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[Green Card] EB-2 NIW National Interest Waiver Application (1) Find a Partner Law Firm

Image by David Peterson from Pixabay

Disclaimer.

The content provided in this article is based on personal experience and is for public information purposes only, and it does not constitute legal advice. The information presented herein should not be considered a substitute for professional legal guidance. Immigration laws and regulations are subject to change and vary depending on individual circumstances. For comprehensive and up-to-date legal assistance, it is recommended that you consult a qualified immigration lawyer. The author of this article assumes no responsibility for any action taken or not taken based on the information provided herein.

Preface

If you are a long-term reader of this blog, you know that after the author completes a milestone in his life, he will write an article to share the process and experience, and thank the friends who have helped me and cheered me up in the process. The following is a summary of a poem written by the author.

I have been living for thirty years, and I know how improbable things can follow like a man's plan.
Relying on others' help and your own luck, you may be able to get things done after struggles.

First of all, I would like to thank my family for their endless dedication, from studying abroad to the present, supporting me through the collapse and subsequent growth.

Thank you to Career & Life Coaches Rob, Sidney, and Peng.

Thank you, friends, colleagues, neighbors, and couples I met at the summit of Acadia National Park, who persevered in helping me find a partner and suggesting the pathway of marriage green card. I have received all your kindness. (If you want to know more about the life story of a marriage green card, you can read this [Book Summary] My (Underground) American Dream—Julissa Arce.) ）

Thank you to Maria, a cleaning specialist from Guatemala, Muhammad, a tailor from Iran, Abdul, a baker from Syria, Haput from India, and Will and Alex, chef assistants from Latin America. We have different faiths, but you have generously blessed and prayed for me. I pray for you as well.

Finally, I would like to thank my friends who have known my situation in the past year for their support. I wouldn't have been this far without you.

Thank you for your kind support and prayers, my friend. 

Gracias por tu amable apoyo y oraciones, amigo mío.

شكرًا لدعمك اللطيف وصلواتك، صديقي 

(1) Finding a law firm to collaborate with but in vain

03/30/2022 The H-1B draw was completed, and the lawyer informed me that I was not selected. This is the second time to participate in the H-1B lottery. Although there may be a second and third round of drawing, it is too dangerous to pin your hopes on completely unforeseen matters, as it is like sitting and waiting for death. For more information on the cultivation of this mental strength, please refer to the fourth bullet point in [Book Summary] 13 Things Mentally Strong People Don't Do—Amy Morin.

They Don't Focus on Things They Can't Control.

And later facts also proved that there was no second round of lottery in 2022. I still haven't won the H-1B lottery in 2023. The chance of winning the H-1B lottery has also dropped from about 30% in 2022 to 18% in 2023, and I estimate that there will be less than 10% left in 2024. The H-1B is a dysfunctional system, and it's getting worse.

As for the Diversity Green Card, which is drawn once a year, there is even less hope, which fully reflects the title of "Lottery". For Taiwanese, the chance of winning the lottery is only about 1%.

Based on my 2022 analysis, there are currently four options left.

  1. Take Day-1 CPT: I have discussed this part with the company's human resources, and the human resources said that this part is too Shady, so they don't accept it. Some people will choose to find a company that is willing to accept Day-1 CPT and then leave the original company, but I also have concerns about this option so I skip it.
  2. Applying for L-1B: Theoretically applicable because the original company has business offices in Wuxi, China, and France. But firstly, it was protracted, and secondly, my position in the company did not meet the standard of asking the company to help me petition. After a long discussion, the company was still reluctant to help.
  3. Petition EB-2 NIW (National Interest Waiver): This waiver refers to the Job Offer and the Permanent Labor Certification. The latter is what is often referred to as the PERM process. Although the speed of the review has dropped significantly due to COVID-19, it was reported in March 2022 that it took only 10 months for someone to get a green card through this channel.

    In May 2023, USCIS has offered a $2,500 premium processing NIW for a guaranteed Adjudicative action within 45 calendar days. However, be aware that this may end up in a Request For Evidence (RFE). My supervisor tried to apply for financial aid to reduce the financial impact on me, but there was no news until I left. 

    Remember, don't put too much expectation on your employer so that you won't be disappointed.
  4. Applying for ExpressEntry (EE) to Canada: I heard that it is easier to apply, but it seems that applicants who are outside of Canada have not been selected in the past two years. Relocating across borders can also be a big hassle.

On the afternoon (03/30/2022) when I learned that I was not selected, I asked my supervisor for the next day's paid leave to make a plan. The chosen method at that time was to find a lawyer to get an EB-2 NIW. On 03/31/2022, seven letters were sent to contact different law firms.

