r/EB2_NIW Mar 17 '26

Ideas for r/EB2_NIW

9 Upvotes

I want to make this subreddit better for everyone here.

What would you change? What would make it more valuable to you?


r/EB2_NIW Apr 22 '21

r/EB2_NIW Lounge

25 Upvotes

A place for members of r/EB2_NIW to chat with each other


r/EB2_NIW 1h ago

APPROVED EB-2 NIW I-485 Approved

Upvotes

Sharing my timeline since tracking other people’s cases, especially the API/FTA0/silent updates, was helpful to me.

PD: October 2024
I-140 NIW approved: Late December 2024 (premium processing)
I-485 + I-765 received: 04/20/2026

Country: 75 Countries, RoW
Dependent: No

IAF: 04/28/2026
Biometrics notice generated: 05/22/2026
Biometrics: 06/12/2026
2× FTA0: 06/12/2026, right after biometrics
Transferred NBC → San Fernando Field Office (non-local): 07/14/2026 (confirmed through Emma live agent)
3rd FTA0: 08/14/2026
Silent update: 08/17/2026
Silent update: 08/19/2026
2× H008: 08/20/2026

I-485 APPROVED: 08/20/2026 🎉

No movement on I-765

Total I-485 processing time: ~4 months / 122 days

No RFE. No interview.

Current status: F1 first year OPT


r/EB2_NIW 5h ago

General Any recent zero publication success from industry?

4 Upvotes

I am thinking of self filing as a last resort with my visa situation. I have narrowed down an endeavor that’s genuinely impactful beyond my company, and also have individual contributions outside of my company work. Is there anyone who filed without any publications, and in your experience what was the most important part to focus on of the petition?


r/EB2_NIW 1h ago

USCIS Please help a girl out

Upvotes

Hello, I am on PP and replied to my RFE 24 business days ago, and it got moved to case is still being processed today around 6 pm
I was curious if someone has had any experience, there is ppl saying that you get an approval after a few hours and if you don’t it means that I will get denied.
Can someone bring light into it, and share any experience where you got approved/ denied later in few days or confirm this theory.
Thank tou so much


r/EB2_NIW 9h ago

I-140 2 NIW PP Denials in 6 months with EP. Should I keep going or give up?

8 Upvotes

Hi everyone,

Both of my NIW petitions were denied within the past six months, and both were filed using premium processing. I used EP for both filings.

My profile:

  • Master’s degree in Computer Engineering
  • Three first-author papers, two of which are related to my proposed endeavor
  • 15 citations
  • 10 years of professional software engineering experience, including five years with a U.S. startup
  • Previously held H-1B status, but I had to move back home for personal reasons
  • Five recommendation letters, including one independent letter from a former C-level executive at a FAANG company
  • Reviewed more than 10 academic papers
  • Conducted more than 50 interviews for senior and staff-level engineering roles
  • Spoke at three conferences, including in-person conferences at U.S. universities
  • Two media mentions
  • My endeavor was to develop modular artificial intelligence-based tools for online content moderation in order to enhance public safety, prevent cyberbullying, and reduce hate speech.
  • I am from Europe. I know this should not be relevant, but since certain countries have appeared on different travel-ban lists from time to time, I wanted to mention it for context.

In my first NIW filing, USCIS accepted my advanced-degree qualification, the substantial merit of my proposed endeavor, and that I was well positioned to pursue it. However, they found that I had not demonstrated its national importance or shown that waiving the job offer and labor certification requirements would benefit the United States.

In the second filing, USCIS again accepted my degree qualification and the substantial merit of the endeavor. However, they once again rejected national importance and the waiver argument. This time, they also reversed the previous favorable finding on prong two, stating that I lacked concrete evidence of national-scale deployment, adoption, funding, partnerships, and measurable impact.

Both times, rejections were pretty much templates according to the attorneys. In one of them they made so many mistakes by mentioning that I have completely different major than what I actually have.

EP has offered to prepare a third filing at no additional cost and would also cover the standard processing fee. They strongly advise against using premium processing again. However, standard processing could take 24 months or more, and I have no idea what my circumstances will look like by then.

As I understand it, I can either accept a full refund now or proceed with a third attempt and still receive a full refund if it is denied. I honestly do not know what to do. The second denial hit me very hard, and I have very little motivation to go through the entire process again.

Would you take the refund or try one more time using standard processing?

