Hello all,
The threads in this forum have been very helpful during my application process. Hence, I wanted to put in a timeline regarding my EB1 petition for the benefit of other newbies like me. I will update this thread as my application moves along.
Background info.
- PhD from a top 10 Public university in the mid-west
- Employed as a materials research scientist with a Fortune 500 company in upstate NY, for >3 yrs., immediately following graduation
- Have 5 granted patents, 7 pending patents
- Not a whole lot of publications and citations (~50 or so), due to company IP policy
- Did work on several NSF, DOE funded projects in graduate school; Attended conferences, etc., all the usual grad. student stuff
- ~10 testimonial letters, but did not use all of them (retained 3 just for an eventuality like RFE). One from thesis advisor, and a couple from collaborators, one from an unknown contact, rest from people I have met at conferences, etc.
- Company lawyers handled all the details. I only wrote the testimonial letter drafts and collated all the citations, etc.
Timeline:
(1) I140
- Receipt date 10/11/2016; Premium processing @ Nebraska service center
- Approved 10/19/2016
(2) I485
- Receipt date 10/10/2016
- Biometrics appointment: 10/26/2016
A few comments/suggestions:
(i) Did not know anything about the process, testimonial letters, etc. Lawyers handled all of it. But looking back, and reading the various case information on the USCIS website, would not have emphasized my familiarity with the testimonial letters as much.
(ii) It may be better to strengthen the proof for just 2 or 3 criteria (since it is EB1b they need only two criteria) rather than try to show that I meet more criteria. For e.g., the lawyers did not use my citations under the criteria that my work was written about in professional journals. Instead they used them to bolster my case for international repute. I did not know why at that time, but now after reading the various cases that came before the appeals board, and archived on the USCIS website, I see that indeed was the right choice. Once we meet 2 or 3 criteria, USCIS does not give any extra credit for how many more we meet, rather they would like to judge the merit of the criteria already met.
All the best!
The threads in this forum have been very helpful during my application process. Hence, I wanted to put in a timeline regarding my EB1 petition for the benefit of other newbies like me. I will update this thread as my application moves along.
Background info.
- PhD from a top 10 Public university in the mid-west
- Employed as a materials research scientist with a Fortune 500 company in upstate NY, for >3 yrs., immediately following graduation
- Have 5 granted patents, 7 pending patents
- Not a whole lot of publications and citations (~50 or so), due to company IP policy
- Did work on several NSF, DOE funded projects in graduate school; Attended conferences, etc., all the usual grad. student stuff
- ~10 testimonial letters, but did not use all of them (retained 3 just for an eventuality like RFE). One from thesis advisor, and a couple from collaborators, one from an unknown contact, rest from people I have met at conferences, etc.
- Company lawyers handled all the details. I only wrote the testimonial letter drafts and collated all the citations, etc.
Timeline:
(1) I140
- Receipt date 10/11/2016; Premium processing @ Nebraska service center
- Approved 10/19/2016
(2) I485
- Receipt date 10/10/2016
- Biometrics appointment: 10/26/2016
A few comments/suggestions:
(i) Did not know anything about the process, testimonial letters, etc. Lawyers handled all of it. But looking back, and reading the various case information on the USCIS website, would not have emphasized my familiarity with the testimonial letters as much.
(ii) It may be better to strengthen the proof for just 2 or 3 criteria (since it is EB1b they need only two criteria) rather than try to show that I meet more criteria. For e.g., the lawyers did not use my citations under the criteria that my work was written about in professional journals. Instead they used them to bolster my case for international repute. I did not know why at that time, but now after reading the various cases that came before the appeals board, and archived on the USCIS website, I see that indeed was the right choice. Once we meet 2 or 3 criteria, USCIS does not give any extra credit for how many more we meet, rather they would like to judge the merit of the criteria already met.
All the best!
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