Confused about NIW

C

comatose

Registered Users (C)
I’m very confused as to whether I even qualify in my NIW application. I am applying from VSC. Here’s my credentials:

Recent Ph.D. from a small University

Currently postdoc at a small University working for an Assistant Professor

Working with laser, used mostly in medical technology and remote sensing – could be potentially used for defense.

8 publications in total – a few (but not most) in leading journals, 4 first authors; might have some citations.

No major prizes

No special memberships

Attended some conferences, presented posters but no talks

Will get 6-8 excellent letters to show my diverse background; however, none will be from government labs or high profile places.

The place where I’m currently doing my postdoc on my OPT will not process my H1. hence, the one positive thing I find my concurrent 140/485 application will do for me is give me 2-3 years time to work on my EAD and to find better, more suitable jobs.

All in all, I’m doubtful if my NIW is going to click. My University will not sponsor me for EB-OR. However, my lawyer promises I make a good case for NIWwith the above credentials and that they have had very good success rate in that – no statistics they’re willing to share on that though. He’s charging me $7000 (+ INS fees) for his services, and even though I am totally unconvinced, he’s trying hard to boost my confidence. Meanwhile, I’m not sure what I should do. Do you think I should trust my lawyer? If even there's a fair chance this will click, I'll go for it. Is there any drawback (other than financial) if I try and fail in this?

There are some excellent voices here on the NIW board. Someone: help, please! Which is better, NIW or maybe plain EB-OR? Thanks in advance.
 
could you turn pm on

I can help you with some experiences that i gained from this forum/colleague's work.
personally i feel that the fees are a bit stiff.
Thanks
 
comatose

You can not apply for EB1-OR if your university doesn't sponsor it. Besides, EB1-OR requires a permanent job offer which I guess you have some difficulties to get from your current employer.

NIW is a good option for you but your lawyer charges too much. Look for a good lawyer with a resonable price.

It's risky to use EAD before your I-140 approval. You would be out of status if I-140/I-485 gets denied later.

Good luck!
 
mimihu

thanks for your comments. frankly, i'm a bit surprised myself that people think that i'd have a good chance for NIW. didn't think so myself. may be i'll just trust my lawyer.

btw, if 140 gets denied, can't i immediately switch to H1 then? what if i work on EAD for 2 years until my 140 is adjudicated, and switch to H1 even before it gets denied (IF it does get denied, that is).
 
thanks, ag, for your advice. in the next several days, i'll give it some thought and decide what would be best at this time.

thanks again.
 
A good lawyer should be able to make a case for NIW given your area of specialties and combined with 6-8 strong letters.

It may be more difficult to present a case for EB1-OR as this requires a permanent job offer and you do not seem to have concrete documentary evidences to fulfill the requirements, besides having a PHD and published papers.

The quoted fees almost double the average fees charged by most lawyers for such petition.
 
Nathan Waxman

Thanks for all your suggestions. I also found Nathan Waxman of New York. He says he specializes in specifically NIW category. Does anyone know his success rate, or if he's good at this?

He himself says he has a 100% rate of success - is that true?
 
that's his URL:
http://www.waxlaw.com
says he's the best in NYC... best, that is, who specializing specifically in NIW cases with close to 100% success. i'm having my doubts, though. i'll probably go with Mr. Khanna or Ms. Murthy who i could trust more...
 
Used Waxman

I used Nathan Waxman for my NIW. He came recommended from people who really could have afforded to go to any attorney in the country.

Nathan seems to have a pretty solid reputation for NIW. He does a lot of academic writing on it. I think he maintains his high success rate by (1) reputation; and (2) not accepting cases he doubts will be successful.

Now, having said that, I have never encountered an immigration lawyer who offered what I would regard as 'full service.' I had to be very proactive, wrote/guided all my (12) letters etc etc ... and in the end, there was nothing in the application that I couldn't have done myself. I thought the NIW submission would be more comprehensive and, dare I say it, professional. BUt Nathan seems to know what he is doing.

The reason I chose to pay the $6000 was predominantly for the reputation ... if you go with one of the higher profile NIW lawyers, like Nathan, I think just the name helps when your application hits the officer's desk. I think they feel that certain lawyers only take meritorious cases, and so when they see that the application comes from the Waxman office, they are positively predisposed.

So, no matter who you use, don't expect that you can be 'hands off.' Almost by definition, you have to get very involved in the preparation of your NIW case. And your calls and e-mails won't always be returned, and the paralegals will occasionally make mistakes (read all your forms closely).