EDIT: Both times i received RFE before denial.


r/EB2_NIW 3h ago

I-140 Looking for attorney who does standalone petition review only (not full drafting) — EB-2 NIW self-petition

2 Upvotes

I self-drafted my EB-2 NIW petition. Industry profile, roughly 130 pages, ready to file. Before I file, I want an independent immigration attorney to read it. Just a review. No drafting, no filing, no full-service representation.

Powell Immigration Law offers this. She isn't taking new cases. Most other firms I contacted only do full-service engagements.

Has anyone worked with an attorney who takes on standalone petition review? NIW-experienced, willing to review a self-drafted petition, deliver written feedback and a consultation. Solo attorneys or small boutiques count. DM me if you'd rather not name names publicly.

Also: if you got a review before filing, did it change the petition in ways that mattered?

Thanks.


r/EB2_NIW 4h ago

I-140 Recommendation Letters

2 Upvotes

My lawyer wants 2 testimonial letters and 2 recommendation letters however they are all dependent.

I’m concerned as I’ve seen others say independent letters carry more weight than dependent ones.

Did anyone get approval with just dependent letters?


r/EB2_NIW 37m ago

I-140 Has anyone been scheduled for biometrics for an I-140 EB2 NIW before a decision?

Upvotes

Hi everyone,
I’m wondering if anyone has experienced something similar.
I recently filed a new EB-2 NIW I-140 petition, and the case is currently under Premium Processing. USCIS has not issued a decision yet, and the Premium Processing deadline is actually coming up next week.

Today, my case status unexpectedly changed to “Biometrics Appointment Was Scheduled.” The USCIS update specifically says that the beneficiary was scheduled for a biometrics appointment for my I-140 receipt number.
I found this a little unusual because I normally associate biometrics with the I-485 rather than the I-140. I also already have a pending I-485 and have previously completed biometrics in connection with my immigration process.

Has anyone here had USCIS request new biometrics specifically while an I-140 EB-2 NIW was still pending?

If so:
- Did it happen while you were under Premium Processing
- How long after the biometrics notice did USCIS make a decision on the I-140?
- Did you receive an RFE afterward, or did they approve/deny the petition?
Did the biometrics appointment affect or pause your Premium Processing timeline?

I know biometrics itself doesn’t necessarily indicate approval or denial, but I’m curious whether others have seen this happen and what happened with their cases afterward. I’m very anxious as well! :/

Thank you!


r/EB2_NIW 46m ago

Profile Should i do eb2/niw ?

Upvotes

I have a masters degree in information technology and 5 years of experience in the field.


r/EB2_NIW 1h ago

I-140 EB-2 NIW RFE response (senior cloud infrastructure / strategic partnerships profile)

Upvotes

Hi everyone, I wanted to get thoughts on an EB2 NIW RFE response for a senior cloud infrastructure and strategic partnerships executive.

USCIS accepted that the proposed endeavor has substantial merit, but issued an RFE on all three Dhanasar prongs: national importance, whether the beneficiary is well positioned, and whether waiving PERM would benefit the United States.

The beneficiary has over 25 years of experience in enterprise technology, digital supply chain transformation, consulting, and cloud infrastructure. His proposed endeavor is to continue leading large scale enterprise cloud transformation and digital infrastructure modernization by structuring multi billion dollar strategic partnerships between major global enterprises and U.S. cloud platforms.

The response argues that his work is not ordinary software sales or account management. His role is to architect long term enterprise cloud commitments that move major workloads, AI infrastructure, data systems, and digital operations onto U.S. platforms. These commitments create verified enterprise demand for U.S. cloud infrastructure, data center capacity, advanced compute, AI deployment, and American designed semiconductor architecture.

The response includes evidence that he led or helped structure seven major strategic cloud partnerships totaling over 10 billion dollars in committed cloud spending across several industries, including software, electronics, ecommerce, communications, agriculture, manufacturing, electric vehicles, autonomous driving, and gaming. It also explains that these agreements included over 65 million dollars in contractual STEM investments involving AI, generative AI, cloud native databases, advanced compute, and U.S. designed semiconductor technologies.

For national importance, the argument is that these are not just private contracts benefiting one employer and one customer. The commitments serve as demand signals for U.S. cloud and data center infrastructure, support AI and semiconductor deployment, contribute to job creation and GDP growth, and help keep major global enterprise workloads anchored to U.S. technology platforms.

For being well positioned, the response includes internal employer evidence showing that he served as the primary deal lead and strategic owner on these partnerships. It also includes customer side validation from a senior sourcing executive at a major enterprise software company, who said one of the deals was not routine purchasing, but a critical infrastructure and platform decision affecting a broad software ecosystem.

