r/EB2_NIW

Hi everyone, I wanted to share my I-485 approval timeline because you guys helped me stay grounded during a very stressful 3-year process. And I hope it'll help someone out there as well.

Category: EB2 NIW Adjustment of Status
FO: Atlanta, GA
EB2 NIW Priority Date: August 28, 2023
I-140 Approval (PP): 09/08/2023
I-485 filed: June 6, 2025 (Filed I-485 / I-765 / I-131 combo)
Biometrics: July 2, 2025
Interview scheduled: August 13, 2025
Interview date: September 17, 2025
NOID issued: December 30, 2025
NOID submission: January 29, 2026
I-485 Approval: April 11, 2026

The NOID was basically questioning whether I was out of status at the time of filing. My response focused on showing that I had maintained F-1 status and included SEVIS/F-1 documentation, I-20s, school records, DSO communications, and other supporting evidence.

For anyone dealing with a NOID: take it seriously, organize your evidence clearly, respond with as much documentation as possible, and work with your attorney if you have one. A NOID is scary, but it does not automatically mean denial.

Today I was approved. God is good. Don’t lose hope.

Hi. I upgraded my I140 application to premium processing around 10 days ago. I got an email stating this:

“The Nebraska Service Center has received the following I-140 Petition for Immigrant Worker E21”

However I didn’t not get any I797 with the premium processing upgrade request approval yet. I am confused if it has been upgraded yet or not. Can folks who upgraded to PP online let me know if they ever got a I797 for PP upgrade in the first place?

Hi guys, I want to start with Kameli law EB2 NIW as Project manager in the construction.Any experience or ideas to go with kameli.law? Very affordable .I signed contract and paid $1000 but they did not reply my email so I m confused to move on with them.If anyone jas experience can share please ?

Hi everyone, in the US currently I’d really appreciate some guidance on my situation and future chances for EB2 NIW.

I was born in the list of 39 countries (not a citizen tho) but I am a citizen of a non banned country.

I’m currently completing my Masters in Pharmaceutical Sciences (in the US btw), with research in cancer biology focused on identifying substrates of a specific protein (its pretty novel as this protein has not been studied before).

At the moment, I don’t have any publications yet, but I am working toward publishing after im done with my masters. I’m also considering continuing into a PhD program.

I wanted to ask:

- What are my realistic chances of getting approved for EB2 NIW in the future given my background?

- How important are publications, and how many would typically make a strong case?

- Would pursuing a PhD significantly strengthen my profile for NIW?

- When is the right time to start preparing or applying?

I’d really appreciate any advice, especially from people who applied with a similar background or in biomedical research.

Hello

Is there any good news for people from the 19 and 39 banned countries?

Thanks

I recently got my EB-2 NIW profile evaluated by Ellis Porter. They said that my approval chances are very high based on my credentials.

However, they are not offering a refund option for the attorney fees. Instead, it’s a standard non-refundable payment structure (with a refile option if the case gets denied).

I have few questions:

• How risky is it to go ahead without a refund option, even if they say the case is strong?
• Has anyone here worked with Ellis Porter or similar firms? How was your experience?

TIA

Hi everyone,

I’m in the middle of an EB-2 NIW (I-140) petition and I’m considering withdrawing my attorney and proceeding pro se (handling everything myself).

My attorney filed Form G-28, so currently all USCIS communication (including a potential RFE) would go to them. I no longer trust their performance and want to take over the case myself — including responding to any RFE.

I’m planning to send a letter to USCIS to withdraw representation and have all future correspondence sent directly to me.

I’d really appreciate hearing from anyone who has done something similar:

• Did USCIS properly update your case and start sending notices to you?
• Any delays or issues after removing the attorney?
• Did USCIS ever still send RFEs/notices to the attorney instead?
• Any risk of missing deadlines or notices during the transition?
• Anything you wish you had done differently?

Thanks in advance — really appreciate any firsthand experiences or advice.

ps I’m mainly looking for advice on how to handle this situation moving forward (not past decisions), especially to avoid missing anything critical after removing my attorney.

Hello,

I'm on F-1 finishing my PhD in June. I used Chen Immigration for my I-140 with premium processing, which was approved yesterday (PD March 16; approved April 10, I think Arizona center). Since I'm ROW, I should be current now, but the May filing chart doesn't seem to be out yet.

I have a job offer starting in July (3-year contract), so I need work authorization by then. I applied for post-completion OPT on March 29 with standard processing. However, now that the I-140 is approved I'm trying to figure out the I-485 and the overlap with OPT. Chen told me it's better to wait with the I-485 until after I get the OPT EAD, but from lurking on this sub it seems like that's not always what people do.

My concern is that if May retrogresses I lose my filing window entirely, and who knows how long I'd have to wait to become current again. I don't want to sit around for 2 months waiting for standard OPT processing if that means missing my chance to file. I'm considering upgrading OPT to premium processing so I can get it approved faster, but that's not cheap and I'm not sure it's even necessary if I can file I-485 without waiting for OPT.

