From January to March 2013, our firm received 52 EB-1 case approvals: 43EB-1(a), and 9 EB-1(b). USCIS approved 39 of these cases without a request for evidence. In addition, from January to March 2013, our firm also received 99 NIW case approvals. For January to December 2012, our firm received 245 EB-1 approvals and 351 NIW approvals.

Out of the 52 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 mathematics, music, acting, etc.

Ph.D.	43
Master	9

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 30 (median number is 14). The average number of citations was 430 (median number is 159). The average number of reviews conducted was 30 (median number is 23). The average processing time for these applicants was 97 days or over three months. The longest amount of time it took to approve an application was 853 days, while the shortest was 11 days.

average number of journal papers	30
average number of citations	430
average number of reviews	30
average processing days	97

 

 

 

 

Finally, premium process was adopted in filing 31 out of the 52 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 52 EB-1 cases approved from January to March 2013, please refer to the table below.

Client	Case Type	Degree	Research field	Journal papers	Citations	Reviews	job title	RFE	Premium- Proce ssing	Proce- ssing days
1	EB-1A	Ph.D.	environmental engineering	14	136	27	Postdoctoral Research Associate	No	No	16
2	EB-1A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	Musician	Yes	Yes	109
3	EB-1A	Ph.D.	particle physics	36	715	5	Researcher	No	Yes	53
4	EB-1A	Ph.D.	Microbiology	17	131	16	Research associate	Yes	No	254
5	EB-1A	Ph.D.	Operations research	8	N/A	8	Operations Research Advisor	Yes	No	690
6	EB-1B	Ph.D.	mathematics	5	N/A	6	Assistant Professor	Yes	No	117
7	EB-1B	Ph.D.	computer science	32	285	50	Assistant Professor	No	No	68
8	EB-1A	Ph.D.	Pharmacology	34	66	55	Postdoctoral Research Associate	No	Yes	36
9	EB-1A	Ph.D.	plant sciences	12	285	13	Postdoctoral Research Associate	No	Yes	58
10	EB-1A	Ph.D.	music performance and composition	5	N/A	1	Composer	No	Yes	96
11	EB-1A	Ph.D.	Electrical and Electronic Engineering	328	5000	N/A	Associate Professor	No	Yes	20
12	EB-1A	Ph.D.	Electrical Engineering	17	647	69	Assistant Professor	No	No	71
13	EB-1A	Ph.D.	biomedical	20	1709	N/A	Manager	No	No	147
14	EB-1A	Ph.D.	neuroscience	67	449	N/A	Postdoctoral Fellow	Yes	Yes	168
15	EB-1A	Ph.D.	virology	21	132	24	Research Associate	No	Yes	22
16	EB-1B	Ph.D.	materials science	37	120	N/A	Research Scientist	No	No	81
17	EB-1A	Ph.D.	materials science	26	159	16	Postdoctoral Researcher	Yes	Yes	96
18	EB-1A	Ph.D.	neurological disease	6	22	6	Research Fellow	Yes	No	295
19	EB-1A	Ph.D.	environmental engineering	10	59	12	Postdoctoral Fellow	Yes	No	181
20	EB-1A	Ph.D.	computer networking	7	345	45	Senior Software Engineer	No	Yes	11
21	EB-1A	Ph.D.	genetic engineering	213	1230	24	Research Scientist	No	No	82
22	EB-1A	Ph.D.	geology and geophysics	10	81	11	Geophysicist	No	Yes	17
23	EB-1A	Ph.D.	environmental chemistry	14	96	31	Postdoctoral Research Associate	Yes	No	62
24	EB-1A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	Chinese Cuisine Chef	No	No	19
25	EB-1A	Ph.D.	biochemistry	15	700	14	Senior Research Fellow	No	Yes	29
26	EB-1A	Ph.D.	Neuroradiology	6	72	8	Research Scientist	No	No	285
27	EB-1A	Ph.D.	Cardiovascular Biology	13	49	23	Research Fellow	No	No	119
28	EB-1A	Ph.D.	Materials Science	66	500	13	Research Associate	No	Yes	21
29	EB-1A	N/A	acting	N/A	N/A	N/A	Actor	Yes	Yes	119
30	EB-1A	N/A	media arts	N/A	N/A	N/A	TV Editor/ Screenwriter /Producer	No	Yes	11
31	EB-1A	Ph.D.	electrical engineering	26	900	16	Associate Professor	No	Yes	19
32	EB-1B	Ph.D.	groundwater and surface water interactions	13	47	12	Environmental Scientist	Yes	Yes	75
33	EB-1A	Ph.D.	biomedical image analysis	9	114	17	Research Scientist	No	No	50
34	EB-1B	Ph.D.	electrical engineering	3	N/A	30	Process Development Engineer	No	Yes	16
35	EB-1A	Ph.D.	materials science	30	305	38	Scientist	No	Yes	16
36	EB-1A	Ph.D.	microelectronics	17	127	32	Researcher	No	No	25
37	EB-1A	Ph.D.	Semiconductor development	11	280	N/A	Technology advisor	No	Yes	38
38	EB-1A	Ph.D.	Electrochemistry	10	89	35	Postdoctoral research associate	No	Yes	66
39	EB-1A	Ph.D.	Computational Biochemistry and Biophysics	14	249	15	Postdoctoral Research Associate	No	Yes	62
40	EB-1B	Ph.D.	Organic chemistry	23	37	24	Assistant professor	No	Yes	12
41	EB-1A	Ph.D.	statistical signal processing	8	150	29	Research Scientist	No	No	61
42	EB-1A	Ph.D.	Industrial engineering	3	54	205	Industrial Engineer	Yes	No	853
43	EB-1A	Ph.D.	mechanical engineering	11	85	21	Postdoctoral Fellow	No	Yes	40
44	EB-1A	Ph.D.	Magnetic materials	60	341	40	Research Engineer	No	Yes	76
45	EB-1A	Ph.D.	Electrical Engineering and statistics	19	200	6	Quantitative Analyst	No	Yes	18
46	EB-1A	Ph.D.	Chemical Engineering	36	328	48	Researcher	No	No	47
47	EB-1B	Ph.D.	Pharmacology	20	260	15	Research associate	No	Yes	12
48	EB-1A	Ph.D.	Material science	10	167	32	Research associate	No	Yes	17
49	EB-1B	Ph.D.	Asian Studies	10	N/A	7	Assistant Professor	No	No	59
50	EB-1A	Ph.D.	cardiovascular disease	35	1689	60	Associate Professor	No	Yes	14
51	EB-1A	Ph.D.	Biomedical science	13	43	65	Postdoctoral Fellow	No	Yes	13
52	EB-1B	Ph.D.	Electrical engineering	9	54	68	Senior Research Engineer	Yes	Yes	109

 

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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 seventeen 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

 

(04/18/2013)