EB-2 NIW Case Study: Approval for a Semiconductor Design Engineer from India India Semiconductor Design EngineerColombo & Hurd secured approval of an EB-2 National Interest Waiver (NIW) petition for a semiconductor design engineer from India who designs and optimizes the advanced chips behind artificial intelligence (AI), 5G, and mobile computing. United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) approved the petition with Premium Processing and without a Request for Evidence (RFE). Advanced chips power everything from smartphones and laptops to AI systems and data centers. Their performance depends heavily on how engineers design them to deliver more computing power while controlling energy use, reliability, and complexity. Our client’s work is focused on improving the reliability and efficiency of these systems. She develops and refines the design methods used to build advanced chips, helping bring next-generation computing into practical use more quickly and dependably. Attorney Aaron Labreque of Colombo & Hurd led the petition, documenting how the client’s experience, technical contributions, and future work connected to broader U.S. semiconductor priorities. Evaluate My Profile Client ProfileA Semiconductor Engineer Focused on Faster, More Reliable Chip Design EB-2 NIW VisaOur client holds a master’s degree in electrical engineering and a bachelor of engineering in electronics and communication engineering. Over the past five years, the client has worked on the design of advanced chips, moving from an early engineering role to a senior design position at a major semiconductor company. The client designs the core building blocks inside high-performance chips, guiding each one from its first plan through testing and manufacturing. Much of her work centers on making chips run faster and more reliably while using less power. On one project, she helped advance a high-speed memory technology that improved data speeds and shortened testing timelines, supporting the launch of flagship products. She also developed a machine-learning method designed to strengthen chip security without sacrificing performance, as well as a tool for testing new designs at scale. In the United States, the client’s work will focus on improving how advanced chips are designed. She plans to bring automation and better testing methods into the design process to identify problems earlier and improve design efficiency. Because these methods can be applied across different teams and products, the potential impact of her work extends beyond a single chip or project. The Challenge Connecting Specialized Technical Expertise to Broader U.S. Priorities The central challenge was showing how the client’s technical experience and prior contributions positioned her to continue advancing work of broader importance to the U.S. semiconductor industry. Her record reflected substantive work in areas such as high-speed memory design, chip security, and testing methodologies, all of which directly informed the work she proposed to continue in the United States. The key challenge was documenting that broader reach. Her record included improvements to high-speed memory design, work involving chip security, and testing methods that could be applied across multiple designs. The petition needed to make clear how these highly specialized contributions connected to the larger needs of the U.S. semiconductor industry rather than ending with a single product or employer. See If You QualifyGet Your Free EB-2 NIW Visa Profile Evaluation Evaluate My Profile Strategic Approach Connecting Proven Technical Work to U.S. Semiconductor Priorities The legal team helped outline how the client’s work aligned with priorities the U.S. government has identified for the semiconductor industry. A White House executive order, “Removing Barriers to American Leadership in Artificial Intelligence,” established a federal policy of strengthening U.S. leadership in AI. Advanced semiconductor design is closely tied to that goal because AI systems depend on high-performance chips that can process large amounts of data quickly and efficiently. Our client’s work on high-speed memory technology had already contributed to real products, while her work on chip security and large-scale design testing showed how she was developing methods to address recurring challenges in semiconductor design. Her future plan built on that experience through automation, earlier testing, and design methods that could be used across multiple teams and products. Rather than relying on the importance of AI or semiconductors in general, the petition tied those national priorities to work the client had already performed and to the specific technical contributions she planned to continue advancing in the United States. The Result EB-2 NIW Approved with Premium Processing, No RFE USCIS approved the EB-2 NIW petition with Premium Processing without issuing an RFE. The client can move toward advancing her chip design work in the United States once permanent residency is obtained. Her focus stays on the same goal that anchored the petition: designing chips that run faster and more reliably and sharing the methods that help the wider U.S. semiconductor industry do the same. Case Overview Category Details Visa Classification EB-2 NIW Nationality India Professional Field Semiconductor Design Education Master’s degree in electrical engineering; Bachelor of Engineering in electronics and communication engineering Request for Evidence (RFE) No Premium Processing Yes Processing Time 2 months and 2 days Attorney Aaron Labreque Outcome I-140 petition approved Date of Approval August 28, 2026 Attorney Perspective Aaron LabrequeImmigration AttorneyRead More What distinguished this case was the strength of the connection between her technical expertise and the broader priorities shaping the future of the U.S. semiconductor industry. The Petition showed that her contributions were directly relevant to technologies that are increasingly important to American innovation, competitiveness, and technological leadership Evaluate My Profile This case was represented by Immigration Attorney Aaron Labreque 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 more than 2,500 approvals in EB-2 NIW and EB-1A categories since 2023.