My EB2-NIW RFE Letter!

congratulations! Jerist. I'm sure your 485 will get approved much quicker.

btw, to all NIW folks, this may be a dumb question but an attorney told me that even though one falls under NSC jurisdiction one can file under NIW in TSC (i was asking abt quicker processing times). Anyone have any experience? If someone does send to a wrong center intentionally, does USCIS process it, reject it or do they just forward it to NSC with the same priority date?
 
It will get forwarded except if you live outside the US and don't file for I-485. In that case you should be allowed to pick your service center.
 
jk0274,

No I did not receive any request for new FP. I think USCIS will use the old FPs per some new regulations.
 
shankyyy said:
btw, to all NIW folks, this may be a dumb question but an attorney told me that even though one falls under NSC jurisdiction one can file under NIW in TSC (i was asking abt quicker processing times). Anyone have any experience? If someone does send to a wrong center intentionally, does USCIS process it, reject it or do they just forward it to NSC with the same priority date?
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According to the direct filing bulletin from USCIS:

"Beginning on or after August 29, 2007, USCIS will reject any of the forms listed above that are filed with the incorrect filing location. Those rejected and returned forms will include the fee and instructions for proper filing."
 
Here is my RFE wording, need your help

Friends,
Here is my RFE wording, it is very similar to JerIst ‘s RFE except mine addresses less issues than JerIst ‘s
Based on our previous discussion over meeting requirements of three NIW prongs vs. exceptional ability prongs, where do you see my case fitting?
Please advise me on how to coordinate with my attorney to reorganize my case and reply to this RFE. I did not speak to my attorney yet. I will call him to today. I have no enough time. They only gave me until May 23, 2008 to respond even though the RFE was issued on April 11 2008 but I only got it from my attorney today April 21 2008, does that make sense? Maybe because my current H1B visa expires on June 14th, I don’t know?

My RFE “The Service believes that further clarification on the following issue(s) is necessary.

Issue #1
Additional evidence is requested to assist the Service evaluate eligibility for a national interest waiver pursuant to the tests established in Matter of New York State Dept of Transportation, 22 I&N Dec. 215 (Comm. 1998).
(Please note: the evidence already submitted demonstrates that the proposed employment has substantial
intrinsic merit and is in national scope.)

1. Please submit evidence that establishes you have a past record of specific prior achievement that justifies projections of future benefit to the national interest. You must establish, in some capacity, your ability to serve the national interest to a substantially greater extent than the majority ofyour colleagues. You must demonstrate to some degree your influence on your field of employment as a whole.

2. Please submit any available additional documentary evidence that, as of the petition priority date, you had a degree of influence on your field that distinguishes you from other researchers/scientists with comparable academic/professional qualifications. The evidence may include, for example, copies of additional published articles that cite or otherwise recognize your research achievements. Similarly, evidence of official recognition conferred on you by governmental entities or professional organizations may also be submitted. Please highlight the portion of the paper that references your work and highlight your name in the bibliography or "works cited" section. It is not necessary to submit articles that are self-referencing; i.e. written by you or your collaborators.
 
nscagony said:
How many and what kind of letters of rec did you submit, and what about publications and citations?
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Hi nscagony,
I know my case is NOT one of the strong cases in the market but when I submitted I though things were more easier: here is my case: I submitted 8 strong recommendation letters one of them from industry and seven from academia. I had only one peer reviewed published paper at the time of submitting and one was in review (now the one in review is published in a peer reviewed journal with good reputation published after submitting case) so total now two. I have two articles in progress that were mentioned in petition. I have more that 11 abstracts one of them as keynote speaker and anew one (no 12) after submitting case. I did not run citation search but I found by chance one in an article published in the International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health by a scientist from U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) in 2006 (which meets the requirement of AS OF THE PETITION PRIORITY DATE) where he cited one of my abstract published in one of the Geological Society of America’s conferences. I will run citation search soon. In addition I have many memeberships in professional organizations, etc.
 
I think they sent you the RFE for the same reason JerIst was hit with one: lack of list of citations. That seems to be an important criteria for them. 2 papers is really extremely low. You have to show that you have influenced your field significantly. With 2 papers thats pretty difficult to prove. You can try treating your abstracts and talks as "publications". I doubt the robots at USCIS can tell the difference. But explaining why you have no citations will still be very difficult. Did you use a lawyer? What die s/he say?
 
Yikes! This may be a tough one, but think of ways to prove that your work has influenced your field beyond just citations. It goes without saying that more letters that specifically address this matter are vital. Other pieces of evidence will need some creativity: how did that paper (the 2nd may not count since it was published after, depending on how cruel the officer is) help others with their own research (can you contact the person that cited you and ask if they know others who are using your research too?)... In your meetings, did you meet people who you can now follow up with? etc etc... yes, as nscagony says it will be interesting to hear your lawyer's ideas!
 
Unfortunately my layer is not giving me any insight. He is the weakest ring in the chain. He even asked me to write the cover letter of the RFE reply. I sent him an email asking him to discuss with me the RFE prong by prong but he rarely replied to my email and when he replied his ideas were not very helpful. He just said “send more documents” without specifying what kind of documents he’s talking about. I think I am getting more insight from good people like you than getting anything from him.
 
Anafiz - do you have an underlying status? Separately, are you able to hire another lawyer? This one doesn't seem to be much help at all....

One thing to keep in mind is to strongly and convincingly reiterate the evidence already submitted the first time!
 
Well to be honest with you maybe a good lawyer would have recommended that you wait with your case until you have more publications. I think jk0274 is right. Get a new lawyer. Maybe your case can be saved, but you definitively need professional help for that. I was amazed when I saw the final I-140 package my lawyer compiled. I did learn a lot here, but a good lawyer is hard to replace. They simply have a ton of experience. Most of us know about our own case only.
 
nscagony and jk0274,
It is too late to change the lawyer. I have until May 23 to respond to my RFE. I need help with a reply-to-RFE Cover Letter. I wish someone can send my a copy of his/her. I hope JerIst is still around to send me his RFE reply Cover Letter. I am tired of writing a new one. JerIst, are you still there?
 
Hi guys, I see you are all somehow involved in EB 1 or EB2. I have self-petitioned for EB 1 and got a request for additional evidence. Initially I didn't hire a lawyer but at this point I want to. I have contacted a couple of them and one of them told me it's better to file an EB 2 NIW and motion to withdraw the initial EB 1 without prejudice. I'm not sure if this is the best thing to do. Please if you know a good lawyer in this field post the website or other contacts. I'd like to get a few opinions on this before I proceed.
Also, does anyone know whether you can ask an extension on RFE? thanks!
 
There is no harm in getting a I-140 denial. Don't withdraw it. Try your best to respond to the RFE and file a NIW in parallel. A denial is always without prejudice and won't affect future petitions as long its not fraud or something.
 
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