A few things I'm trying to figure out:

1. Looking at this (and similar) subs, it seems like a lot of people file I-485 without waiting for OPT. I am trying to understand if Chen were extra cautious in their recommendation. Do I even need the OPT EAD before filing I-485, or can I just go ahead? If I don't need to wait, I can skip upgrading OPT to premium and save that fee.
2. For those who self-filed I-485, how long did it actually take you to prepare everything and submit from scratch? Trying to figure out if I even have time to file before May.
3. I see a lot of people here self-filing I-485 and it seems pretty doable, but I'm nervous about messing something up. For anyone who used Chen for the I-140, did you also go with them for the I-485 or did you just do it yourself? Was it worth paying them again?
4. From what I understand, if I file I-485 I can also get an EAD through that instead of through OPT. But from what I understand, using the I-485 EAD means giving up F-1 status. For those who went this route, do you regret it? Is it better to keep F-1 as a fallback through OPT, or is the I-485 EAD safe enough to rely on?

I'm also talking to Chen and my international students office but would love to hear what people here actually did.

Thanks in advance, this sub has been super helpful throughout this whole process.

Hi,

I am following the approval posts in this sub and noticed that everyone who gets approved has terrific research profile, has at least more than 50 citations.

Meanwhile, I have only 3 citations but surprisingly EP offered me a 6k offer with a refiling option (no refund) and Chen sent me some follow-up questions, which I just replied and waiting for their reply again. None of them rejected me to take my case. Now, I am genuinely curious as to if there is anyone who has too little amount citations like me gets approved or even if they go for filing.

My spouse and I submitted our application packet (485, 131, and 765), and after a few weeks, they scanned and uploaded the content. However, it seems like the scans only contain very few pages and also are in a random order.

Should I be worried about this?

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Hi everyone,

I’m a Senior Software Engineer from South America and I’m just starting my EB2-NIW process. I’ve been doing some research, but I haven't found the "right fit" yet. It's a huge decision and I’m feeling a bit overwhelmed by the options.

Since I’m from SA, I’m looking for a firm where I can communicate in Spanish. I want to make sure the technical nuances of my "Proposed Endeavor" and my tech background don’t get lost in translation.

Does anyone have a lawyer they truly trust? I’d love to hear about your actual experience, how the communication was, and if they were honest about your chances from the start.

Thanks for the help!

Do I stand any chance of approval? PP on March 31

PE is natural product biosynthesis for enhanicng resilence and pests resistance in crop plants

Masters and PhD from the USA

2 first author publications with 8 citations

a third first author submitted (accepted after submitting I-140)

3 peer review service

worked on research funded by the national institute of helath and departemnt of agriculture

Postdoc in the same field of the proposed endeavor and the work is funded by USDA

Elected for a scientific organization by nomination

Hello, lets say my endeavor is about reducing costs in the public sector or whatever... how much is usually considered meaningful for the national interest? I know it varies a lot by field, but since the standard is “national” impact, I assume many cases ultimately relate to very large numbers.

Is there any sense of a floor in practice? Are we talking about something like $500K, $500M, or much higher? Curious how people think about this in real cases.

Do you feel it’s easier to get approved when your endeavor has a clear, measurable economic impact, like reducing costs, or when the value is more about contributing skills, knowledge, or people, like training others, even if it’s harder to quantify?

Which of these two options would you say is better: one that focuses on measurable financial impact, or one that focuses on training or creating an impact that isn’t necessarily financially measurable? Thanks

When writing the endeavor proposal, how much detail does USCIS actually expect? For example, if I say I will work with organizations, do they expect me to name specific ones? And if so, would they also expect letters or some kind of correspondence from them?

On the other hand, if I keep it more general and don’t name them, is that something that could be scrutinized or weaken the case?

Last year I heard from a lot of people whose petitions were not detailed and some USCIS officers were sending RFEs asking for corresponce showing interest or a more detailed plan of action, but the petitioners just sent carbon copies, another officer received and approved. Does that work on 2026? Is the bar higher? What do USCIS officers want? A clear plan of action year by year with the institutions involved and letters of interests included? Or the plan can be more brief? Thanks

Hi NIW friends, I would like some advice.

I am preparing my I-140 with Chen, and I am a posdoc in a J1 visa. As is not dual visa, Chen advise me to wait until I have my J1 extension (late June/July) to file I-140 and thus avoid possible issues with university (even if going from J1 to GC is not illegal, university can deny your J1 appointment if they find out as J1 is supposed to be not immigration intended).

I am scared that if I wait too long I could fall into not current / retrogression state. They also recommend me to wait until I140 approval to file I485, even if they gave me approval or refund and very strong possibilities of approval. My plan has been always to file all at once with PP if still current.

Thoughts on waiting / risking? How would university find out if I don’t tell them? Many posdocs do this transition and I’ve never heard of such problems.

Thank you all!!!

Say you have a large number of papers and literally all your papers have federal funding from multiple federal agencies but none is on your name, (i.e., the PIs are always the other co-authors; this is realistic for PhD students because at least in my field PhD students never get research grants on their name). Is this viewed as just mildly positive point or as a strong plus by USCIS officers for NIW petitions?

Just want to confirm if a Juris Doctor - Law can qualify under the advanced degree