An Analysis of NIW Cases Approved from October to December 2017
From Octoberto December 2017, our firm received 60 NIW case approvals. USCIS approved 41 of these cases without Requests for Evidence (RFEs). Therefore, from January to December 2017, our firm received 207 NIW case approvals in total.
Out of the 60NIW cases approved in the past three months, most applicants had a Ph.D. degree when applying. However, 19 of these applicants, or approximately 32%, only had a Master’s degree when their cases were filed. Among samples of approved applicants, most conduct research in Medical Science, Biology and Engineering, while others focus on insurance sales and growth, dance theory and education, and intellectual property, etc. Those who work in fields related to Engineering, Medical Science and Biology are forced to compete with a large number of applicants from which the USCIS can only approve the strongest applications.
| Ph.D. |
38 |
63% |
Master |
19 |
32% |
Bachelor & others |
3 |
5% |
Those who work as a “Postdoctoral Research Associate”, “Research Scientist/Engineer”, “Assistant Professor’, or any other similar title mainly conduct research, produce papers, and attend conferences. Because of the nature of scientific work, such applicants find it easier to show that they have exerted national influence and sustained a past record of achievement through more objective evidence (i.e. citations, downloads, commercialization of work, etc.). Of course, this should not discourage you from applying if you feel you lack such evidence. On the contrary, each case varies and USCIS could deem your particular qualifications and skill set to be of intrinsic merit to the United States. USCIS does not adjudicate petitions solely on the basis of concrete numbers. With our highly experienced attorneys, we will help you highlight your strongest professional assets, while downplaying your weaker ones.
In addition to the above, we have also compiled other relevant data from our samples. The median number of journal papers published by these applicants was 8. The median number of independent citations they received was 65. The average processing time for these applications was 223days, or over 7 months. The longest it took to approve an application was 468 days, while the shortest was 74days.
| Median number of Journal papers |
8 |
Median number of independent citations |
65 |
Average Processing days |
223 |
Before you start the application process, it is imperative that you consult a highly trained legal professional. As you may know, On December 27, 2016, the Administrative Appeals Office (AAO) of U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) issued new guidelines for adjudicating National Interest Waiver (NIW) cases in a decision known as the Matter of Dhanasar. This new standard replaces the previous guidelines decided in Matter of New York State Department of Transportation, more commonly referred to as NYSDOT, and serves to make the adjudication of NIWs clearer and less ambiguous.
By consulting with an attorney at our firm, you will learn not only about your options, but also specific application strategies tailoring to the new standard.
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 60 NIW cases approved from Octoberto December 2017, please refer to the table below.
Client |
Degree |
Research field |
Journal papers |
Independent Citations |
Job title |
RFE |
Processing days |
1 |
Master |
Chemical |
2 |
n/a |
Research Assistant |
No |
348 |
2 |
Ph.D. |
molecular biology |
4 |
21 |
Senior Research |
No |
325 |
3 |
Ph.D. |
Biomedical Science |
8 |
785 |
Postdoctoral |
No |
323 |
4 |
Master |
Electrical Engineering |
6 |
N/A |
Manager |
No |
273 |
5 |
Master |
Electronic Engineering |
N/A |
29 |
Researcher |
No |
232 |
6 |
Master |
insurance sales |
N/A |
N/A |
sales management |
Yes |
220 |
7 |
Master |
Petroleum |
N/A |
N/A |
Petroleum engineer |
No |
148 |
8 |
Ph.D. |
space science |
26 |
266 |
Researcher |
No |
297 |
9 |
Master |
electrical |
7 |
45 |
electrical engineer |
No |
92 |
10 |
Ph.D. |
Geophysics |
N/A |
N/A |
Senior Geophysicist |
Yes |
163 |
11 |
Ph.D. |
Data science |
8 |
35 |
Data scientist |
No |
328 |
12 |
Ph.D. |
civil and |
5 |
11 |
Project Engineer |
No |
309 |
13 |
Ph.D. |
Polymer Chemistry |
10 |
89 |
Principal Engineer |
No |
133 |
14 |
Ph.D. |
Biomedical science |
8 |
139 |
Postdoctoral |
No |
318 |
15 |
Ph.D. |
prostate cancer |
28 |
241 |
Physician |
No |
81 |
16 |
Ph.D. |
Engineering |
6 |
40 |
Life Science Researcher |
No |
115 |
17 |
Ph.D. |
biomedical |
