EB-2 NIW Case Study: Ecuadorian Engineer Strengthening U.S. Telecommunications Infrastructure 

During adjudication, United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) issued a Request for Evidence (RFE) challenging whether the client’s endeavor carried national importance and whether she was well positioned to advance it. Mr. Qiu noted that the officer requested more information to discern the client’s record of success, particularly how her work was utilized by others in the field. Simultaneously, the officer appeared to impose heightened legal standards for approval that did not apply to this visa category. For example, the RFE conflated the requisite standard under Dhanasar with a showing of “original contributions of major significance,” which is language resembling EB-1A criteria, even though the petition was for an EB-2 NIW. 

As Mr. Qiu explained, our team identified that the crux of successfully responding to the RFE was to present “a combination of methodical legal argumentation to help rectify the officer’s erroneous legal standards and careful presentation of the substantive evidence to frame the client’s work in terms of its overall significance.” We aimed to strike a balance between providing enough technical detail about her work while retaining focus on the bigger picture of how her work supports national initiatives to expand broadband access in the U.S. 

The client’s endeavor, heavily based in broadband network design and implementation, required translating layers of engineering terminology into something meaningful and persuasive for a non-technical adjudicator.  

To address these challenges, Mr. Qiu and our legal team presented the case in clear, accessible terms. Our team developed and refined the national importance statement to more clearly connect the client’s proposed endeavor to U.S. broadband priorities, including programs such as the Federal Communications Commission (FCC)’s Rural Digital Opportunity Fund and the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA)’s ReConnect Program. 

Mr. Qiu shared that they aimed to be specific to her methodologies, not just talk about how broadband is generally important for the country. They focused on explaining how her optimized network architecture and monitoring systems could help small providers deliver better service. 

The team also submitted an updated model or plan for future activities, refining the technical explanations by including a table comparing the client’s methodologies to existing frameworks in the U.S. market. This side-by-side comparison helped illustrate her unique contributions in a straightforward, visual way. 

They also included an updated letter of recommendation highlighting the ways her work was already being implemented outside the U.S., as well as a service agreement with a potential U.S. customer, which demonstrated concrete demand for her expertise. These materials made it easy for the officer to understand the real-world value of her work without getting lost in technical complexity. 

The case was ultimately approved, affirming our client’s ability to make a meaningful contribution to U.S. telecommunications development. For Mr. Qiu, the approval was deeply satisfying after overcoming an RFE: “We knew the client had a long history of doing meaningful work in her field and that her proposed endeavor was nationally important, so it was rewarding to see the officer ultimately recognize these elements. We saw this approval as validation of our client’s hard work and future ambitions.” 

He also noted that this successful result reinforced a broader message about the EB-2 NIW category: “It shows that EB-2 NIW is not limited to researchers. Applicants from a variety of fields can obtain approval if they can systematically show how their work aligns with national interests and clearly communicate the relevant strengths of their profile,” he explained. 

This case became a success story because of how it connected innovation, entrepreneurship, and public benefit into one cohesive vision for the future of U.S. telecommunications.