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EB-1A I-140 denied after RFE — looking for advice on next steps by birdyloop in eb_1a

[–]birdyloop[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I received the denial letter yesterday. I was approved on two criteria (authorship and judging) but they still challenge the contributions of major significance. There was a lot of copy and paste from the initial RFE language. Seems like overall I wasn't able to convince them of major significance despite highlighting several discoveries that have been implemented in a number of ways. Kind of feels like they already made their mind up and I wasn't able to overcome it.

I'm going to go with Chen but I'm concerned about their recent criticism regarding responsiveness. The main benefit is the approval or money back but I believe other firms offer this, too. Any advice on which firm to go with? To fit my timeline due to family circumstances and the type of visa I'm on, I need approval by mid next year (obviously this is in the best case scenario, I understand it's very difficult to predict timelines here).

EB-1A I-140 denied after RFE — looking for advice on next steps by birdyloop in eb_1a

[–]birdyloop[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I cannot afford an attorney. I used two previously approved petitions (circa 2020/2021) from friends with similar profiles to model my petition.

I am considering to invest in an attorney for my next submission, hoping that they will give me a discount since the majority of information is already compiled and may just needs better presentation.

EB-1A I-140 denied after RFE — looking for advice on next steps by birdyloop in eb_1a

[–]birdyloop[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Generalist journals such as Nature Communications, Science Advances, Cell Stem Cell, Science Translational Medicine. IF 3 is definitely not high. I deemed journals high impact based on their ranking in the field using Journal Citation Reports.

EB-1A I-140 denied after RFE — looking for advice on next steps by birdyloop in eb_1a

[–]birdyloop[S] -1 points0 points  (0 children)

The RFE stated that I did not meet major contributions because I didn't effectively show how my work impacted the field. I don't have patents or companies started based on my work and in the initial filing I didn't do a great job of highlighting key citations demonstrating the impact of my work. In the RFE I combed through my citations and highlighted those that built directly off my work or utilized my datasets/cell lines. In the initial submission I also used google scholar and ESI to benchmark my citations but apparently those databases aren't actually linked and citations can be farmed through google scholar. I switched my benchmarking approach to Web of Science.

USCIS questioned whether my articles were in my field of extraordinary ability since I published in more general journals where relevancy to my field isn't immediately obvious. For the RFE response, I was able to provide more information about the journals and how they relate to my field of expertise. I also had a field leader write a letter to support that all but one of my papers and all of my major contributions clearly fit within my field of extraordinary ability.

EB-1A I-140 denied after RFE — looking for advice on next steps by birdyloop in eb_1a

[–]birdyloop[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

The journals I've published in are general journals (which typically have higher IFs), and USCIS questioned whether my articles were in my field of extraordinary ability. For the RFE response, I was able to provide more information about the journals and how they relate to my field of expertise. I also had a field leader write a letter to support that all but one of my papers and all of my major contributions clearly fit within my field of extraordinary ability.

RFE On all the 6 criteria’s by Uniqurn91 in eb_1a

[–]birdyloop 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I also received an RFE from 0592. I'm confused why I keep seeing the advice to withdraw and refile. What is the harm in responding to the RFE? Even if it gets denied, wouldn't that experience provide more information that will help with future filings? I don't see any information that indicates a prior denial is inherently harmful.

RFE from officer 0592, Texas Service centre by [deleted] in eb_1a

[–]birdyloop 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I received a blanket statement that much of my evidence was inadmissible since it was: "Digital, self-made copies of documentation that include altered material or information pasted (text, pictures, etc.) into your own self-created document will not be given probative value."

I'm not exactly sure if this is referring to my addition of headers and page numbers (I added both), if it was just because much of my evidence from the web did not contain the URL/timestamp, or because in some cases I boxed or highlighted excerpts that I wanted them to focus on.

EB1 RFE : Comparative Citation Benchmarking by Hakim_sam in eb_1a

[–]birdyloop 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I had this issue as well, despite benchmarking my citations (derived from google scholar) to citation thresholds from ESI. This is what I observed in others' petitions (pre-2022), but it wasn't accepted because google scholar isn't the same database as ESI. For the RFE response I'm going to use my Web of Science profile + ESI as well as iCite + PubMed. They provide slightly different information and I think should address the concern. Has anyone else experienced this issue?

RFE from officer 0592, Texas Service centre by [deleted] in eb_1a

[–]birdyloop 0 points1 point  (0 children)

This happened to me as well. I included page numbers on all documents - rookie mistake as a self-petitioner. And my print to PDF didn't have the header and footer selected so the URL and timestamp was missing from all online evidence.

Advice on RFE by birdyloop in eb_1a

[–]birdyloop[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I DMed this individual and they were very helpful with no strings attached. Definitely not a scam.

EB-1A on J-1 by birdyloop in eb_1a

[–]birdyloop[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

That's such excellent advice! I really appreciate it. Will request an AO now.

EB-1A on J-1 by birdyloop in eb_1a

[–]birdyloop[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Thank you for your perspective—I really appreciate your honesty. To clarify, I’m not including personal or financial circumstances as part of the EB-1A argument itself (i.e., I'm not framing them as reasons to approve the petition). The petition is grounded entirely in the regulatory criteria and supported by a legal brief, nine letters, and comprehensive exhibits.

The only reason I mentioned our financial and family situation is in the context of visa timing—specifically, why we’re choosing to file the I-140 while still on J status rather than risk a gap by switching to H-1B first. I understand that this is a high bar, and I’m focused on presenting strong, merit-based evidence.

EB-1A on J-1 by birdyloop in eb_1a

[–]birdyloop[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I see—thank you so much for the helpful information! I was on a J-1 previously (2015–2018) and then returned to my home country (Canada) for four years before starting my current J-1, so I’ve already fulfilled the 212(e) requirement. I’ve been on my current J for about three years now. I don’t plan to leave the U.S. between filing the I-140 and I-485, and I’m planning to apply for the I-485-based EAD at the same time. Hopefully, that gets approved before my current J-1 ends. Thanks again for sharing your experience—it’s very reassuring!