9 |
55 |
Postdoctoral |
No |
311 |
18 |
Ph.D. |
Biological Science |
4 |
40 |
Postdoctoral Fellow |
No |
151 |
19 |
Ph.D. |
nursing and medicine |
29 |
N/A |
Assistant Professor |
Yes |
219 |
20 |
Ph.D. |
Dentistry |
4 |
45 |
Assistant |
No |
104 |
21 |
Ph.D. |
network coding |
8 |
51 |
Software Engineer |
No |
464 |
22 |
Ph.D. |
Neuroscience |
6 |
194 |
Postdoctoral Researcher |
No |
316 |
23 |
Ph.D. |
biomedical |
4 |
100 |
Researcher |
No |
367 |
24 |
Master |
Petroleum |
6 |
n/a |
Senior Petrophysicist |
No |
79 |
25 |
Ph.D. |
nursing |
113 |
366 |
Professor |
Yes |
318 |
26 |
Master |
Product design |
N/A |
N/A |
R&D engineer |
Yes |
183 |
27 |
Ph.D. |
pain treatment |
2 |
N/A |
Representative |
Yes |
183 |
28 |
Master |
publishing |
N/A |
N/A |
VP |
Yes |
234 |
29 |
Master |
Dance Theory |
N/A |
N/A |
Professor |
Yes |
195 |
30 |
Ph.D. |
information security |
18 |
54 |
Researcher |
No |
82 |
31 |
Ph.D. |
Biochemistry |
14 |
122 |
Researcher |
No |
224 |
32 |
N/A |
electrical |
N/A |
N/A |
electrical engineer |
No |
124 |
33 |
Ph.D. |
Analytical chemistry |
25 |
314 |
Postdoctoral |
No |
317 |
34 |
Ph.D. |
Engineering |
N/A |
N/A |
Engineer |
No |
150 |
35 |
Ph.D. |
Biomedical |
10 |
65 |
Research Scientist |
No |
116 |
36 |
Ph.D. |
Electrical |
N/A |
N/A |
Senior Engineer |
Yes |
99 |
37 |
Master |
Electronic |
5 |
33 |
Principal Engineer |
No |
103 |
38 |
Ph.D. |
bioinformatics |
18 |
4939 |
Senior Data Analyst |
No |
135 |
39 |
Ph.D. |
Enology and |
17 |
4.00 |
researcher |
No |
320 |
40 |
Ph.D. |
biomedical science |
18 |
79 |
Researcher |
No |
310 |
41 |
Ph.D. |
Transportation |
25 |
20 |
Research Scientist |
No |
106 |
42 |
Ph.D. |
technical diving |
4 |
N/A |
Diving Instructor |
Yes |
271 |
43 |
Master |
Petroleum |
4 |
67 |
Petroleum Engineer |
Yes |
291 |
44 |
Master |
intellectual property |
1 |
106 |
Principal engineer |
Yes |
167 |
45 |
Ph.D. |
data science |
6 |
19 |
Research Associate |
No |
76 |
46 |
Ph.D. |
orthopedic surgery |
3 |
N/A |
Chief of Orthopedics |
Yes |
247 |
47 |
Bachelor |
Petroleum |
N/A |
N/A |
Completion |
No |
74 |
48 |
Master |
human resource |
4 |
n/a |
Assistant Professor |
Yes |
217 |
49 |
Master |
Health, Safety, |
n/a |
n/a |
Health, Safety and |
No |
134 |
50 |
Ph.D. |
Biomedical |
25 |
824 |
Senior Scientist |
No |
296 |
51 |
Ph.D. |
Cardiovascular |
24 |
479 |
Instructor |
Yes |
468 |
52 |
Master |
Industrial System |
N/A |
N/A |
Director |
Yes |
413 |
53 |
Ph.D. |
cell biology |
5 |
62 |
Postdoctoral Fellow |
Yes |
426 |
54 |
Ph.D. |
Mechanical |
9 |
N/A |
Co-Chairman |
Yes |
280 |
55 |
Master |
petroleum |
7 |
9 |
petroleum engineer |
No |
133 |
56 |
Master |
Civil Engineering |
N/A |
N/A |
Bridge design engineer |
No |
91 |
57 |
Bachelor |
electronics |
N/A |
N/A |
VP |
No |
90 |
58 |
Ph.D. |
Statistics |
10 |
257 |
Principle Statistician |
No |
135 |
59 |
Ph.D. |
Mathematical |
12 |
310 |
Postdoctoral |
Yes |
368 |
60 |
Master |
Imaging Processing |
1 |
53 |
Imaging Engineer |
No |
303 |
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Former U.S. Consular officer, Attorney Sechyi Laiu joined Zhang & Associates, P.C. on June 26, 2017
At Zhang & Associates, P.C., Attorney Laiu specializes on Consular Processing cases and business development. Attorney Laiu also focuses on TN visas, E visas, CBP administrative proceedings (monetary confiscation, deferred inspection), and overseas financial compliance.
Prior to joining Zhang & Associates, P.C., Attorney Laiu worked for the U.S. Department of State as a Chinese and Portuguese speaking diplomat. As a consular-coned officer who served in Vancouver (Canada), Shenyang (P.R. China), and Rio de Janeiro (Brazil), Attorney Laiu processed over 30,000 visa cases and worked in every section of Consular Affairs overseas (Fraud Prevention Unit, Immigrant Visas, Non-Immigrant Visas, and American Citizen Services).
He will use his experience and expertise to deliver the highest quality of service to our clients.
Founded in 1996, Zhang & Associates, P.C. offers legal services to clients worldwide in all aspects of U.S immigration law. We have successfully handled over ten thousand 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, EB-5, PERM, I-485 I-130, H-1B, O, L and J cases. In the past
twenty-two years, we have successfully helped over ten thousand 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.
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| Tel: | 1-800-230-7040, 713-771-8433 |
| Email: | info@hooyou.com |
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(04/19/2018)