But I would recommend Nathan adn his wife Karen. They obviously have an excellent reputation, they are certainly very nice people, and I think he cares about his reputation for meritorious cases ... so if he takes you on, it's a good sign you will be OK!

Good luck!
 
comatose said:
Thanks for all your suggestions. I also found Nathan Waxman of New York. He says he specializes in specifically NIW category. Does anyone know his success rate, or if he's good at this?

He himself says he has a 100% rate of success - is that true?
Click to expand...

also ask him the approximate total # of cases he did. 1/1=100% too.
 
Lao-Yi said:
I am wondering why you guys prefer to hire a lawyer instead of doing it by yourself.

Lao-Yi
Click to expand...

lawyers do their job we do ours. if we also do lawyer's job besides our own job, then lawyers will lose
their jobs. very simple. if we all cook for ourselves, which we could, cooks and waiters will lose their jobs.
 
I agree. Lawyers absolutely do a better job than lay people. My lawyer sent a case for me that was 600 pages long. I don't know how he put that up because I don't think I can write 600 pages of material if I were to write my own life story! (I hope 600 pages of materials wont contribute too much to the backlog). He asked if I wanted to look at it and I said no. (Face it, everyone is stupid about something, and we are stupid about immigration law. So why not trust the lawyers on it and do what they suggest?)

I know people who got their I140s denied after they filed for themselves, and then got them approved after they asked lawyers to file.
 
Last edited by a moderator:
eaglejoeli said:
I agree. Lawyers absolutely do a better job than lay people. My lawyer sent a case for me that was 600 pages long. I don't know how he put that up because I don't think I can write 600 pages of material if I were to write my own life story! (I hope 600 pages of materials wont contribute too much to the backlog). He asked if I wanted to look at it and I said no. (Face it, everyone is stupid about something, and we are stupid about immigration law. So why not trust the lawyers on it and do what they suggest?)

I know people who got their I140s denied after they filed for themselves, and then got them approved after they asked lawyers to file.
Click to expand...

600 pages??? now i know why the niw processing dates never moved forward
:) :) :)
 
To eaglejoeli:

Do you mind telling me who your lawyer is? You can send me private message. Thanks.

Bystander6
 
How come you guys trust lawyers so much!
In my friend's circle, about 10 handled NIW or EB1 themselves and all got approved without RFE (after 911). In addtion, three of my other friends went through lawyers and got RFE or rejected, and the experience with lawyers were very unpleasant.
600 pgs material doesn't suprise me either. I'm preparing mine, and i already have moren than 400 pages. (i honestly don't think it's wise to sent all of these out. I'll make the whole package within 250 pages.) All your supporting material will count a lot. (papers, patents, expert's resumes) However, the pettion letter should be no more than 20 pages if possible. No INS officer would give a damn to your supporting material, anyway.
 
niw seeker said:
How come you guys trust lawyers so much!
In my friend's circle, about 10 handled NIW or EB1 themselves and all got approved without RFE (after 911). In addtion, three of my other friends went through lawyers and got RFE or rejected, and the experience with lawyers were very unpleasant.
600 pgs material doesn't suprise me either. I'm preparing mine, and i already have moren than 400 pages. (i honestly don't think it's wise to sent all of these out. I'll make the whole package within 250 pages.) All your supporting material will count a lot. (papers, patents, expert's resumes) However, the pettion letter should be no more than 20 pages if possible. No INS officer would give a damn to your supporting material, anyway.
Click to expand...

I think the mind set of preparing NIW or EB-1 case should be like preparing for disseartation or a legal case. Most of the candidates seeking NIW or EB-1 are master degree or Ph.D degree holders. We all know that writing up a disseartation need argument and proof. If we follow this rule, then self-preparation for NIW or EB-1 case is achievable.

What a lawyer can provide are two things - legal consultation and proof reading. Don't expect the lawyer will write up for you. So actually we do about 90% of work and the lawyer do the rest of 10%.

So if we are diligent enough, read all the related materials from this forum and web sites about NIW and EB-1, we can get very close to what a lawyer can tell you.

After that, the most important thing is how to write up. Even if you have a lawyer, you still need to write up by yourself. There are some basic rules how to write a good legal argument letter. For example, every argument needs evidence to support.

No matter what, you will still need to do about 90% of all the work. We all know the grueling process of writing up a disseartation. It is pretty much like that.

Besides, the lawyer's interest is not alway the same as ours.

Hopefully this can help you to choose between hiring a lawyer or doing it by yourself.
 
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