EB-2 NIW Case Study: Approval for Clinical Researcher from Panama Panama Clinical ResearcherColombo & Hurd secured approval of an EB-2 National Interest Waiver (NIW) petition for a clinical researcher from Panama who specializes in gastroenterology clinical studies. USCIS approved the petition without issuing a Request for Evidence (RFE). Chronic digestive conditions carry a heavy burden for patients and for the health system, and children are among the hardest groups to study. Pediatric research faces unique hurdles, from parental consent to recruiting and keeping young participants enrolled. Clinical studies are also costly and slow, and many fail to reach the diverse populations they are meant to serve. Each of those gaps delays the arrival of better treatments. Our client’s research focuses on addressing these challenges in clinical studies involving children and adults with chronic digestive conditions, including inflammatory bowel disease. The client’s proposal is to provide credible and replicable data that leads to better treatment for patients across the country through the development of evidence-based strategies that make clinical studies for digestive conditions more reliable, efficient, and accessible. Senior Attorney Bryan Hidalgo led the petition. Evaluate My Profile Client ProfileFrom Nutrition Science to Pediatric Gastroenterology ResearchEB-2 NIW VisaOur client holds a bachelor’s degree and a master’s degree in nutrition, as well as a master’s degree in public health. She is a registered dietitian and spent the early part of her career in clinical nutrition, working with patients managing diabetes, hypertension, and digestive disorders. That early work experience gave her a direct view of the relationship between diet and chronic diseases. From there she moved into clinical research, first supporting a federally funded public health study and then joining a pediatric gastroenterology division as a research coordinator. In that role she managed regulatory documentation, developed study protocols, led biospecimen collection, and co-authored a research publication. Each step added responsibility for the integrity of the data behind a study. She later received a formal offer from a U.S. academic medical center, where she now works as a clinical research coordinator in gastroenterology, leading patient recruitment and biospecimen collection across multiple clinical sites. Her experience in both patient care and clinical research supports her proposed endeavor: developing strategies that make studies of digestive conditions more reliable, efficient, and accessible across the United States. The Challenge Showing National Impact in Research Coordination The legal team and the client needed to show that improving how clinical studies are designed and run has an impact in more than just one institution. Clinical research coordinators typically work within individual medical institutions, but the client’s proposed endeavor aims to improve how studies are conducted across the United States. The petition therefore had to demonstrate how her experience in gastroenterology research could translate into methods that other institutions could adopt, improving the quality, efficiency, and accessibility of clinical studies beyond her current workplace. Strategic Approach Connecting Clinical Research Improvements to Federal Health Priorities The legal team showed how the client’s proposed research methods align with federal efforts to make clinical studies more accessible and effective, from the Healthy People 2030 goals on access to care, which her inclusive study populations support, to the National Institutes of Health’s All of Us program, which shares her focus on precision medicine. Her remote monitoring and hybrid study models also echo the Advancing Clinical Trial Readiness initiative, a federal effort to bring clinical studies closer to where people live. To demonstrate the client’s qualifications and ability to carry out her proposal, the record showed a clear progression from her early experience in clinical nutrition to her current work in research coordination. Letters of recommendation from physicians and research professionals, including medical professionals who had not worked with the client, described her contributions to pediatric studies and outreach materials created for Spanish-speaking families. Her detailed research plan covered adaptive study designs, digital tools for real-time data, biomarker screenings to tailor treatment, and training for research staff. Her offer of employment at a U.S. academic medical center provided further evidence of how she could put these strategies into practice. See If You QualifyGet Your Free EB-2 NIW Visa Profile Evaluation Evaluate My Profile The Result An Approval That Takes Her Work Beyond One Institution USCIS approved the EB-2 NIW petition without issuing a Request for Evidence (RFE). With her EB-2 NIW approved, and once permanent residency is obtained, she will be able to apply her proposal across institutions: leading collaborations between research teams, training staff at other sites, and building shared databases that pool findings from multiple studies. Case Overview Category Details Visa Classification EB-2 National Interest Waiver (NIW) Nationality Panama Professional Field Clinical Research (Gastroenterology) Education Master’s degree in public health, Master’s degree and Bachelor’s degree in nutrition Request for Evidence (RFE) No Attorney Senior Attorney Bryan Hidalgo Outcome I-140 petition approved Date of Approval October 14, 2026 Attorney Perspective Bryan HidalgoSenior AttorneyRead More “Her proposal grew out of work she already does every day with families and research teams. Better-run studies for digestive conditions reach patients well beyond one medical center, and that is what her petition showed.” EB-2 NIW Processing Time (2026): Realistic Timeline & How to Avoid Delays Read More EB-2 NIW Visa: Complete Guide for 2026 Read More In Depth Look at the Second Prong of Dhanasar: Well Positioned to Advance the Endeavor Read More In Depth Look at the First Prong of Dhanasar: Substantial Merit and National Importance Read More In Depth Look at the Third Prong of Dhanasar: Beneficial to the United States Read More This case was handled by Senior Attorney Bryan Hidalgo of Colombo & Hurd, a U.S. immigration law firm specializing in employment-based visas including EB-2 NIW and EB-1A petitions. The firm has secured over 10,000 successful visa and green card approvals for clients from more than 100 countries, including more than 2,500 approvals in EB-2 NIW and EB-1A categories since 2023.