CASE: I-485 / National Interest Waiver
CLIENT: Korean
LOCATION: Wood Ridge, NJ
Our client contacted us about the possibility of doing a National Interest Waiver self-petition. He is a researcher from South Korea and he is an exceptional researcher and scientist in the field of sustainable real estate and urban planning research.
Our client’s significant contributions have placed him at the pinnacle of his field. Our client has made substantial contributions in his research area, which uniquely qualifies him as an outstanding scholar who also contributes to the sustainable urban planning sector in the U.S. His research publications have been focused on sustainability in real estate and his research addressed the topic of green buildings from the urban planning perspective and filled the research gap by providing empirical evidence of the relationship between the diffusion of green-certified buildings and regional economies Because of his innovative research, our client’s research works were highly evaluated by the 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 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 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 24-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 Nebraska Service Center on December 16, 2021. Eventually, on September 30, 2022, the USCIS approved his I-140 petition without any Requests for Evidence.
When we filed his I-140, he concurrently filed his I-485 adjustment of status application. Everything went smoothly and the receipt notices and fingerprint appointment came on time. On October 3, 2023, the USCIS approved our client’s adjustment of status application. Now he becomes a green card holder.