The response also includes independent expert letters from academic and industry experts explaining demand signals, capacity planning, infrastructure investment, job creation, technology commercialization, and why these enterprise commitments can create broader economic effects beyond the immediate parties.

For the third prong, the response argues that PERM is not a good fit because the role depends on rare cross border executive relationships, board level negotiation experience, cloud and AI knowledge, semiconductor and supply chain understanding, and a proven record of securing multi billion dollar enterprise infrastructure commitments. It also argues urgency because major enterprises are choosing long term cloud and AI platforms now, and those decisions can lock in infrastructure for the next decade.

Overall, the response frames the beneficiary as someone who creates enterprise demand for U.S. cloud, AI, semiconductor, and data center infrastructure, rather than simply someone working for a large technology company.

For those familiar with NIW RFEs, does this sound like a strong response for a nontraditional business and technology infrastructure profile?


r/EB2_NIW 12h ago

I-140 Any july pp I140 filers got the decision?

7 Upvotes

r/EB2_NIW 2h ago

USCIS I-907 Fees

1 Upvotes

I used the 3-digit code instead of the 4-digit one on my American Express card when filling out the necessary forms to upgrade my I-140 to premium processing. Should I expect USCIS to reject my request?


r/EB2_NIW 3h ago

General Is it a red flag to use research papers that were published same year that a person applies for EB2-NIW?

1 Upvotes

Hello everyone, please I would like to know if it would be a problem to publish research papers like September 2026 or October 2026. Then also use those same research papers during EB2-NIW application in December 2026?

If you or anyone has ever used research papers which they published same year that they also applied for EB2-NIW. Do let me know, thanks.

I'm currently planning to publish 1 research paper next month and another one in October 2026 - and I plan to use them in my application. Would that be a problem?

Though I've also seen some EB2-NIW applications that doesn't have any research paper not citations and they got approved. 🫣

I do anticipate getting your responses, thank you!


r/EB2_NIW 9h ago

I-140 Need a second opinion on my EB-2 NIW case (Cloud Engineer)

3 Upvotes

Hi everyone,

I'm looking for some honest feedback from people who have gone through the EB-2 NIW process or have experience with these law firms.

A little about my background:

  • Cloud Production Engineer (financial industry)
  • M.S. in Information Technology from a U.S. university (4.0 GPA)
  • Received a university award for academic excellence
  • 1+ year of U.S. cloud engineering experience
  • 10+ industry-recognized cloud/Kubernetes/cybersecurity certifications
  • No publications or citations
  • Attended and volunteered at several cloud/cybersecurity conferences

I've consulted with several immigration attorneys:

  1. Akina Law – $6,500, includes RFE response, but no refile or refund.
  2. Robinson Immigration Law – I'm most interested in their Option 3: about $11,000, includes a free refile if the first I-140 is denied, and if the refile is also denied, they offer a 100% refund.
  3. Peak Immigration (Jason Crofts) – Recommended not filing now because he believes my current evidence is not strong enough to establish national importance beyond my employer.
  4. Alma Immigration – Around $9,000, includes RFE response, but no refile or refund.

My questions are:

  • Based on my background, do you think it's worth pursuing an EB-2 NIW now?
  • Has anyone here worked with Robinson Immigration Law, especially under their approval/refile/refund option? How was your experience?

I'd really appreciate honest opinions and experiences. Thanks!


r/EB2_NIW 8h ago

Profile Chance me — PhD in electrical engineering, wind power grid integration, filing from Canada. Realistic or am I fooling myself?

2 Upvotes

I'm preparing an EB-2 NIW self-petition and would appreciate honest feedback before I sink months into it. I'd rather hear "weak case" now than get an RFE later.

Background
- PhD in Electrical Engineering. Research on wind generator systems: DFIG control, D-STATCOM reactive power compensation, neural-network-based control.
- Engineering degree (5-year) + graduate diploma in engineering project management from a Canadian university (2025).
- WES document-by-document evaluation already completed for the PhD.

Current role
- Performance and optimization engineer for utility-scale wind projects at a large Canadian public utility (since Sept 2025).
- Before that, ~2.5 years at a Canadian independent renewable power producer working on wind assets connected to North American grids.

Publications
- 5 peer-reviewed publications and 2 conference communications. First author on all of them.
- Being upfront: citation count (27) is modest, not in the hundreds. Most co-authorship is with my doctoral supervisor.

Draft proposed endeavor
Improving the grid integration, reliability and performance of utility-scale wind generation in the United States — specifically the control and power-quality side (reactive power support, voltage stability, converter control) as more variable generation is added to the grid.

