#NIW Petition approved for Researcher Developing Catalysts used in Asymmetric Chemical Reactions

#NIW Petition approved for Researcher Developing Catalysts used in Asymmetric Chemical Reactions

The Immigration Law Group of Getson & Schatz, P.C. successfully represented an Iranian citizen in obtaining approval of a National Interest Waiver (NIW) Petition based on our client’s research accomplishments related to the development of catalysts used in asymmetric chemical reactions.

The AAO decision New York State Department of Transportation established a three part test for determining whether a foreign national’s past record justifies projections of future benefits to the national interest to such an extent that the foreign national should be permitted to avoid the PERM Labor Certification Process.

  1. Employment in an area of “Substantial Intrinsic Merit” – whether the foreign national seeks admission to work in an area related to the general welfare of the United States that is of substantial intrinsic merit. This may be aimed at improving the U.S. economy, improving wages and working conditions, improving education, improving health care, etc. Our client’s work was improving the economy, environment and health care of the United States. Our client was conducting research to develop catalysts that could be used to accelerate asymmetric chemical reactions, allowing them work more efficiently and with less waste. His research had far reaching implications as his development of such catalysts enabled the synthesis of certain chemicals and drugs that would benefit the U.S. economy and healthcare without harming the environment.

 

  1. Foreign National’s benefit will be “National in Scope” – this requirement demands that the foreign national’s work benefit the United States as a whole, not just the locality or region. Scientific researchers typically engage in work with benefits that are “national in scope” as scientific research can improve health care, the economy and/or the environment, and make productive use of natural resources throughout the United States. Our client’s research would be impacting the environment, economy and healthcare of individuals throughout the United States. The advanced level chemical analysis being conducted by our client leads to a safer environment and the development of products used for commercial and medicinal purposes by individuals in all 50 states, therefore meeting the “national in scope” requirement for approval of a NIW petition.

 

  1. Requiring a PERM Labor Certification would adversely affect the National Interest – this requires the foreign national to justify avoiding the PERM Labor Certification process by demonstrating that he or she will serve the national interest to a substantially greater degree than would an available U.S. worker having the same minimum qualifications. A foreign national must submit evidence demonstrating his or her track record of success with some degree of influence on the field as a whole. Our client was nationally and internationally recognized as a scientist with outstanding abilities in the field of asymmetric catalysis related to the development of methodology for chemical and drug synthesis. Our client was above and beyond his peers in the field because of his significant accomplishments in developing asymmetric catalysts.

In support of our client’s NIW petition our attorneys wrote multiple reference letters on behalf of our client discussing the widespread impact and importance of his research accomplishments to the field as a whole and provided guidance on obtaining substantial evidence to demonstrate the importance of our client’s research. USCIS utilizes the preponderance of the evidence standard when adjudicating EB-1A, EB-1B and NIW petitions. Under this standard, the foreign national must submit sufficient relevant, probative and credible evidence to convince USCIS that it is “more like than not” or “probably true” that the foreign national has met the standard of proof for the classification sought, in this case the National Interest Waiver.

Evidence was compiled by our immigration lawyers to demonstrate by a preponderance of the evidence that our client was qualified for approval of a NIW petition. A copy of our client’s Ph.D. Transcript was included with petition, showing he had an advanced degree thereby fulfilling that requirement for NIW approval. In addition, as evidence of our client’s significant contributions to his field, reference letters from unbiased, independent experts and supervisors were included attesting to our client’s original scientific contributions of major impact and importance to the field of asymmetric catalysts related to the development of methodology for chemical and drug synthesis. In further support of our client’s significant contributions to the field, articles authored by our client in top rated international scholarly journals were included with the petition, along with a citation list, conference abstracts, copies of articles discussing our client’s work, and evidence of our client’s peer review activity judging the work of others. These all showed that our client was fully qualified for the benefit sought and showed that our client’s past accomplishments justified a projection of future benefits to the national interest of the United States.

Based on this information our client’s NIW petition was approved, enabling our client to obtain United States Permanent Resident Status to continue conducting research in the field of asymmetric catalysis related to the development of methodology for chemical and drug synthesis.