FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS & ANSWERS

Usually between three and seven months, or within 15 days if you use premium processing (for EB-1).

You can consider applying for NIW first, and EB-1A later when you have more academic accomplishments, or EB-1B later when you obtain employer sponsorship. If you or your spouse were born outside of China/India, you can apply for NIW and get your green card in about the same time frame as the EB-1 application.

We have helped Ph.D. students obtain their greencards, under the categories of EB-1A and NIW, providing they can demonstrate extraordinary ability and they have sufficient and compelling evidence (publications, citations, strong reference letters from prominent individuals in their field, and other evidence) to support their case. Such cases require careful preparation in order to be successful – NWM has considerable experience helping these kind of applicants.

Normally this will not affect your EB-1/NIW application. We have had clients who changed jobs or left the U.S., and received their approvals subsequently. We have also had clients who applied from outside of the U.S. and received approvals.

EB-1 or NIW I-140 is for individuals. Later, you and your spouse can both file I-485 adjustment of status (or, if you are outside of the U.S., file consular processing), based on your approved or pending I-140. We will provide sample documents and instructions including the steps for applying for the I-485.

By virtue of filing EB-1 or NIW I-140, you have indicated your intent to immigrate. There may be a risk in getting new F-1 or J-1 visa, or in transferring to new F-1 or J-1 status. But your current F-1 or J-1 visa status is not affected. If you are in H-1B, O-1, or L-1 visa status, there’s no risk. Your I-140 petition does NOT infer nor mean that your spouse or children intend to immigrate.

Yes you can. NIW petition means that the labor certificate SHOULD BE WAIVED; it does not mean that you cannot apply for the labor certificate (PERM). In addition, there are situations in which you can use NIW to obtain/maintain an earlier priority date, or change job without affecting your pending green card.

If you were born in China or India, no. You still need to maintain a valid visa status such as H-1B or O-1. However, with NIW approval, your spouse holding H-4 visa can apply EAD and work for any employer.

With NIW approval, your H-1B can extend beyond six years and your spouse holding a H-4 visa can apply for EAD (Employment Authorization Document) and then work for any employer. A number of applicants who majored in computer science, accounting, or other fields have to apply for PERM and endure the same kind of waiting. NIW is more flexible and allows you to change jobs. EB-1 is getting more difficult - if you wait a number of years and then apply for EB-1 and are denied, you have nothing on hand. In the meantime, if you apply for NIW, you have a backup.

Yes, you can do so holding any of these visa designations.

Take a look at our comprehensive overview of NIW and how you can qualify under the current requirements (click here). In short, in a precedent setting case (Matter of Dhanasar, 26 I&N Dec. 884 (AAO 2016) – click here), USCIS vacated Matter of New York State Department of Transportation (22 I&N Dec. 215 (Acting Assoc. Comm’r 1998) and adopted a new standard for evaluating and deciding on NIW cases.

Under the new framework, and once EB-2 eligibility has been established (individuals holding an advanced degree or equivalent, or exceptional ability in the arts, science, or business and will substantially benefit the U.S. economy, culture, education, or welfare), USCIS may grant an NIW if the petitioner demonstrates with sufficient evidence that: (1) the foreign national’s proposed endeavor has both substantial merit and national importance; (2) the foreign national is well positioned to advance the proposed endeavor; and (3) on balance, it would be beneficial to the United States to waive the requirements of a job offer and therefore of a labor certification.

We recommend that you use Google Scholar primarily (see sample at Google Scholar - Mangmang Cai ), and any additional sources you believe will be effective in listing your citations.

To enhance and further support your petition, we need additional information, including which journals/conferences published and cited your papers and your academic background. Please send a copy of your CV including such information and any additional indication in your CV that substantiates your research or other achievements.

The draft recommendation letters can be ready within two weeks of receiving your information, and the petition letter can be ready two weeks after receiving the signed recommendation letters. If you can get the recommendation letters signed promptly and collect your supporting materials (see Step 3 below and we will provide detailed instructions on request), the application can be submitted within two to three months from the start.

Yes. This is usually done after we start the preparation process. Please send more information such as media reports, highlights, awards, evidence of grant awards, patents or other evidence of IP, etc.

We work closely with all clients to provide extensive support throughout the entire application process. All cases are case-by-case and depend significantly on the specifics of your background.

If you do not meet the requirements for EB-1A, you can consider applying for NIW first, or EB-1B if you have employer sponsorship. Alternatively, if you do not meet the requirements for EB-1A and/or NIW, you can contact us at some future juncture when you have more publications and citations.

For example, in your Bank of America online banking, please click "Bill Pay", choose “Bill Pay Center”, select “Add a new Pay To account,” (the account number is 435022494201) and add New Weiming Law Group as payee, with the address below:

New Weiming Law Group
7925 Jones Branch Drive
Suite 5150
McClean, VA 22102

The bank will mail a check. You can also use Chase Quickpay or other methods, or wire the payment if you live abroad. We do not accept credit cards.

Your travel outside of the United States will not affect your application. You should have no problem providing you have a current visa (i.e., H-1B or other) that will permit you to travel outside the U.S. and return. Petitioner’s affected by the current and temporary travel ban issued by the current Administration should review current rules carefully before traveling abroad.

USCIS issues a request for evidence (RFE) when the application lacks required evidence from the petitioner. An RFE does not mean that denial of an application is likely or inevitable – it does mean that you must provide the requested evidence within the timeframe indicated on the RFE notice. Otherwise, USCIS may determine that the petitioner has decided not to pursue the case – in these cases, USCIS may issue a denial.

One of the most common reasons USCIS officers request additional evidence is based on their view that the petition does not provide sufficient evidence of the major significance or contribution of the petitioner’s research or work. Responding to these and other issues expressed by USCIS in an RFE notice requires a carefully prepared RFE cover letter and package of response.

NWM is the industry’s best resource to deal with the complexities of RFEs and how best to respond to them. We pride ourselves on helping clients to work through these occasional “bumps” in the road to a successful petition. First and foremost, we do our very best to prepare a petition that will not incur an RFE. If one is incurred, we prepare supporting materials to respond at no additional charge.

The Premium Processing Service provides expedited processing for certain employment-based petitions and applications (not NIW). Specifically, USCIS guarantees 15 calendar day processing to those petitioners or applicants who choose to use this service or USCIS will refund the Premium Processing Service fee. If the fee is refunded, the relating case will continue to receive expedited processing.

The 15-calendar day period will begin when USCIS receives the current version of Form I-907, Request for Premium Processing Service, at the correct filing address noted on the form. USCIS will issue an approval notice, a denial notice, a notice of intent to deny, a request for evidence or open an investigation for fraud or misrepresentation within the 15-calendar day period. If the petition or application requires the submission of additional evidence or a response to a notice of intent to deny, a new 15 calendar day period will begin upon receipt by USCIS of a complete response to the request for evidence or notice of intent to deny.

Deciding whether Premium Processing is right for you can be challenging and we carefully review the options and alternatives with clients in these cases. Generally, clients must have an especially strong case to be approved with Premium Processing. Again, NWM evaluates each case based on its own merits.

A video tutorial for using Dropbox is available on Youtube, or we can make other methods avaliable.

We urge all of our clients to send their questions or comments via email, which are easier to understand, respond to and save as part of your overall file.