From October to December 2012, our firm received 53 EB-1 case approvals: 41EB-1(a), 9 EB-1(b), and 3 EB-1(c). USCIS approved 38 of these cases without a request for evidence. In addition, from October to December 2012, our firm also received 96 NIW case approvals. For January to December 2012, our firm received 245 EB-1 approvals and 351 NIW approvals.

Out of the 53 EB-1 cases approved in the past three months, most applicants had a Ph. D. and conducted scientific research. Among samples of approved applicants, most conduct research in medical science, biology, and engineering, while others focus on chemistry, finance, painting, etc.

Ph.D.	46
Master	3
Others	4

Three of the most popular job titles for applicants who received approval were that of a “postdoctoral research associate”, “research scientist” and “assistant professor”. Those specializing in these occupations mainly conduct research, produce papers, and attend conferences. Because of the nature of scientific work, it is much easier to meet EB-1 requirements. Of course, as mentioned earlier, this should not discourage you from applying if you happen to fulfill different, but equally comparable criteria. Each case varies and it is difficult to determine whether or not you qualify unless you come in for an evaluation.

In addition to the above, our firm has also compiled data on other criteria. The average number of journal papers published among these applicants was 16. The average number of citations was 241. The average number of reviews conducted was 22. The average processing time for these applicants was 124 days or about four months. The longest amount of time it took to approve an application was 731 days, while the shortest was 10 days.

average number of journal papers	16
average number of citations	241
average number of reviews	22
average processing days	124

 

 

 

 

Finally, premium process was adopted in filing 11 out of the 53 EB-1 cases. In our personal experience, we have found that premium processing can expedite adjudication of your application. However, if you are not a highly qualified applicant, you could receive a RFE notice as a result. Furthermore, in our practice, we have heard that a USCIS officer only has 15 minutes to read through an application. Given the stringent time constraints, officers sometimes automatically issue a RFE to fulfill the 15 day processing guarantee while not having to approve or deny a petition. Please note, an applicant can adopt premium process when initially filing one petition or do so after the petition has been filed. In either case, USCIS will issue and serve on the petitioner or applicant an approval notice, a denial notice, a notice of intent to deny, a request for evidence or open an investigation for fraud or misrepresentation within the 15 calendar day period.

Before you start the application process, it is imperative that you consult with a highly trained legal professional, particularly since USCIS has become stricter with EB-1 applications after a memo was released on August 18, 2010. In essence, the USCIS memo breaks the EB-1 evaluation process up into two parts – 1) evaluating whether the applicant meets the baseline criteria for the immigration category and 2) determining whether the applicant’s evidence demonstrates the required high level of expertise for the immigration category. In the second part of the review process the USCIS will evaluate the evidence to see if, as a whole, it proves by a preponderance of the evidence that the applicant is at the very top of his or her field of endeavor.

If you are interested in contacting us for a free consultation, please call our offices at 1-800-230-7040 or email us at info@hooyou.com.

For more information on the 53 EB-1 cases approved from October to December 2012, please refer to the table below.

