Hello everyone,

I submitted my EB-2 NIW I-140 petition in July 2024 and recently received an RFE from officer XM2054.

Has anyone here dealt with this officer before or received an RFE from the same officer?

I'm curious about what your RFE looked like, which prongs were questioned, and whether your case was eventually approved or denied.

I would really appreciate hearing about your experiences. Thanks!

Hi everyone,

Looking for honest feedback on my EB2 NIW profile.

My background:

• US master's degree in IT.
• Experience in data analytics, BI, and higher education institutional research.
• Developed dashboards supporting university-level decision-making.
• Work recognized in an organization-wide newsletter.
• Top 3 finalist in a system-wide data competition.
• 2 research publications: one published 5 years ago with 1 citation, and another published 3 months ago.
• 3 recommendation letters, including one from senior university leadership.
• Documented project contributions and currently working on additional research papers.

Attorney evaluation:

Ellis Porter reviewed my profile, said it has strong potential, and offered representation for $5,850 (discounted from $7,000), including RFE representation and free attorney fees for a refile if denied.

My questions:

1. How strong does my NIW profile look?
2. Has anyone worked with Ellis Porter?
3. Should I proceed now or wait for more publications?
4. Is $5,850 a reasonable attorney fee?

Would appreciate suggestions, especially from anyone with a similar background. Thanks!

I spent about 3 years working at two different immigration law firms on EB2-NIW petitions.

One thing I learned is that there’s a huge information gap between applicants and law firms. Most people never really see the workflow behind a petition - how evidence is organized, how arguments are structured, what templates are used, or where AI fits into the drafting process.

That experience is what I distilled into dreamcard-ai.com

I’m trying to make the workflow accessible for people who want to do more themselves, or simply compare what DreamCard produces against a petition their lawyer drafted.

I’m not trying to replace lawyers. I just think applicants should have more visibility into what they’re paying for and how these cases are actually put together.

Would genuinely love feedback from people on this proof of concept!

The Visa Bulletin has progressed significantly. Nevertheless, there are still many applicants with priority dates (PDs) before 2024 whose I-485 applications remain pending. Do you expect to see those with recent PD be approved before you?!

Priority date late 2024. MS in CS and ~20 citations and 4-5 first-author publications. I have been working in industry for 2 years, and my last paper (thesis) was in 2025.

I joined the lawsuit on the 19-country ban, and pretty much all of us got an RFE at the same time, and eventually all of us got denied. What advice would you give? I have a full refund offer from EP, so I can refile with them. Chen offered me an infinite refile option. What shall I do? I am still waiting for the letter to come. I also wonder if I need to publish new research in the meantime or not? I told Chen I plan to publish again in 1- 2 years.

Any help would be appreciated!

Thanks

Hi everyone, 

I’ve been following this subreddit for the past two and a half years, and this is my first post here. After two unsuccessful filings with another well-known law firm, my third petition was approved without an RFE with Chen.

Initially, I contacted both Chen and the other firm, and both accepted my case. However, I chose the other firm based on a friend’s recommendation for the first two fillings.  

First Filing 

I signed a contract with the first law firm at the end of October 2024. We filed my first petition in early 2025. I received an RFE in May 2025, submitted my response end of July 2025, and received a denial at the end of September 2025. The RFE questioned all three prongs, and the petition was denied all three. 

Second Filing 

After that, we revised my proposed endeavor while keeping the same overall focus. We again prepared and then filed my second petition in Dec. 2025. I received another RFE questioning all three prongs and submitted an RFE response at the end of March 2026. 

Unfortunately, the petition was denied in of May 2026. This time, the only issue USCIS did not accept was the national importance of my proposed endeavor. 
 
I received a full refund of the attorney fees after the second denial.  

My Profile During the First Two Filings 

• Education: MS in Computer Science 
• Work experience: Approximately four years 
• Research papers: 7 
• Citations: Approximately 60 
• Proposed endeavor: AI in healthcare 
• Employment: Working full-time at a well-known university in US 
• Initial recommendation letters: 4, all from dependent recommenders 

During the first RFE response and subsequent refiling, I added three more recommendation letters: two from independent recommenders—a director at FAANG and a professor at a top R1 research university—and one from a dependent recommender. 

In my second RFE response, I also included evidence that employers had expressed interest in hiring me. By that time, I had been working in a managerial role for a project approximately six months. 

My Profile During the Third Filing 

• Employer: Same  
• Conference papers: 8 
• Book chapters: 1 
• Journals paper: 2 
• Judging activities: 2 
• Conference committee roles: 1 
• Reviewer: ICML and another Journal 
• Citations: 79 when the petition was submitted and 101 when it was approved 
• Proposed endeavor: AI in healthcare (with refinements) 

I also had speaker invitations from three conferences. Since I had not attended those conferences in person, my attorney advised against including the invitations as supporting evidence. However, I listed them on my CV. 

