Here are some experiences with regards to my entire track from NIW I-140 petition to I-485 approval. I had somewhat of an unique case, so if anyone here is in the same boat, this may be of help to you. I have done the entire process by myself, without an attorney, and long hours of research in the law library on U.S.C. Section 8.
Arrived to US in 1991 on J-1, not subject to section 212e, changed to F-1 on arrival. Became an H-1 in 2001 and filed for NIW in March of 2002, case was backlogged due to 9-11.
Based on the advice of some of the members at immigrationportal and being an eternal optimist, I went to Vermont Service center on Aug 23rd taking a dayoff. The lady in the counter told me that my file is in queue for FP scheduling. I told her that I got the same reply even two months back when I made senatorial enquiry.
Today I had my interview conducted, and passport stamped as the final result. I finally can draw a closure for this 27-month-long journey. Honestly and surprisingly, I was extremely calm when I arrived USCIS office 4 am today. I was reading one of my favorite authors' (Ann Quindlen) bestseller " One True Thing" while I was waiting in the waiting room so concentratedly that when my name was called, I realized that my eyes were full of tears (yeah, the story's very touching and real. ) Anyway, here's my detail report to all of you who are still waiting:
We won this case for the applicant based on his exceptional research record evident by his numbers of publications and invited presentations. At the time of filing, the applicant's research work had been cited over 100 times which is indicative of the high-quality, highly regarded work that he does. Referees noted that this applicant was one of the very small percentage of scientists who achieve the highest level of success in their given field.
We won a case for National Interest Waiver for a Physician working in a medically underserved area. We provided a five year contract, copy of his J-1 Waiver approval, numerous experience letters, a letter from the Department of State and documentation to reflect statistics of health professional shortage in the area.
We won this case as the applicant was noted to be a critical component to the success of various projects and had a very large impact on the research program. Referees described this applicant's talents to be rare and difficult to replace by U.S. workers. Her original and pioneering research made her uniquely qualified to further this intrinsically important research which greatly effected the nation as a whole.
We won this case for the applicant who had over twelve years research and teaching experience. He was considered a critical component to the success of his current project. At the time of filing, the applicant had over 22 publications in prestigious, international scholarly journals. The applicant's significant contributions had been cited by other renowned researchers in his field. His Ph.D. work was highly regarded and noted to be admired by several leading experts.
This applicant had over twelve years of research experience. We noted the applicant's international reputation in the fourteen recommendation letters submitted. The applicant was a member of a prestigious professional society membership of which requires noted achievements in the field. We provided evidence of the extensive presentations the applicant made due to his level of expertise in the field.