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Employment Based First Preference (EB1)

Blog Post

Employment Based First Preference

BMD has a team of experienced immigration attorneys with a collective knowledge of over fifty years to assist and guide U.S. banks, companies, individuals, universities, colleges, hospitals and institutions obtain the appropriate work visa or employment based permanent residency.  

We have a national practice and work side by side with our clients assisting them in understanding the immigration process and offering guidance throughout the entire process to successfully navigate the burdensome and complex immigration system.

Our Strategy

Throughout many years of practice, we have developed a winning strategy for pursuing extraordinary and/or outstanding applicant cases of different types.  Our goal is to clearly identify the field and the contributions made by the applicant explaining in clear understandable language what are many times complex areas of study.  We attempt to develop at least one clear objective piece of evidence which shows the examiner that the applicant has “been recognized” as a leader in the field.  We attempt to present the examiner with a case which is well-documented and understandable to the examiner.

Outstanding Researcher or Professor Sample Cases - EB1b

Outstanding Researcher Professor in the Field of Corrosion Engineering.  We successfully demonstrated that the Applicant was uniquely qualified in a highly specialized field of engineering which had been receiving significant attention in recent years.  His work was benefitting the U.S. Department of Defense as well as private companies. 

Outstanding Researcher in the Field of Civil Engineering. The applicant’s research was in the field of civil engineering, specifically as it relates to risk assessment, resilient design, and the maintenance of civil infrastructure. Among the important issues in these areas are the uncertainties and risks associated with soil parameters, which can lead to increases in the costs of a given project.  We established the Applicant’s unique contributions which had been implemented by governmental agencies had substantially benefitted the U.S.

Outstanding Researcher in the Field of Biomedical Engineering.  We established that the applicant was an outstanding researcher in the field of biomedical engineering and, in particular, fluorescence imaging and intraoperative imaging.  This is due primarily to his development of a goggle which when worn by physicians during surgery, enables them to see tumors which are not visible to the naked eye and, thus, significantly improve operative outcomes.

Outstanding Researcher in the Field of Business.  While it is often difficult to demonstrate that an individual is outstanding in a business field, we successfully established that this applicant was recognized internationally as an outstanding researcher for work he had done on the history of management, the development of “offshoring” and emerging economies.  We emphasized his appointment of a judge in a major competition conducted by a foreign country.

Outstanding Researcher in the Field of Electrical & Computer Engineering.  The applicant was credited with the development of a process which can assist in the diagnosis of epilepsy which has historically been difficult to diagnose.  We demonstrated that the applicant had been instrumental in developing a computer system which recognizes the characteristic patterns in data that indicate that a patient is epileptic.  The applicant’s work was highlighted in a major international journal and was written about by other researchers in the field.

Outstanding Professor in the Field of Civil Engineering.  We successfully demonstrated that the applicant had made significant original scholarly research contributions to the field of geotechnical engineering by highlighting his publications in various countries.  We demonstrated that editors of scholarly journals routinely relied on the applicant’s expertise to judge the works of other geotechnical scientists to establish a work’s worthiness for publication in their internationally circulated publications.

Outstanding Researcher in the Field of Corrosion Engineering.  This applicant had self-petitioned for an EB1a extraordinary ability petition with another immigration attorney that was denied contemporaneously while we were working on her EB1b petition and evidence.  We used the EB1a denial notice to fill in the deficiencies and successfully got her EB1b petition approved within six days of filing the EB1b petition.  Needless to say, the applicant was extremely pleased with the outcome as she was from China and didn’t have the time to wait for the adjustment of status process.

Extraordinary Ability Sample Cases - EB1a

Plasma Scientist.  We successfully explained the emerging field of the commercialization of plasma technology and demonstrated that the applicant had extraordinary ability in researching biomedical applications for non-thermal plasma.  As this field is emerging, we were able to demonstrate that the applicant had unique experience which set him apart from others in the field.   

Materials Scientist. This applicant was demonstrated to be an alien of extraordinary ability in materials science for work he had done in advanced ceramics. He was part of an international group that developed a novel and innovative technique for combustion synthesis of sialon ceramic powders in a very inexpensive route.  With this new innovation, the expense of the process was significantly reduced.  He also developed a use for silicon material waste, which results in important environmental benefits.  In addition to the economic benefit of the process, he and his colleagues developed a processing method which utilizes   silicon   wastes   from semiconductor industries as one of the raw materials used for the sialon powder synthesis. The applicant had worked at one of the world’s most renowned laboratories in the field.

Senior Scientist. We successfully prepared a self-petition for this Applicant for a start-up company in Northeast Ohio with only two employees including the Applicant to demonstrate that the research he had done during his Ph.D. years qualified as cutting edge or outstanding research.  The EB1a petition was adjudicated and approved by the USCIS within two days of submission.

Similar O-1 Cases

Where we established that the Applicant had “extraordinary ability” in the sciences,  arts, education, business, or athletics

Assistant Director for the Center for the History of Psychology. Although not required for the position, we obtained a persuasive consultation report explaining the applicant’s qualifications and extraordinary achievements.  The applicant established membership in associations in the field which require outstanding achievement.  We obtained evidence of published material about the applicant and his achievements in the field and evidence of original contributions to the field of major significance.  The Applicant also had evidence of significant judging of the works of others in the field.  The key to the success of this application was explaining the unique nature of the position and the similarly unique qualifications of the Applicant.

Assistant Professor Conservation Biology.  We showed that the Applicant used biostatistics, wildlife ecology, and spatial planning methods to provide practical solutions to biodiversity conservation in forest and river systems. The recognition of his contributions was shown by his receipt of a prestigious fellowship.  We emphasized the extensive selection process for this award.  The applicant then went on to judge others for the fellowship awards.  He also had his work reviewed in numerous publications internationally.

Pharmacy.  The Applicant had unique research experience in product formulation, novel drug delivery technology design and evaluation, methodology development and pharmacokinetics.  He was experienced at pre-formulation, formulation, and development of solid, transdermal and topical dosage forms.  During his university career, he gained extensive research experience in its pharmaceutical lab, including lab management.  He made several extraordinary contributions to his field and they were recognized as significant by industry and his colleagues in academia.  He had several papers published in premier peer reviewed journals and he gained notoriety and recognition within the major professional organization in his field. 

Assistant Professor of Vascular Surgery (J-1 to O-1A physician).  The Applicant was on a J-1 visa during his medical residency program and he could not obtain an H-1B visa due to the 2 year home country requirement.  Therefore, we prepared and filed an O-1A work visa petition based on his research in the field of vascular surgery and emphasized his original work on tissue composition of surgically repaired abdominal aortic aneurysms.  We explained the significance of his research on aortic aneurysm with six reference letters and relevant evidence.  His O-1 visa was approved and he was able to change his status from J-1 to O-1A visa.

For more information contact Eleanor J. Tschugunov or Duriya Dhinojwala or visit the BMD Immigration Practice page.

 


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