I-140 NIW petition approved!🎉
Wanted to share my story and timeline since I know how any information about other people's experience can be helpful.
Timeline:
- PD / I-140 Filed: December 23, 2024
- Premium Processing: Upgraded after filing (May 11, 2026)
- Approval Date: July 2, 2026 (received an email after 36 business days)
- Service Center: Nebraska
Background:
- Country of Origin: ROW (not 39)
- Current Position: PhD student at an R1 US university
- Field: Quantum Chemistry
- Law Firm: a boutique firm found by a referral, can share more if anyone's interested
Petition Highlights at Filing:
- 4 peer-reviewed journal publications (3 first-authored)
- Around 40 citations
- Participation in NSF-funded research
- 7 recommendation letters (3 dependent, 4 independent)
- 2 Master's degrees (1 from my home country, another one from an R1 US university)
I worked with a small firm a friend of mine recommended. I worked and communicated directly with the principal attorney without a paralegal in between. The attorney was very responsive (usually emailed me back within an hour if I had any questions along the way, whether regarding the petition itself or general questions around the news in immigration). When I was shopping around for a lawyer, I received an offer for the refund option from Chen and Ellis Porter, but still I decided to go with this firm. They didn't offer any refunds (they never do), but I felt they offered more of a personalized approach. I don't know whether it's a good thing in case of EB-2 NIW where following a template from a firm with high approval rates seems to work.
Happy to answer any questions, and wish everyone good luck!