Scientist
The experienced immigration lawyers at Colombo & Hurd continue to secure approvals for our clients under President Donald Trump’s new administration! We recently obtained an Employment-Based First Preference Extraordinary Ability (EB-1A) approval for a Colombian endocrinologist and metabolic disease researcher seeking to continue his work in the United States to translate his groundbreaking research into actionable therapeutic solutions.
background and experience necessary to qualify for EB-1A
Colombo & Hurd Immigration Attorney Miguel Maldonado represented the client in this case. He highlighted several key achievements to demonstrate this client’s eligibility for the EB-1A visa, ultimately proving that the client has sustained national or international acclaim, will continue to work in his area of extraordinary ability, and will substantially benefit the United States in the future.
Although EB-1A has more stringent requirements compared to other visa options like the National Interest Waiver (NIW), Mr. Maldonado recognized that this client had the background and experience necessary to qualify for EB-1A:
“Though this client had a great case for the National Interest Waiver category, his extraordinary career opened him to the EB-1A category, which currently has no backlog for his country and allows him to apply for his Green Card much faster. This will allow him to begin his work and start positively impacting the U.S. academic, medical, and pharmaceutical industry much faster than was initially expected.”
Demonstrating the client’s sustained national or international acclaim
To demonstrate the client’s sustained national or international acclaim, Mr. Maldonado provided evidence that the client meets five of the 10 criteria, exceeding the requirement of meeting at least three of the criteria. Specifically, the petition included evidence that the client has authored high-impact scholarly articles and academic books, that he has made original contributions of major significance, that he has judged the work of others, that he is a member of associations which require outstanding achievement of their members, and that he has received nationally or internationally recognized prizes or awards.
Mr. Maldonado provided insight on the client’s impressive history of publishing in academic journals and conducting peer review:
“Our client had achieved world recognition for his contributions to endocrinology diagnosis and treatments, gaining support from international academic journals, U.S. academic institutions, and invitations to review expert’s research for various journals.”
Mr. Maldonado also emphasized the client’s original contributions of major significance and the recognition he has received for his work:
“Key factors contributing to his approval involved building his application in a way that highlighted the impact that his work has had outside of the institutions he has worked for. For example, we made sure to highlight that our client’s research in his specialized field of endocrinology has gathered numerous citations from leading researchers in his field, evidencing the impact that his own authored work has had on the diagnosis, treatment, and management of diseases like obesity, diabetes mellitus, and other metabolic diseases.
In fact, our client’s contributions were so significant, that an artist in his home country created a Bust Sculpture of him to honor his contributions to the country’s medical field, which today stands in Colombia to honor him as “one of the best specialists in Endocrinology”.”
Our client intends to continue his work in the field of endocrinology and metabolic disease research in the United States. He has already collaborated with highly ranked universities in the U.S. and plans to continue collaborating with leading pharmaceutical companies and top-tier universities to translate his groundbreaking research into actionable therapeutic solutions for the treatment of metabolic diseases.
Mr. Maldonado notes that the client’s plans to further his work in the United States, with clear benefits for advancing the treatment of patients suffering with issues stemming from diabetes, obesity, and other endocrinology-related illnesses, made his case uniquely aligned with national health objectives:
“What made his case special was his intention to continue expanding on his contributions to endocrinology by goals advancing the integration of technology, such as machine learning techniques used to identify critical genes and pathways associated with diabetes and obesity, to further bioinformatics and predictive modeling and predictive modeling to forecast the response of diabetic or obese patients to specific drugs based on gene expression profiles, in his specialized field.”
Mr. Maldonado and his team worked closely with the client to provide substantial evidence to warrant EB-1A approval. Within 23 days of filing his petition, we were able to deliver the good news to our client that his case was approved without any request for evidence by USCIS. Our client can now apply for his Green Card and continue his impactful work in the field of endocrinology and metabolic disease research in the United States.