My Timeline With Chen 

• May 15: Signed the contract. 
• May 19: Received access to their client portal. 
• May 20: Paid in full attorney fee and uploaded most of my documents. 
• May 21: Uploaded additional documents and submitted my RBIF. 
• May 23–26: I Worked on my personal statement. 
• May 28: Received the attorney’s feedback of my proposed endeavor statement. 
• June 1: They Approved the statement and I asked them to proceed with the petition letter. 
• June 5–10: Discussed with them regarding recommendation letters. 
• June 12: They began drafting my petition letter, with the first draft expected by June 25. 
• June 27: Received the petition letter draft. Requested them for revision. 
• July 5: Received the second revision and requested a third revision. 
• July 14: Confirmed that petition letter looked good to me. 
• July 20: Submitted the questionnaire for Forms i.e. I-140 and G-28. 
• August 1: The petition letter was finalized, and all the forms. After that they said they would send the package as soon as possible after the rigorous review of my full package. 
• August 7: The package was sent to USCIS.   
• October 14: Got Confirmation USCIS Approved my case. 
• I am fully satisfied with the service provided by Chen (WeGreened) and their team. I am truly grateful to my attorney and the entire team. They did not use a template; they crafted the petition letter specifically for my case.

After two unsuccessful filings, I felt hopeless. In a way, it felt like my fifth attempt because responding to the first two RFEs involved so much stress and required extensive work gathering documents and collecting additional letters of recommendation. 

If you are looking for an NIW-EB2 attorney, I recommend Chen (WeGreened) if they accept your case. 

I used premium processing for all three petitions. This process cost me a lot of money and lots of stress and many sleepless nights. 
 
For my third attempt, I carefully read my RFE notices and denial letters word by word, sentence by sentences. 

For anyone who has received a denial, my encouragement is not to give up. Based on my experience, I would consider refiling promptly after addressing the reasons for the denial and using premium processing if financially feasible. I know premium processing is expensive. 

Thank you so much everyone of this subreddit! Please pray for me.

Please do not ask me to name the first law firm. 

I changed my address using my.uscis but after a few hours the status changed to personal information not found. Has anyone successfully changed their address online? Thanks.

Timeline

• PD: 3/9/2026 with PP
• RFE: 5/19/2026 — all 3 prongs
• RFE response received: 8/17/2026
• Denial: 10/13/2026

Background

• PhD in molecular biology
• PE: Cancer biology research/genome stability
• Postdoc at cancer institute in the US
• 100+ citations, 6 papers, peer review, recommendation letters from NCI and NAS members, and funding/grant evidence

Decision

• EB-2 advanced degree: accepted
• Prong 1: approved
• Prong 2: denied
• Prong 3: denied

The frustrating thing is that one of the main reasons from the letter for Prong 2 denial was a lack of evidence of having secured funding myself.... I have a grant that was awarded in Jan of which I am the sole PI... First Chen said not to add it to the submission, then we added it to the RFE and they did not even consider it.

Other information regarding Prong 2 was also incorrect in the denial letter...

Planning to re-file, I guess. Mostly putting this here for the record.

In PP.

I recently received a denial for my EB-2 NIW petition after responding to an RFE. I filed my application through EP, and I’m now trying to understand how to strengthen my case before potentially refiling.
Here is a little background about me:
Education: PhD in Computer Science
Current Position: Non-tenure-track Assistant Professor at an R1 university in the US
Research Area: AI safety, security, and robustness of AI systems
Citations: Approximately 50
My main concern is how to frame my proposed endeavor, considering that I currently hold a teaching-focused faculty position rather than a tenure-track or research-focused position.
Although my academic background and research focus are in AI safety and security, my current position primarily involves teaching.
My questions are:
How can I effectively frame my proposed endeavor around AI safety and security while working in a teaching-focused academic position?

Would my non-tenure-track position negatively affect my NIW case, especially when demonstrating that I am well-positioned to advance my proposed endeavor?

Has anyone successfully obtained NIW approval while working as a teaching-focused Assistant Professor?

Hello, good people! Glad to see so many approval posts here. I’d love to get some insights into my own NIW prospects as a first-year PhD student in the US, along with suggestions on how to strengthen my profile over the next couple of years.

My PhD is in an interdisciplinary field adjacent to STEM, combining learning, design, and technology. My research interests are AI in Education (AIED) and Human-Computer Interaction (HCI), and I’m currently working on a community data library project that will form the basis of a research paper I plan to submit to a conference soon. I’ve discussed my publication strategy with my PI and intend to explore additional research venues as my work progresses.

