Need help for EB1OR RFE

[dnastar]

Hi Folks.

I was wondering maybe someone can suggest me their views on my RFE. I got from NSC today for EB1OR after upgrade to PP on Oct 20th. I originally filed concurrent application in Sep 06.

I didnt expect an RFE, since I felt I satisified the criteria for EB1OR. The petition was filed by my institution. I am a faculty member in a top 10 medical school in the country. PhD from Tier 1 school in biomedical sciences. Double masters, 2.5 yr post doc. Have 7 strong publications, 1 patent and few awards, citations etc etc and presented 9 strong letters. However since it was not done by the lawyer and the institution, I looked at the covering letter (only now!!) and felt it had big holes in it. In anycase please look at the below RFE and suggest your opinions.

This is the attachment part of the RFE

Immigrant visas maybe be granted to outstanding professors or researchers. In order to gain a visa under this classification, a petiontioner must demonstrate that the beneficiary is a professor or researcher who is outstanding in an academic field.

The Acting Director has reviewed your petition and the supporting documentation which accompained it upon initial submission. The evidence as initially submitted is insufficient to warrant approval. Please now submit additional documentary evidence which will demonstrate that the alien beneficary meets the above criterion.

In this case, evidence of the following types might be particularly helpful:

1. Evidence of major prizes or awards which the beneficiary has won OR

2. Evidence that the beneficiarys work has attracted significant interest from academic institutions, from government or from industry in the form of research grants or funding awards OR

3. Articles or excerpts from trade publications, journals, or magazines in which the beneficiary achievements are commented on by his peers or equivalemt articles published in any medium in which the beneficiary is mentioned by name.

You may also choose to submit any other evidence which you feel maybe be relevant to documenting the beneficiarys eligibility for this classification. To see a complete list of the evidentiary requirements under this classification, please refer to Title VIII, code of federal regulations, Part 204.5(i)

Is this usual RFE or is it uncommon. I felt I had already submitted most of what they asked, except not in detail about my citations and reviews. In anycase I am planning to go to a good lawyer. Should have done that in the first place!!

Thanks everyone for your help. I am hoping my next post would be my I-140 approval.

 

[Freemann]

Couple of suggestions

dnastar,

The RFE you received is general and I think you would be fine if you give USCIS a well-organized reply.

(a) Regarding funding records: If you have obtained funding from external sources like NIH, NSF, American Cancer Society or if you have accepted an award like "unrestricted research grant" from a top 500 company, you would need to detail these awards. In your description, you must say not only the amount of the money you received, but also how hard to get the funding. For example, you would need to say "only 20% of the proposals submitted to NIH were granted in the fiscal year 2005. Please see the NIH official report attached".

(b) For citations: Tell USCIS a total number of citations along with a full list of journals that cite your work. And also get some (5 or 6) more letters from people you have never worked with, but like to say good things about your work.

(c) You have one patent: Is it registered? If it is, is the patent being used by doctors and nurses around the nation and the globe to treat some type of disease? If so, you need to get some letters from those doctors that benefit from the drugs/technology described in your patent.

Please collect more opinions from people in this forum and also talk with a competent lawyer. You would be fine as your user name says it all: DnaStar(Professor). Best luck!

 

[eb1or]

Very specific RFE. Please send only ONE very strong out of the 3 requested or send all 3 substantial evidence:
1) Very strong international award in your research field
2) Research grant based on your research which has international significance (i.e. beyond the institutions you worked for)
3) Research papers published in journals with international circulation mentioning about your research work

I presume any ONE of the above will suffice.

Do not send anything else other than requested because you will get denial.