  1. TLA Law, Attorneys at Law, PLLC
    says that running NIW is difficult, and running PERM is simpler.
  2. WeGreened (WG)
    did not meet the other party's request and therefore did not accept my case. It should be because there is no paper published and cited, and the other party thinks that the probability of success is not high.
  3. Yacheng Law Firm did not meet the other party's application requirements, so it
    did not accept my case.
  4. Eugene Chen Law, PLLC and Eugene Chen made an appointment for a consultation on 04/06/2022
    and the lawyer was very kind but there was no follow-up cooperation.
  5. Law Offices of Jingting Li, PLLC
    made an appointment for 04/05/2022 and ended up being released when the time was up. Later, there was no reply.
  6. Vincent Clark Law
    is the law firm that helped me get an H-1B, but it won't help me get an EB-2 NIW. I was a little dumbfounded at the moment, after all, I was a lawyer who worked with the company, and it was the first time I heard that I could choose to take on a case. But I have the impression that it is not a direct reply from the lawyer, but a message conveyed by human resources, and the credibility should be discounted.
  7. Green Maple Law Group, APC. Green Maple Law Firm
    and Danny Chen made an appointment for a consultation on 04/11/2022, and the lawyer was very friendly, but after the conversation, I sent several letters, but the other party did not reply.

At that time, I found seven law firms, but no one was willing to take them. The mood can be called a thousand thoughts. Later, when I read a book, when people are in trouble, they will fall into the 3P mode and can't extricate themselves. If I had read this book earlier, my mood might not have been so bad. The following is a quote from my reading experience [Book Summary] Atlas of the Heart: Mapping Meaningful Connection and the Language of Human Experience—Brené Brown.

To practice resilience, think about Martin Seligman's 3Ps: personalization, permanence, and pervasiveness. Personalization: we forget that there are outside factors at play in our struggles. Permanence: a feeling that the struggle is "Mugen" or unlimited blinds us that tomorrow can be different from today. Pervasiveness: we feel like everything that we cherish is destroyed or doesn't matter anymore.

Another book [Book Summary] In Conclusion, Don't Worry about It─Lauren Graham also had a lot of influence on me, Later I learned that if you can solve the things you don't need to worry about, it's useless to worry about the things you can't solve. And after completing one goal, there is always the next goal. If you can't see it, you won't be happy no matter how many goals you achieve.

The following is a quote from a speech that I think is quite useful.

If the troubles are useful, let's all sit down and worry together, and if the troubles are useless, then what are you doing with the troubles? - Ke Wenzhe

(2) The last lifebuoy? Here comes the lawyer!

In my moment of discouragement, I remembered my good neighbor in graduate school, who was not only a good student with excellent character and learning, but also a good person who was enthusiastic about public welfare. So I reached out on 11/10/2022 to this good friend. Although my friend is a new lawyer, he has a network of lawyers that we can't match. Directly connect me with a senior staff attorney with nearly 20 years of experience.

Later, after some discussion, the lawyer suggested that I could wait a little longer, after all, there is one more H-1B to draw in 2023. However, the author still did not win the H-1B draw for the third time in 2023. At that time, I put all my hopes on the lotto green card, but I still didn't win. I didn't do enough homework to know that even if I won the lotto, I would have to wait until October 1st to start processing. You don't have to be selected to submit the required documents and start the administrative process right away.

Immediately after the two turtles, they contacted the lawyer to discuss what to do next. Including what kind of status you want to change to to continue to stay in the United States, whether you want to stay in the United States, etc., or go back to Taiwan, etc., and wait for the application result. That's why the [UMAA] application for transfer of student status from F-1 to tourist status B-2 was born.

The following is the timeline from the signing of the contract to the approval of the application, in fact, the efficiency is quite good, and it was completed in less than two months. Of course, I was thinking about how to package my case in November 2022, not after the signing was completed. This thought process actually takes a lot of time.

  • 05/06/2023 Lottery Green Card Again Turtle
  • 05/24/2023 The signing of the contract between the two parties has been completed
  • 06/19/2023 The author took the lead in completing the first draft of the cover letter and four recommendation letters, and provided a list of all relevant documents to speed up the processing of the law firm
  • 07/14/2023 The lawyer completes the first draft and provides the change items to the lawyer on the same day after review
  • 07/18/2023 Lawyers completed the second edition and there were no changes to the entries on the day after the review
  • 07/19/2023 The firm's more senior team of lawyers completes the revision review
  • 07/20/2023 Delivered to USCIS
  • 07/21/2023 Attorney notifies receipt of USCIS receipt
  • 08/31/2023 Approved, 41 days from receipt of receipt
In terms of fees, the fees paid by the author to the law firm are between $5,000 and $10,000, plus $700 for the application and $2,500 for premium processing. Since the valuation of each case may be different, I will not provide the cost of this case to readers.

(3) Can I run my own NIW? Is it better to find a lawyer?

The first question, the answer is yes. You don't need the help of your employer or a lawyer to apply for EB-2 NIW. As long as you have the documents and a check, you can apply.

The second question is to define what is good. Let's take a break-by-point explanation.