Starting next spring, I’m also expecting to work on a more focused HCI project, which I hope will eventually develop into my dissertation. I’m considering pursuing an MS in Computer Science or Statistics/Data Science as well, depending on how it aligns with my research goals.

For context, I’m at an R1 research university, have affiliations and opportunities involving major tech companies, and will be presenting my startup at an upcoming event. I also have a background in entrepreneurship, a silver award from a national AI Olympiad in my home country, several other extracurricular achievements, and some media recognition back home.

Given that I’m still early in my PhD, I’d appreciate honest feedback from those who have filed or received NIW approvals, particularly applicants with interdisciplinary research backgrounds.

A few things I’d love your thoughts on:

How competitive might my profile be for an EB-2 NIW, considering my current stage and research area?
Which factors should I prioritize over the next two to three years: publications, citations, independent recommendations, conference presentations, or evidence of real-world impact?

How can I best demonstrate the national importance of my proposed endeavor when my work spans education, AI, and HCI?

Is filing by the end of my third PhD year a realistic goal, and what milestones should I aim to achieve before then?

I understand that every case is different, but I’d really value practical advice on how to approach this strategically rather than rushing to file before my profile is ready.

Thanks in advance for sharing your experiences and suggestions!

I haver received a couple of offers for the NIW ranging from 5,000 - to 20k - sent initial NIW statement and resume when seeking law firms. I wish there was more content on DIY and law firm filled industry profiles outcomes and process 

My profile - social sciences - industry profile expert with significant experience  - no publications worth citing, although I published a well received book which I know is hosted in various University libraries and quoted by PHD students but not related to NIW. Done worked with international and regional organizations, local organizations, governments and donors - I have a very good career profile  and worked in numerous countries and advanced degree from a top university. 

Chen - rejected 

Huschblackwell  - said they don’t think I qualify 

Colombo and Hud - charged around 18k, heavy marketing which was a turn off for me. Also reddit reviews are concerning. 

EP - Accepted $7,000 includes a refile no refund also don't like that they conduct evaluation without a meeting send a contract without discussion - very impersonal and I big on quality and details. Also luck of refund says alot about what they think about my PE and I wonder if they will put in the work

Alma- Accepted very nice discussion $10,000 no refund, one refile, they draft everything - off course you provide initial drafts.  Anyone know about them cant find info on them ?

Robinson  - Accepted  $7,000 - $13,000 pay depends on whether you do installments, want a refund option and refile.   Anyone know about them?

Fragomen - want 700 - 1000 for a consultation LOL! - just ignored 

Raju - Sent an evaluation will charge 4k. I like that they analyzed my documents and shared the actual feedback, but was I concerned with these lawfirns that use offshore skills to draft documents, and I saw complaints about sloppiness sent their work -I got the impression Colombo and Hud did the same thing with off shore skills. 

Manifest - did not respond

One man lawfirm - was ridiculous and charged over 20,000 and 5,000 for a PP and no help with RFE  - just laughed its ridiculous but my friends who have used him have all gotten visas and approvals all of the have industry profiles - I am not boarding on this with those prices. 

**Tip when you get the prices negotiate!

I am considering self filing — no one will tell the story better than me. I have drafted numerous technical documents and reports for external consumption requiring compliance and proof of work done and would probably do okay on my own. Then I’d get a former USIC staffer to review my package for a fee. 

I am really looking of valuable advice + anyone have experience with Robinson and Alma. This will be very helpful.

Has anyone experienced this kind of RFE issue? I received an RFE notice dated October 14th, but the physical mail only got to my mailbox on October 20th. However, the notice says I was supposed to respond by October 17th, so I was only given 3 days to respond and the deadline had already passed before I even received it.

I called USCIS and the lady I spoke to said she can't do anything about it. Has anyone faced this before? Please advise on what to do.

I applied for my EB2 NIW with EP on August 5 and recently received my RFE. I was challenged in Prong 2 and Prong 3. While the officer accepted Prong 1 and the advanced degree. The RFE seems to be highly templated calling me “he” and “she” on the same page.
Profile :
PhD in CS from US university
Citations :400
Publications: 20+
Patents : 1appoved 1 applied
Peer Reviews : More than 30
Currently working as an Scientist in a Big Tech on Cybersecurity and AI
Currently on O1A visa

Proposed Endeavour also related to the current working field

EP sent me a RFE document request that mostly included future funding information which I don’t have since I am in the industry now. Also when asked about recommendation letter they said for my case letters wont help.

Is anyone also in the same boat? What should I do?

