CASE: I-140 / National Interest Waiver
CLIENT: Korean
LOCATION: Seoul, South Korea
Our client contacted us about the possibility of doing a National Interest Waiver self-petition. He is an exceptional researcher and scientist in South Korea in the field of live-cell imaging and photodynamics therapy.
Our client’s significant contributions have placed him at the pinnacle of his field. Throughout his research career, our client has demonstrated his ability as a researcher and has played a leading role in the project of developing ultrafast time-resolved spectroscopic tools for monitoring short-lived excited electrons (excitons) and investigating photophysical properties of functionalized organic, inorganic, and hybrid materials for light harvesting, energy transfer, and molecular electronics. Because of his innovative research, our client’s works were highly evaluated by reviewers of various journals and by colleagues and experts in the field.
Upon review of his credentials and qualifications, our office determined that he was 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 his 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 6 letters of recommendation from his colleagues and internationally-recognized researchers. Our office also included his 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 his field of endeavor, that he 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 his I-140(NIW) petition to the USCIS Texas Service Center on November 16, 2022. Eventually, on February 18, 2023, the USCIS approved his I-140 petition without any Requests for Evidence. He can file his immigrant visa via consular processing.