CASE: I-140 / National Interest Waiver
CLIENT: Korean
LOCATION: Oxford, OH
Our client contacted us about the possibility of doing a National Interest Waiver self-petition. She is from South Korea who works at a university in Ohio as an assistant professor. She is an exceptional researcher in the field of social work and cancer survivorship research.
Our client’s significant contributions have placed her at the pinnacle of her field. She is conducting research on areas of vital interest to public health and well-being in the United States. Her research investigates racial and ethnic disparities in influenza vaccination and cancer screening behavior; care for cancer survivors in racial and ethnic minority groups; and effects of culture on disparities in chronic disease prevention and management. Moreover, our client’s research work were highly evaluated by reviewers of various journals and by colleagues and experts in the field.
Upon review of her credentials and qualifications, our office determined that she was definitely qualified for the National Interest Waiver (NIW) category. Being qualified for NIW is beneficial since you would not need an employer nor family member to petition for you for green card purposes. You’d be eligible for a self-petition and unless you are from China or India, in which case you’d still have to wait for priority dates to be current, you would be eligible to apply for adjustment of status (green card) immediately without any lag in priority dates.
As a primer, NIW applicants must have a master’s or higher degree. While we prepared her case, the AAO set the new standards for NIW cases in Matter of Dhanasar, 26 I&N Dec. 884 (AAO 2016). Under the new standard, the petitioner must demonstrate that the foreign national’s proposed endeavor has both substantial merit and national importance. Next, it must be shown that he or she is well positioned to advance the proposed endeavor. Finally, the petitioner seeking the waiver needs to demonstrate that, on balance, it would be beneficial to the United States to waive the job offer and labor certification requirements. Id.
Our office prepared a 23-page brief for our client’s NIW filing. Our client also obtained 8 letters of recommendation from her colleagues and internationally-recognized researchers. Our office also included her publication records, presentation records, and conference materials in the NIW application. We demonstrated that our client is one of the few elite researchers who have made significant and substantial contributions to her field of endeavor, that she is well positioned to advance the proposed endeavor, and it would be beneficial to the United States to waive the requirements of a job offer and thus of a labor certification for our client.
Our office filed her I-140(NIW) petition to the USCIS Nebraska Service Center on January 29, 2020. Eventually, on October 19, 2020, the USCIS approved her I-140 petition without any Requests for Evidence.