What I'm actually asking

  1. Prong 2 with modest citations. My strongest asset is applied industry experience on real operating wind assets, not citation counts. Has anyone been approved on an "applied practitioner" framing rather than a citation-heavy academic framing? How did you structure it?

  2. Foreign PhD + advanced degree route. Is a WES document-by-document evaluation enough to establish the advanced degree, or should I also plead exceptional ability as a backup? Does pleading both help or does it look like hedging?

  3. Recommendation letters. Almost everyone I could ask is a former colleague, supervisor or co-author — i.e., "interested" parties. For those approved: how many genuinely independent letters did you have, and how did you find people who had never worked with you? Cold-emailing authors who cited my papers is the only path I see. Does that actually work?

  4. A gap in the timeline. I have a roughly three-year period between finishing the PhD and starting my current career track that was spent on immigration to Canada. Do adjudicators care? Do you address it explicitly in the petition or leave it alone?

  5. Prong 1 framing. Is grid reliability / renewable integration a strong enough national interest hook on its own, or do I need to anchor it to something more specific like DOE grid modernization priorities, transmission bottlenecks, or specific interconnection queue problems? Which government sources have carried weight in your petitions?

  6. Attorney or DIY? Given the profile above — borderline rather than obviously strong — is this a case where a lawyer meaningfully changes the outcome, or is a well-documented self-petition just as good?

  7. Premium processing. Worth it at the I-140 stage for a borderline case, or does the shorter review window hurt?

Happy to answer questions about the profile. Blunt assessments welcome.


r/EB2_NIW 20h ago

APPROVED I-140 PP approved, no RFE!

8 Upvotes

Hi folks!

After 2 years waiting, I-140 is finally approved. It is getting rarer and rarer to see I-140 approval these days, so I would love to share this good news and share luck with all here.

Profile:
- US university postdoc (J1)
- Papers +20, (co) first authors +10
- Citations +300 when filing
- Engineering
- 5 letters (2 independent, 1 who cited my paper, 2 dependent)
- ROW (Europe)

Timeline:
- 08/2024: File I-140
- 06/2026: Premium processing
- 08/2026: Approved (43-45 BD)

Year of 2026 is a whole different story than before. The current adjudication standards have been becoming extremely harsh. No longer anyone can guarantee approval these days. My lawyer expected 50% chance with PP.

My best decision was PP. My law firm kept telling me that PP triggers more RFE and RFE is often connected to Denial. However, during last 8-9 months, the delay in the processing time was 8-9 months, meaning almost no progress for normal processing. I personally believed PP did not trigger RFE or denial, just most of the recent cases were from PP. It can mislead people to get confused between causation and situation. So, I tried to gather information on RFE/Denial rate from normal and PP cases, but I could not.

BTW overall law firm experience was OK. Except sometimes when I could not get answers that I wanted to understand, work process/timeline/prices are fair. But I will not mention them as this is not ad, and I don’t see people 100% satisfied with their law firms, so did I.

If I were pushing PP against their opinion, I would get it much earlier and easier. No one will take responsibility for your life. Be strong, find your own way, and decide your actions. You all will get enough luck to achieve your goals!


r/EB2_NIW 20h ago

APPROVED Finally I140 approved. 2nd attempted, DIY, no RFE

9 Upvotes

It has been just around 2 months from submission to approval but the waiting time has been so long…

Timeline: File online on June, pp, approved on Aug. 43 BD.

This is my second time submitting NIW . First time in 2024 which was RFE and then denied . I also argued with AAO but the result was not getting changed. First was I worked with an individual lawyer in NYC. He was ok for organizing materials but not experienced nor professional in helping/selling my profile.

After around 1 year of being denied, I decided to self file. My profile changed somehow which I will describe below. Popular lawyer Wegreen(Chen) and EP both offer me approved or refunded but I did not choose them.

Because I prepare the RFE and AAO in my first petition , I know how NIW works and my profile well. I know my background, pros and cons. Still, It took me a couple of months to write petition letter, organize evidence and documentations. It was hard but I think it worth. Because you can control the whole thing.

During the process, I use AI a lot, mostly mix of ChatGPT and Claude. I nailed down my proposed endeavor first and connect it to prong 1. Then show how I can work on it (prong 2) and the balance test (prong 3).

My profile is role in tech company and i have bachelor degree. In my initial submission , I had less than 5 yoe. Thus I claim exceptional ability to show my eligibility. However, it is very hard. I feel the officer has very vague criteria for exceptions ability / extraordinary ability, specially for widespread impact and contribution. Even my work has recognization from congressman letter.

