EB2-NIW approved- self application, No RFE

H

HelpingHand

Registered Users (C)
Just to let every one know that my I-140 EB2/NIW is approved (Texas Service Center). There was no RFE. I got a lot of help from this forum- special thanks to ChrisV.


  • Ph.D. (non-US) with 10 international journal papers, ~15 conference publications
  • about 50+ citations (first author citations alone ~ 20)
  • 8 letters (all within loop, no `international'- except from Ph.D. supervisor from my home country)

I prepared everything myself. My receipt date is Dec 2007. So, it is about 16 months for the approval. Interestingly, there was no `Last Update Date' from USCIS. There was absolutely no indication except this letter in mail. I had called USCIS two weeks before to find out the status, and they told me they are putting a service request- that must have speeded up things.

All the best for others who are still waiting .....


--HH
 
Hi

Hi Helping hand,
I would like to start my GC process (EB1-EA or EB2-NIW) on my own, and would appreciate any help on how to go about doing it. I want to first find out the forms and fill it out. But i could not find the forms anywhere. Can you please point me out in the right direction. Post reply here or send and email to me. Thanks
Sulpha
 
sulpha said:
Hi Helping hand,
I would like to start my GC process (EB1-EA or EB2-NIW) on my own, and would appreciate any help on how to go about doing it. I want to first find out the forms and fill it out. But i could not find the forms anywhere. Can you please point me out in the right direction. Post reply here or send and email to me. Thanks
Sulpha
Click to expand...

As a starting point, you may want to read about EB1-EA/EB2-NIW at this site. That will give you an idea of what forms you would need. USCIS website has the forms.
 
Thanks man. I really appreciate your help.

I am planning to apply for the EB1 category. Here are my details. I am planning to get the reco letters from various people first, since that is the one which might take a long time. Can you give me some ideas as to what should go in the reco letter. I already have some guidelines (say use color letterhead of their univ/company, subject of letter to be recommendation for EB1 category, some keywords like excellent, innovative, intelligent etc, and the obvious that I am great and going to be the greatest) that I am going to give the recommenders regarding what should definitely be there in the recommendation letters. If you have anymore guidelines for the recoletters, please let me know. I have given my details below. Hopefully I can apply in the EB1-EA category. Let me know what you think, from your experience, as to if i stand a chance in EB1-EA.

//////////////
BE - India Ceramics 2000
MS- USA Materials Science 2002
PhD- USA Materials Science 2006
Post-doc Fellow at University for 6 months
Currently working for the past 2yrs as a post doc at Argonne National Labs in a DOE (Department of Energy) project for energy systems. Working for future energy needs kind of project.

Have 10 journal papers (5 - first author, 1 - second author, 4 - 3rd author) Since most of the papers are recent ones(in the past 2yrs) there are no citations for it as of now. But my oldest paper has 30citations

Have written two invited book chapters (1- first, 1- second) in 2008-2009.( no citations yet)

Have 1 patent issued, 1 provisional patent issued, 1 patent submitted, and 1 invention disclosure (total of 2 citations for the issued patent)

Numerous first, second and third authored presentations at professional meetings.

Member of couple of professional societies

Have been invited to be a refree for journal papers

Recommendation letters should not be a problem. can get the necessary ones from professors, dept heads, manager and colleagues

Please let me know if you think that i stand any decent chance in the EB1 category and self sponsoring m GC.
Thanks
Sulpha
 
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sulpha said:
Thanks man. I really appreciate your help.

I am planning to apply for the EB1 category. Here are my details. I am planning to get the reco letters from various people first, since that is the one which might take a long time. Can you give me some ideas as to what should go in the reco letter. I already have some guidelines (say use color letterhead of their univ/company, subject of letter to be recommendation for EB1 category, some keywords like excellent, innovative, intelligent etc, and the obvious that I am great and going to be the greatest) that I am going to give the recommenders regarding what should definitely be there in the recommendation letters. If you have anymore guidelines for the recoletters, please let me know. I have given my details below. Hopefully I can apply in the EB1-EA category. Let me know what you think, from your experience, as to if i stand a chance in EB1-EA.

//////////////
BE - India Ceramics 2000
MS- USA Materials Science 2002
PhD- USA Materials Science 2006
Post-doc Fellow at University for 6 months
Currently working for the past 2yrs as a post doc at Argonne National Labs in a DOE (Department of Energy) project for energy systems. Working for future energy needs kind of project.

Have 10 journal papers (5 - first author, 1 - second author, 4 - 3rd author) Since most of the papers are recent ones(in the past 2yrs) there are no citations for it as of now. But my oldest paper has 30citations

Have written two invited book chapters (1- first, 1- second) in 2008-2009.( no citations yet)

Have 1 patent issued, 1 provisional patent issued, 1 patent submitted, and 1 invention disclosure (total of 2 citations for the issued patent)

Numerous first, second and third authored presentations at professional meetings.

Member of couple of professional societies

Have been invited to be a refree for journal papers

Recommendation letters should not be a problem. can get the necessary ones from professors, dept heads, manager and colleagues

Please let me know if you think that i stand any decent chance in the EB1 category and self sponsoring m GC.
Thanks
Sulpha
Click to expand...

There are many people in this forum who are much more experienced than me. However, in my opinion, I do feel that you can get through with EB1-EA- if well presented.

I have a feeling that you should read about EB1-EA thoroughly before even asking reco. letters. It is not just the key words in the letter that matters- the `overall presentation' about your works/achievement in the reco. letters is what really matter.
 