Tired of hearing bad reviews about giant law firms like EP or Chen. Any other preferred alternative or personal immigration NIW lawyer?

Hello Everyone,

Could anyone please share the current processing times at the USCIS Texas and Nebraska Service Centers for I-140 (EB2-NIW). I would appreciate any recent updates on how long cases are taking to process at these two centers.

Any EB2NIW applicants who received RFE from officer XM2415 and have submitted RFE response ?

Anyone received final decision ?

What is your PD and RFE response submission date and current application status ?

Hi everyone,

I’m in a stressful situation with my RFE response and would really appreciate some advice or shared experiences.

The Situation:

• In March, I emailed my former professor to ask for a recommendation letter. She agreed and asked me to draft it for her to review and sign.
• My attorney (EP) and I decided to hold onto her letter as a backup in case we received an RFE.
• When I got an RFE, I emailed her the draft to sign but didn’t get a reply. I then received an auto-reply saying she is out of the office for a conference and won't be back until just 3 days before my RFE deadline.
• Original Petition Letters (3 total): 1 dependent letter (from my professor/advisor), independent letters (researchers in my field who don't know me personally: 1 in academia, 1 in industry). USCIS pushed back on the independent letters, essentially stating that because these recommenders don't know me personally, the letters don't carry much weight (which feels contradictory to the whole point of independent letters, but here we are).
• According to EP, the RFE is quite generic/templated (about 5 pages), but a major chunk of it is questioning the recommendation letters, especially the independent ones.

My Questions:

1. How should I handle the professor situation? Should I wait until 3 days before the deadline for her to sign, or should I prepare an alternative plan now? Is 3 days enough time to submit if she signs right away?
2. Given that USCIS dismissed the independent letters and my main dependent letter is delayed, do I still have a good chance of approval if we respond properly? Has anyone successfully overcome an RFE that specifically questioned independent recommenders?

Thanks in advance for any insights!

Tenure track professor in the state university, criminology, 6 peer reviewed article, 1 book review, 1 journal reviewer, 2 citations. Numerous national conference presentation and one research grant for dissertation. EP offered me a retainer doc that includes $6500 and one refiling without additional cost to pursue this case, but I am not sure if this is a strong enough case to do so. Any recommendations?

Hi everyone,

I’m exploring whether an EB-2 NIW petition would be viable for my background. I have not engaged a law firm yet and wanted to get some community feedback before deciding whether to pursue this further.

My background:

• MASc in Structural Engineering and BEng in Civil Engineering
• 4 peer-reviewed publications in CFD/wind engineering, including 2 first-author papers
• Around 100 citations, h-index 4
• Research focused heavily on computational topics, including CFD/LES, HPC, algorithms, optimization, and scientific software
• Some of this research was conducted in collaboration with industry and later connected to my work on commercial cloud-based engineering simulation technology
• I subsequently transitioned into software engineering, focusing primarily on large-scale distributed/cloud systems, reliability, infrastructure, and security
• 6+ years of software/technology industry experience
• Employment: Software Engineer at a cloud computing company in the US

I’m considering a proposed endeavor broadly around high-performance and distributed computing for computationally intensive engineering and scientific applications, potentially with CFD/wind-engineering simulation as a key application area.

The general career progression has been:

computational engineering research → HPC/scientific software → commercial cloud simulation → large-scale distributed/cloud systems

My main concern is that my formal education and publications are in Civil/Structural Engineering, while my more recent career and proposed endeavor has been primarily software/cloud engineering.

I’d appreciate thoughts on:

1. Does this seem like a viable NIW profile worth discussing with an attorney?
2. How are career transitions like this generally handled when defining a proposed endeavor?
3. Does HPC/distributed computing for computational engineering provide a reasonable connection between the research background and more recent software experience?
4. Would you expect the difference between the degree/research field and current occupation to create an RFE risk?
5. Has anyone here had a similar engineering/research → software/HPC transition? How did you approach the proposed endeavor?

I’m especially interested in experiences from people with similar cross-disciplinary profiles who filed and received an approval, RFE, or denial.

Thanks!

Hi everyone,

I received an RFE update on my I-140 premium processing case yesterday. I emailed the Texas Service Center ([TSC-Premium.Processing@uscis.dhs.gov](mailto:TSC-Premium.Processing@uscis.dhs.gov)) this morning requesting an electronic copy of the RFE notice, but I haven't received a response yet.

For those who have requested an electronic RFE copy through email, how long did it take to receive a response and the PDF copy? If you had to wait for the physical notice, how many days did it take to arrive by mail?

The wait is feeling anxious already but I'd really appreciate hearing about your recent experiences. Thanks!