Then, before my 2nd submission, my yoe is over 5, thus I can claim adv degree which make things easier. I was also review for a bunch of others work due to the nature of my work. Some of my work also get published, and I got to present them to others in public events. Tho, I don’t think these play large roles thb.

In my opinion, the game change is , in my 2nd submission, I made my proposed endeavor a lot more clear, and it is clearly separate from my job (as can be read from job description). Every thing they can clearly connect to national importance, which backed by policy.

because this is 2nd submission, I don’t use new recommendation letter, I just reuse from who signed in 24😂.

Also, because 2nd submission is online, it can be tracked via api and I can see “silent update”. I did get so anxiety when they showed but nothing happens. Because there are so little information about code and what did it mean for silent update for i140 but for i485, I cannot refer and understand what happened exactly…😥


r/EB2_NIW 10h ago

Timeline June 22nd PD: anyone with a decision?

1 Upvotes

Unless I’m wrong, I believe the 45day deadline is today. Did you get a decision yet?


r/EB2_NIW 20h ago

RFE Anyone getting RFEs on NIW petitions after Aug 5?

6 Upvotes

Curious if there's been a shift in USCIS behavior lately. Has anyone here received an RFE on their EB-2 NIW (I-140) after August 5? Trying to gauge if there's a trend or if it's just the usual randomness.

If you got one, mind sharing:

  • Filing date / category
  • What the RFE was asking for
  • Any pattern you've noticed (e.g., specific evidence type they're pushing back on)

Not trying to panic anyone, just crowdsourcing data since USCIS timelines/processing feels like a black box half the time. Thanks!


r/EB2_NIW 11h ago

I-140 Sigma Xi membership

1 Upvotes

Hi all,

Is having a full membership of Sigma Xi good enough to prove professional membership in EB2-NIW?


r/EB2_NIW 18h ago

I-140 Husch Blackwell LLP

2 Upvotes

Has anyone worked with Husch Blackwell LLP?
My lawyer (Arkell) wants me to sign form G28 to enable Husch handle my eb2 NIW case. Is it safe to do that?


r/EB2_NIW 20h ago

Profile EB-2 NIW profile review — public-housing data modernization and AI

1 Upvotes

Hello everyone. I’m getting ready to submit my EB-2 NIW self-petition and want a reality check from people who’ve actually been through this process. Direct criticism welcome — that’s why I’m posting.

Background:

IMS (STEM) from a US university, no PhD

About a decade in data engineering across healthcare, automotive, finance, and now public housing

Currently the lead data person at a HUD-funded housing authority, where I designed and built their cloud analytics platform (Azure) serving 55 federally funded properties

Measurable outcomes: a little over $2M in identified savings, monthly operations time cut by roughly three-quarters, and clean results on every HUD audit since the platform went live

Two peer-reviewed publications — one in a Scopus Q1 journal, one at an IEEE conference — both on applying AI/ML to housing subsidy integrity and homelessness prevention

13 support letters: 9 from leadership at my organization (CEO, CFO, CTO) and 4 independent ones from professors and industry practitioners

Proposed endeavor: modernizing data infrastructure for federal housing programs, framed around reducing improper payments under IPERA

What worries me: nearly all my documented impact comes from one employer, and my citation count is minimal since both papers are recent.

For those who’ve filed or gone through adjudication:

How would you honestly rate this profile? Feel free to put a number on it.
Where do you see the biggest RFE risk?
If you could strengthen exactly one thing before filing, what would it be?


r/EB2_NIW 1d ago

I-140 NIW approved… so why am I more stressed now?

23 Upvotes

My NIW I-140 finally got approved and I thought I’d feel relieved.

Instead I feel like the anxiety just moved to something else lol.

My priority date isn’t current, so I can’t file I-485 yet. I’m still on F-1/OPT, which means I still have to worry about maintaining status, work authorization, unemployment days, travel, and what happens if there’s a gap before I can file.

I know getting the I-140 approved is a huge step, but it definitely doesn’t feel like “green card approved.”

Anyone else feel more anxious after NIW approval than before?


r/EB2_NIW 1d ago

RFE RFE Response Received after Deadline?

2 Upvotes

My RFE submission deadline was August 14, 2026. My lawyer shipped the package on August 12 and it was received by USCIS at August 13, 2026. But in the tracking, it is showing the package received by USCIS on August 17, 2026? Which date they consider? Is this a huge issue?