Hi HelpingHand,

I am also putting together my self-application for EB1A and NIW. I have prepared the drafts of all the ref letters, but I want to get an idea of how the petition letter is written. I have been reading up several denied cases on the USCIS website to get some clues as to what they look for. Could you shed some light on how your petition letter was structured?

Also, did you have to send your application to TSC (because of the state you reside in) or could you have sent it to NSC as well? I am asking because I am from CA, but I would like to send my app to TSC although the USCIS website says I need to send it to NSC? Could I do that?

Thanks
 
cherrypick said:
Hi HelpingHand,

I am also putting together my self-application for EB1A and NIW. I have prepared the drafts of all the ref letters, but I want to get an idea of how the petition letter is written. I have been reading up several denied cases on the USCIS website to get some clues as to what they look for. Could you shed some light on how your petition letter was structured?

Also, did you have to send your application to TSC (because of the state you reside in) or could you have sent it to NSC as well? I am asking because I am from CA, but I would like to send my app to TSC although the USCIS website says I need to send it to NSC? Could I do that?

Thanks
Click to expand...
Make sure that each of the reference letters you draft has `different sytle' (it is very hard). It is very hard to write 7-8 letters in different styles. That is why most of the time lawyers suggest let letter writers draft the first version and the lawyer corrects them. In my case, I drafted most of them (except two) and then sent to the referees. We together reworked on it and the final version was sent to USCIS.

As per the petition letter for EB2/NIW- make sure that you address all the three (four) points required for the NIW.

--HH
 
Hi HelpingHand,

Congratulations on your approval! I am planning to apply my I-140 EB2/NIW. You mentioned no RFE may I know what it means. I am a newbie and still reading about I-140 EB2/NIW.

Will you let me know my chances based on the following details below..

I have Masters in Public Health (from US University)
Work for State Health Department
2 Journal Publication
Many Conference Abstract (Numerous)
Many Annual Report (First Author for the State Health)
Can get up to 6-8 recommendation letters

Also, a specific question regarding recommendation letter - Do all the recommendation letter needs to be strong.. I have only two employer for whom i have worked for considerable amount of time and expect to get strong recommendation letter. And one from my master's advisor can be also very strong. Others are basically school based recommendation letter (like professors i have known and taken classes from) and they have no clue about my work experience.. Will a weak letter jeopardize my chance?
What do you think about my chances?

Thanks

--AS
 
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Hi Helping Hand,

Also, how long does it take for approval to come through from the date of application.. I know it may vary case to case but do you know a typical time taken for EB2/NIW case...

Thanks,

AS
 
HelpingHand said:
Make sure that each of the reference letters you draft has `different sytle' (it is very hard). It is very hard to write 7-8 letters in different styles. That is why most of the time lawyers suggest let letter writers draft the first version and the lawyer corrects them. In my case, I drafted most of them (except two) and then sent to the referees. We together reworked on it and the final version was sent to USCIS.

As per the petition letter for EB2/NIW- make sure that you address all the three (four) points required for the NIW.

--HH
Click to expand...

Hi HelpingHand,

Another quick query. How long were your reference letters (nominal length with say Times New Roman 12pt)? And I guess you summarize the main points and "keywords" of these letters in your petition letter...right?
 
arunasenthil said:
Hi HelpingHand,

Congratulations on your approval! I am planning to apply my I-140 EB2/NIW. You mentioned no RFE may I know what it means. I am a newbie and still reading about I-140 EB2/NIW.

Will you let me know my chances based on the following details below..

I have Masters in Public Health (from US University)
Work for State Health Department
2 Journal Publication
Many Conference Abstract (Numerous)
Many Annual Report (First Author for the State Health)
Can get up to 6-8 recommendation letters

Also, a specific question regarding recommendation letter - Do all the recommendation letter needs to be strong.. I have only two employer for whom i have worked for considerable amount of time and expect to get strong recommendation letter. And one from my master's advisor can be also very strong. Others are basically school based recommendation letter (like professors i have known and taken classes from) and they have no clue about my work experience.. Will a weak letter jeopardize my chance?
What do you think about my chances?

Thanks

--AS
Click to expand...

It seems to be hard with those credentials. If you have 20+ citations on your paper(s), it would be easier.

However, don't be discouraged. Many times presentation (`marketing') can change things a lot. That is where you would need an experienced lawyer.
 
cherrypick said:
Hi HelpingHand,

Another quick query. How long were your reference letters (nominal length with say Times New Roman 12pt)? And I guess you summarize the main points and "keywords" of these letters in your petition letter...right?
Click to expand...

My letters were 2-3 pages. You would need to quote from those letters when appropriate. Also, towards the end of the letter, you would need to summarize the main points. That is what I did.


--HH
 
Thank you HelpingHand for your encouraging words...

I will apply in a month or two.. I will keep you guys posted about the progress... Hope it will help somebody aspiring for GC...

Hoping for a lots of good luck..

--AS
 
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HelpingHand said:
My letters were 2-3 pages. You would need to quote from those letters when appropriate. Also, towards the end of the letter, you would need to summarize the main points. That is what I did.


--HH
Click to expand...

Hi HelpingHand,

I have worked in 2 areas that are of National Importance.

I have a Masters in Software Engineering (from Indian University)
Have worked in the 2 very critical areas of National Interest
1. Secure Identity Solutions using Biometrics that are used by various states of the US and also by the Law Enforcement Personal.
2. Utilities - Energy Management System that ties to the National Electric Grid and also on other work in the Renewable Energy Area and SmartGrid.
Can get up to 6-8 recommendation letters

I have membership in professional organizations. However, I do not have any publications. And currently I am working in the field of education in a University.

Please let me know your view whether I could make a strong enough case for NIW based on my past experience.
 
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