CASE: Immigrant Visa / National Interest Waiver
CLIENT: Korean
LOCATION: Seoul, South Korea
Our client contacted us about possibly doing a National Interest Waiver self-petition. He is a researcher in South Korea and he is an exceptional scientist in the field of data science research.
Throughout his career, our client’s research showed that decision science can help to find optimal policy alternatives for politics, international affairs, and technology management. His approach, describing government arms deals as an optimal decision process from many perspectives, can directly help us understand the arms deal policy-making process among multiple countries. 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 qualified for the National Interest Waiver (NIW) category. Being qualified for NIW is beneficial since you would not need an employer or family member to petition for you for green card purposes.
Our office prepared a 24-page brief for our client’s NIW filing. Our client also obtained 7 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 contributions to his field of endeavor and that he is well-positioned to advance the proposed endeavor. It would benefit 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 April 9, 2021. On December 2, 2021, the USCIS approved his I-140 petition.
Once his I-140 was approved, our client retained our office again for his and his family members’ immigrant visa processing. Once we were retained, our office filed the immigrant visa packets to the National Visa Center on May 10, 2022, and forwarded the client’s materials to the U.S. Embassy in Seoul, South Korea. An interview notice was set for the client at the U.S. Embassy in Seoul. On October 16, 2023, our client, his wife, and his children appeared at the interview. It went well, and on the same day, the U.S. Embassy in Seoul, South Korea approved and issued his and his family members’ immigrant visas.
With the approved Immigrant visas, our client and his family members can come to the United States immediately, and they will get their green cards within two months of entry.