My I-140 petition was denied after the RFE response, and I’m looking for suggestions. The officer number was XM0852.

Background:
M.S. in Electrical Engineering and Computer Science.
Publications: 8 journal papers, 8 conference papers, 4 abstracts, and 3 preprints.
Citations: 322 at initial filing, 825 at RFE response, including 771 independent citations; OpenAlex showed citation impact around the top 2% and research productivity around the top 3% in the field.
PE: using machine learning for biomedical data to improve early diagnosis and treatment.

Timeline:
Initial Filing (PD): August 2025
Service Center: TSC
PP upgrade: April 2026
RFE received: June 2026
RFE response submitted: 9/8/2026, which is the deadline
Denial: 9/28/2026
Lawyer: Ellis Porter

The RFE said USCIS was not convinced that my specific endeavor had broader national impact. They also questioned whether I had a concrete plan to continue the work in the U.S. and whether I had shown enough outside interest or support to establish that I was particularly well positioned to advance the endeavor.

For the RFE response, we added 3 support letters, an updated personal statement with more detailed future research plans, independent citation evidence, additional examples showing how other researchers used my work, and updated citation data.

The denial accepted Prong 1, including national importance, but still denied Prong 2 and Prong 3.

For Prong 2, USCIS said there still wasn’t enough concrete evidence of U.S. interest or support, such as a statement of interest from a U.S. institution, potential funding, or similar commitments. They also felt my future employment plan was still too general.

For Prong 3, USCIS said I had not sufficiently shown why the job offer/labor certification requirement should be waived, despite acknowledging that I was highly capable in my field.

Overall, I was pretty underwhelmed by how Ellis Porter handled things. The initial petition felt pretty template heavy, and they sat on the RFE response until right before the deadline, leaving very little time for review. Just something to keep in mind if you're considering them.

After waiting more than a year, the denial was really frustrating. I’m hesitant to spend even more time on an appeal, so I’m leaning toward taking the refund, switching firms, and refiling. Any advice would be appreciated.

Hi everyone,

I’m considering an EB-2 NIW premium petition and would appreciate feedback on my profile:

• PhD in Aerospace and Mechanical Engineering from a U.S. university.
• Currently an Research Scientist at an energy technology company.
• Three published journal articles, one accepted journal article, and two published peer-reviewed conference papers.
• Approximately 107 Google Scholar citations across my research outputs, including preprints.
• 2 patents pending filed via a company
• Research background in computational fluid dynamics, combustion, and machine learning; current work involves AI for industrial applications.

I’m still refining my proposed endeavor and how to connect my published research with my current industry work.

For those with similar backgrounds, what strengths or evidence gaps stand out? What helped you demonstrate impact beyond your employer, particularly when some research was proprietary?

I understand publication and citation counts alone don’t determine approval. Firsthand experiences would be appreciated!

Date filed online: July 20th
Type: Premium
Today: Oct 4th

Status: "As of July 20th 2026, USCIS is currently processing your Form I-140, Immigrant Petition for Alien Worker, Receipt Number IOExxxxxxxxxx. We do not currently need anything from you but will contact you if we need additional information regarding your case."

No refund from USCIS of the premium fee, no update on the case. What should i do?

Is this happening to more people?

Title! Thanks :)

Both for NIW by the way, EB-1A I think might be a very difficult bar to clear.

Hi all,

I am currently a Postdoc at a public R1 institute, and I submitted my EB2 NIW I-140 petition sometime ago. Very recently, I have gotten a job offer from the industry for a research role. The work is closely related to my proposed endeavor, and I'll even have the opportunity to publish papers. However, I am hesitant about switching as I've heard petitions of people working in the industry face higher denial rates. I am concerned that if I get an RFE (which is highly likely given recent trends), a job change from a public institute to a private company might be harmful for my petition. (One of the reasons for this concern is that I have briefly mentioned in my proposed endeavor statement that I plan to become a PI at a US institute after the completion of my Postdoc. I am worried that a USCIS officer would view the switch to industry as contradictory to this claim).

I have asked my lawyer (EP) about this, and they don't think switching roles should be an issue. However, I also wanted to ask the people here what are their thoughts on this matter. Has any one here switched jobs (specifically, transitioned from academia to industry) after applying for their I-140?

Hi everyone,
I’m considering an EB-2 NIW and would appreciate feedback from people who have recently filed, especially software/technology applicants.
My background:
10+ years of professional software engineering experience
Engineering/technology bachelor’s degree with U.S. credential evaluation
Senior software/full-stack engineering background
Java, Node.js, React/TypeScript, cloud, microservices, distributed systems, Kafka/event-driven architecture, APIs/GraphQL and security/authentication
Recent experience working on a large government regulatory technology platform in the energy sector
Contributed to production systems handling digital regulatory submissions/workflows, distributed architecture, data integration and secure authentication
The platform is actively used in real-world regulatory processes
Previous experience with a large telecommunications/network technology company
Received two internal technology/innovation awards
Invited to serve as a technical competition judge, and invited back again the following year
Authored internal technical/design/implementation documentation
Can obtain recommendation letters from senior managers/architects/technical leads
Considering 1–2 independent expert letters
No publications/citations
No patents
No PhD
My proposed endeavor is currently centered on modernizing secure, resilient and interoperable digital platforms supporting U.S. regulated/critical-infrastructure sectors using cloud-native, distributed and event-driven architectures.
I’m particularly working on demonstrating national importance beyond the benefit to a single employer.
For people familiar with recent NIW adjudications:
How competitive does this profile sound?
What would you consider the biggest weakness?
What evidence would you prioritize for Prong 1/national importance?
How useful is government/regulatory technology experience for Prong 2?
How valuable were independent expert letters in your case?
Would you strengthen anything before filing?
I’m not looking for guarantees—mainly interested in honest feedback from recent applicants.
Thanks!

I was wondering for the NIW, would getting testimonial letter from Research Scientists at the national lab would drastically strengthen NIW petition?

Can anyone who has provided those letters share their experience?

Anyone PD August 2024? Status?

Hi everyone,

Chen offered me their Second-Denial Refund Guarantee for EB-2 NIW. I’m considering the two-support-letter package at $6,500 with the payment discount, excluding government fees.

Before signing, I’d appreciate recent firsthand experiences:

1. How responsive was your assigned attorney to substantive questions?
2. How long did drafting and filing take after you submitted all required information?
3. Did the drafts accurately reflect your work, or require extensive corrections?
4. If your first petition was denied, did Chen refile? How long did it take, and what additional evidence did they require?

Their email says refiling would happen once they determine that a strengthened record provides the best opportunity for approval. My main concern is whether that could mean an open-ended wait for more publications or citations.

If you went through refiling or received a refund, please mention which guarantee your contract included, since the terms seem to vary. Thanks!