Client	Case Type	Degree	research field	Journal papers	Citat ions	reviews	job title	RFE	Premium Proce ssing	Process ing days
1	EB-1A	Master	Performing Art	N/A	N/A	N/A	drama actor & producer	No	No	16
2	EB-1A	Ph.D.	particle physics	20	1349	18	research associate	No	Yes	20
3	EB-1A	Ph.D.	Medical	23	115	10	Postdoctoral Researcher II	Yes	No	277
4	EB-1A	Ph.D.	diabetes	18	104	24	Postdoctoral Fellow	No	No	11
5	EB-1A	Ph.D.	materials science	7	8	6	Materials Research Scientist	Yes	Yes	113
6	EB-1B	Ph.D.	engineering optimization	6	711	39	Research & Development Engineer	Yes	No	159
7	EB-1A	Ph.D.	civil engineering	7	20	17	Transportation Engineer	Yes	No	441
8	EB-1B	Ph.D.	Pharma ceutical Science	5	36	29	Sr. Research Analyst	Yes	No	76
9	EB-1A	Ph.D.	Electrical Engineering	90	389	N/A	N/A	No	No	16
10	EB-1A	Ph.D.	statistics	12	24	25	Mathematical Statistician	Yes	No	198
11	EB-1A	Ph.D.	materials science	46	196	18	Assistant Research Scientist	No	No	10
12	EB-1A	Ph.D.	Vascular Biology	15	50	22	Postdoctoral Research Fellow	Yes	Yes	117
13	EB-1A	Ph.D.	Medical	10	107	7	Research Fellow	No	No	18
14	EB-1A	Ph.D.	Computer Science	6	245	38	Assistant Professor	No	Yes	45
15	EB-1A	Ph.D.	bioche mistry	30	169	12	Research Fellow	No	Yes	123
16	EB-1A	Ph.D.	Control systems	5	207	58	Researcher	No	No	167
17	EB-1A	Ph.D.	Physical Chemistry	16	141	18	Postdoctoral fellow	No	Yes	16
18	EB-1A	Ph.D.	nephrology	13	11	14	Physician	No	No	19
19	EB-1B	Ph.D.	magnetic resonance imaging	7	8	44	Research scientist	No	No	144
20	EB-1A	Master	English Teaching	17	0	4	Professor	Yes	No	54
21	EB-1A	Ph.D.	Regen erative Medicine	7	108	0	Postdoctoral fellow	No	Yes	84
22	EB-1A	Ph.D.	environ mental science	14	180	60	National Research Council Associate	No	No	72
23	EB-1B	Master	biomedical	9	32	0	Scientist	No	Yes	70
24	EB-1C	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	Executive Director	Yes	No	417
25	EB-1A	Ph.D.	organic chemistry	18	264	17	Research Associate	No	No	13
26	EB-1A	Ph.D.	Biomedical Modeling	7	13	17	Postdoctoral Scholar	No	No	369
27	EB-1A	Ph.D.	Soft Matter Research	15	281	31	Assistant Professor	No	No	48
28	EB-1C	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	Vice President	No	No	150
29	EB-1A	Ph.D.	biochemistry	14	75	19	Postdoctoral faculty	Yes	No	238
30	EB-1A	Ph.D.	materials science	107	1516	77	Assistant Professor	No	No	20
31	EB-1A	Ph.D.	evolutionary genomics	8	1201	10	Postdoctoral Fellow	No	No	26
32	EB-1A	Ph.D.	Pharma ceutical Science	11	137	43	Postdoctoral fellow	No	No	18
33	EB-1A	Ph.D.	cancer	12	170	20	Researcher	Yes	No	214
34	EB-1A	Ph.D.	biomedical	5	111	14	Postdoctoral Research Fellow	No	No	126
35	EB-1B	Ph.D.	materials science	6	38	7	Research scientist	No	No	109
36	EB-1B	Ph.D.	Molecular Biology	20	230	15	Research Associate	Yes	No	66
37	EB-1A	Ph.D.	molecular simulation	11	268	40	Postdoctoral Research Associate	No	No	47
38	EB-1A	Ph.D.	biomedical engineering	8	68	23	Engineer	No	Yes	11
39	EB-1A	Ph.D.	Inorganic and Physical Chemistry	77	1493	N/A	Associate Research Professor	No	No	13
40	EB-1A	Ph.D.	industrial ergonomics	10	43	21	Assistant Professor	No	No	66
41	EB-1A	Ph.D.	membrane science	23	112	11	Postdoctoral Scholar	No	No	65
42	EB-1A	Ph.D.	environmental science	41	975	9	Professor	No	No	154
43	EB-1B	Ph.D.	Finance	12	53	39	Assistant Professor	No	No	102
44	EB-1A	N/A	public relations	N/A	N/A	N/A	Marketing Consultant	Yes	No	315
45	EB-1A	Ph.D.	materials science	5	N/A	21	Postdoctoral Associate	No	Yes	25
46	EB-1B	Ph.D.	electrical and computer engineering.	28	308	40	Chief Scientist	No	Yes	356
47	EB-1B	Ph.D.	biology	11	105	4	Scientist	No	No	19
48	EB-1A	Ph.D.	wireless optical commu nications	29	323	5	Associate Adjunct Professor	No	No	19
49	EB-1A	Ph.D.	genetic epide miology	20	453	16	Postdoctoral Research Associate	No	No	59
50	EB-1A	Ph.D.	bioinformatics	7	120	15	Postdoctoral scholar	Yes	No	322
51	EB-1A	Ph.D.	Painting	7	5	0	Professor	No	No	148
52	EB-1C	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	CEO	No	No	63
53	EB-1A	Ph.D.	biochemistry	3	61	14	Research Associate	Yes	No	731

 

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Founded in 1996, Zhang & Associates, P.C. offers legal services to clients nationwide in all aspects of U.S immigration law. We have successfully handled thousands of immigration cases.

At Zhang & Associates, P.C., our attorneys and supporting professionals are committed to providing high-quality immigration and non-immigration visa services. We specialize in NIW, EB-1, PERM, and I-485 cases. In the past sixteen years, we have successfully helped thousands of clients get green cards. If you plan to apply for a green card, please send your CV to Attorney Jerry Zhang (info@hooyou.com) for a free evaluation.

Zhang & Associates, P.C.

Silicon Valley • New York • Los Angeles • Chicago • Houston • Austin • Seattle

Tel:	1-800-230-7040, 713-771-8433
Email:	info@hooyou.com
website:	http://www.hooyou.com

 

(01/23/2013)