EB1A Approved (Self-petition) after prior denial + second aggressive RFE
EB1A Approved (Self-petition) after prior denial + second aggressive RFE
Country: India
Petition Type: Self-petition EB1A
Field of Endeavor: Artificial Intelligence-Driven Healthcare Diagnostics and Biomedical Data Systems
Research Experience: 14 years
Publications: ~45
Citations: ~964
Timeline:
First filing:
• Texas Service Center → RFE → Denied
Second filing:
• Texas Service Center → RFE mainly focused on Original Contributions of Major Significance and Final Merits
• RFE response received by USCIS: May 7, 2026
• Approved: May 21, 2026 (Nebraska Service Center)
Today my self-petitioned EB1A got approved.
I promised myself that if this ever happened, I would come back and post because I spent a lot of time reading approval and denial stories during my own process.
I worked incredibly hard for this.
I spent many sleepless nights drafting, redrafting, gathering evidence, reorganizing exhibits, reading policy manuals and legal decisions, and questioning whether I had missed anything.
I did not think my profile was weak after the first denial. I believed in my work and I believed in my evidence.
The second time I strengthened the record with additional evidence, institutional implementation/reliance evidence, stronger corroboration, and clearer explanations.
My second RFE focused mainly on Original Contributions of Major Significance and Final Merits.
If you're dealing with a denial or RFE, don't automatically assume it is over. Sometimes the first decision is not the final outcome.
Happy to answer questions.