hi gg,
thank you for your feedback, I appreciate it!
I am sorry I cannot evaluate cases because I am not a lawyer. Only they are allowed to do this. But many of them do these first evaluation for free. Just put in google “free niw evaluation” and submit your credentials to couple of them. Good luck!
Veronika
Hi,
Thank you for your information. If my paper is cited in another paper with a mutual co-author, would that be a self-citation?
Thanks!
I didn’t find exact definition how officers evaluate this, sorry…
My husband has a Ph.D of math in another country with two journal papers and several conference paper. He also started to study Ph.D of computer science in one of US schools. He has 2 papers (One journal, One conference) in this field until now. He has not finished his studies (2 years left) but he wants to know that it is good to get post_doc and add more papers and then apply NIW or post_doc does not affect it too much?
Hi RLS,
Hard to say just based on the information you wrote here (there is a lot more to consider – achievements, impact on the field, critical role for national interests etc.). Anyway, I am not a lawyer so I am not allowed to evaluate your case. But many lawyers do this initial evaluation for free, you might want to try couple of them. Just Google “free NIW evaluation”.
Good luck!
Veronika
Founder of EB2 NIW project
Hello,
I have masters degree and I am at second year of my PhD program in U.S . I have fifty Citations so far. Five Journals and one conference paper.
What will be the chance of my case and how long it may take for I-140 to get approved?
Thank You!
Hi Masad,
you can submit your credentials to any lawyer who does free niw evaluation. They could give you an idea what your chances are. I am not a lawyer so I am not allowed to do this.
Good luck!
Veronika
Do you know how many of the applicants receiving REF ended up having their application approved/denied?
Hi Sam,
I don’t have these numbers, I am sorry…
Veronika
Hello,
Do you know if it’s possible for a PhD student to have a chance? 🙂 I’m PhD student in Applied Economics, also a STEM, but I feel like economics is too weak compared to other fields. And does publication via a university’s portal count?
Hi Claire,
it might be too soon for many of PhD students but there are some exceptional individuals who succeeded. If you want to know your chance submit your credential to lawyers who do “free niw evaluation” (google this term).
Good luck!
Hello,
I am just wondering if you know of the statistics on EB2 NIW approval rate? Thanks!
Hi Hary,
overall USCIS statistics aren’t open to public as far as I know.
Veronika
Veronika,
Thanks for your reply. Do you know of any unofficial “rough” numbers out there? I just wanted to know my odds.
I also wanted to let you know that your website has been excellent! It has the most clear, detailed information on NIW. I am using a lawyer to file my case, but decided to purchase your DIY kit anyway.
Thanks,
Hary
Hi Hary,
thanks a lot for purchase of our kit and your feedback. Very much appreciated, you made my day 🙂 If you want to know your chances you might try also “free niw evaluation” (google this keyword). You submit your credentials to several attorney firms and they will tell you your chances, for free. Numbers are difficult to obtain. I know only about people at various forums who submit info about their cases (when they filed, when they get result etc.) For example at trackitt.com – go to trackers and narrow the search for NIW only. And you will see. But there is no overall stats.
Hope you will finish your case soon and get approval. Good luck!
Veronika
Useful statistics, thanks. Do you know what is the overall acceptance rate for EB2 NIW applications? I only found several lawyer companies boasting that they have over 98% acceptance but not an overall statistics for this particular type of visa.
The only related statistics I found is this one https://www.uscis.gov/working-united-states/permanent-workers/approval-and-denial-statistics-i-140-immigrant-petition-alien-workers
– but it is for all I-140 applicants and it’s quite obsolete..
Sorry, I just noticed you talked about this in the previous comments…
Let me ask another question then. Do you know / have heard of anyone who got his EB2 NIW application rejected? If so, what was the (possible) reason?
Thanks!
Yes, I did. Often, these cases are young scientists who didn’t have strong arguments yet (but they might later) – not strong impact in the field, no significant achievements, low number of citations, publications, no reviewing, no evidence that their work will benefit USA etc. I am not saying that successful applicant must have all of these, but … There has to be enough to satisfy NIW requirements.
Regarding your next question (stats you found at USCIS page) – if this is all I-140 petitions, it doesn’t say anything about NIW approval rate. This is because NIW is only very very small fraction of I-140 petitions.
Stats from lawyers are also not appropriate because they usually don’t take cases which are weak in their eyes.
Veronika
Thanks for all your efforts, its a great resource for self petitioners.
I’m wondering if any leadership roles (student orgs etc) and/or community services (e.g. Big Brother Big Sister etc) give any slight advantage in NIW petition?
Hi Asif,
Thank you for your feedback!
I am not allowed to provide direct legal advice like this because I am not a lawyer. Just ask yourself if the achievement is “significant enough”, above average and related to your work in national interest which is presented in the NIW petition etc.
Veronika
Hi,
I have an approved I-140 under EB2-NIW. The application was based on my research credentials. Being an Indian national my wait time for an actual green card is 10+ years and due to financial constraints I cannot continue in my research based job. I have a job offer from an academic institution which is not research based however it does require the candidate to have a PhD and research experience. The job itself draws on the candidates research experience. I want to know if it is safe to change jobs? I have 2 yrs left on my H1B and will need my new employer to sponsor and file an extension when the time comes (which they are willing). Is it possible to lose the I-140 since I changed employers and my job? Or will this change be more of an issue during the I-485 stage?
Hi Shyama,
I understand your pain with priority dates for Indians. I cannot give you direct advice for your situation because I am not allowed to (I am not a lawyer). I-140 when filed as NIW isn’t directly connected to one employer but it can become a problem later (I-485, citizenship etc.). If you want to be sure, contact a lawyer. They might be willing to give you some initial evaluation of your case for free. Another option might be EB1a green card – did you know that at certain part of the season, priority dates become current even for Indians and Chinese? = no waiting line for years. I am currently working on the blog about EB1a where I publish free info (a lot of new content will come this year). You might want to check it out here too : http://www.eb1agreencard.com .
Good luck!
Hi
I am 37 years old , married and have a 3 years child. I am PhD in nuclear engineering. I am from Iran. I have about 30 papers with 150 citations. I am faculty member in university. Is there any chance for us for further study in PosDoc and EBs green card in my field.
Regards
Hi M.
thanks for your question. You look a little similar to my husband (he was actually behind you) – fresh PhD in nuclear engineering field too, started as a postdoc, fewer papers and citations than you. And here we are with approved green cards 🙂 Our case is shown in our DIY kit, you might want to check it out.
Check also EB1A green card which might be an option for you, I have another blog about it here.
Good luck!
Veronika, founder of EB2 NIW project
I have my master’s degree in foreign country and I earned my clinical doctoral degree in the U.S. It is not a Ph.D. degree, but a doctoral degree which allows me to practice in the U.S. as a professional clinician in healthcare-related rehabilitation field. I see patients everyday and I do research works in addition to the clinical practicum. Currently I am publishing two research papers to famous international journal in our field. Am I still eligible for EB2 NIW?
Hi Lee,
I am not allowed to do this evaluation of the case (I am not a lawyer and only they should be doing it). But you can submit your credentials to several of them – just google “free niw evaluation”. You will see what they say. Even though you might hear “No” from them it does not mean you cannot succeed (now or in the future).
Let me know in case of other questions.
Veronika