  1. Speed: "One person goes fast, a group of people goes far." If you want your application to be prepared quickly, finding a lawyer can make it slower for you. It took about a month from the time the author completed the first draft to the time when the lawyer completed the first draft.

    Only you know your major best, and your academic and professional background is also what you know best. In the process of communicating with the lawyer, you have to explain to the lawyer where your selling point (hook) is. What is there to market but needs to be packaged? After all, your academic and professional background is not a lawyer's specialty, he needs time to understand. But because of this, you can avoid writing your application documents too academic and too difficult. However, if the lawyer is very experienced, he can even provide you with a different perspective. It's just that he will also be very popular, and there are a lot of customers who are in a hurry and waiting online, so you will have to wait longer.

    The U.S.     Navy SEALs have a quote for your readers. It's more practical to start early than to go for speed.
    Slow is smooth and smooth is fast.
  2. Professional: If you take car modification products as an example. In the case of Honda Kimi, if you don't want to do research and compare modifications of various brands, you can directly buy unlimited MUGEN products. If you're a Speedmaster rider, your first impression when it comes to tuning should be an STI. (Like the one I drive the Legacy can post SLO, haha.) If it's a Toyota, and you like to do some off-road or something, you're going to go for TRD. If you like racing and handling, you'll love GR.

    In the same way, the profession of a lawyer has its value. Although the advancement of artificial intelligence has made it easier for me to prepare application documents, some precedents are only known to practicing lawyers. Remember to respect the profession!
  3. Credit: In 2020, when I was still in graduate school, I went to chat with my seniors to learn about the current situation in the industry, and I am still doing this action to this day.

    A senior at Analog Devices told me that your reputation is important, and once you mess up, it's hard to salvage. So think about it, if you find a very reputable and very accomplished law firm today, they are willing to take your case and file an application on your behalf. Isn't it more convincing than applying on your own? So I think the credibility of a law firm has their value and is also reflected in the price you pay.

    As a simple example, if I want to buy a used car in Taiwan, I will choose Xiao Shi Auto or Ah Ci Garage! Of course, there are still some people who feel that finding a lawyer is not necessary. I have a friend in India who thinks that if you don't have an illegal stay or any criminal record, you don't really need to hire a lawyer. I'll leave it up to the readers to make their choices.

All in all, start preparing your application documents as early as possible, and find a reputable and competent lawyer if you can afford it. If you can, trade money for time, not your time for money. Also, be prepared to invest a lot of time and effort, because this is the application that you will complete together with the lawyer (as the title of this article suggests), and don't expect to wait for the lawyer to complete the entire application document fully automatically.

If you're still undecided, check out [Book Summary] How to Decide—Annie Duke. The book mentions more specific 3Ps than Pro and Con List (which happens to be the 3Ps), namely Payoff, Probability, and Preferences。 The book also mentions the Decision Tree tool, which is actually very similar to Flow Chart in the author's engineering point of view, and also like the way to write a Sequential Functional Chart in control engineering in accordance with IEC 61131-3.

(4) A brief introduction to the structure of the law firm

Large law firms have detailed hierarchies, and understanding the structure of the law firm can help you have the right expectations. I signed a contract with a very senior staff attorney, but in fact, it was the junior staff such as the paralegal who prepared the application documents, and the senior lawyer was responsible for reviewing and proofreading the draft of the paralegal to ensure that nothing went wrong. At the end of the author's case, the partner checked again, and the name of the partner was also on the G-28 form and application package.

Of course, the structure of a law firm can vary depending on its size and practice area, but here is an overview of the organizational structure of a law firm, from entry-level to senior-level positions:

1. Legal Support Staff

  • Legal Secretary: Assists attorneys with administrative tasks, drafts documents, and manages schedules.
  • Paralegal: Provides substantive legal support to lawyers, conducts legal research, drafts legal documents, and assists in case management.
  • Legal Assistants: Assist attorneys and legal assistants with administrative and research tasks.

2
. Associate Attorney

  • Junior Associate: A lawyer who has recently graduated from law school or has limited experience. They work under the guidance of senior lawyers.
  • Mid-Level Associate: A lawyer with several years of experience, usually specializing in a specific area of practice.
  • Senior Associate: An experienced lawyer who may take on more complex cases and have significant client interactions.

3. Of Counsel: A lawyer who is not a full partner but has a close relationship with the law firm. They usually have expertise and may work part-time or contractually.

4. Partner

  • Non-Equity Partner: A partner who does not own an ownership stake in the law firm but receives a share of the profits.
  • Non-Equity Partner: The sole owner of a law firm who is financially responsible for its success. They share the profits of the law firm and have a say in its management.
  • Managing Partner: Leads the day-to-day operations of the firm, including business development, financial management and overall strategy.

5. Practice Group Leader: An attorney who leads a specific practice area (e.g., litigation, corporate law, or intellectual property) within the firm.

6. Firm Administrator: Responsible for managing the non-legal operations of the law firm, including human resources, finance, marketing, and technology.

Larger law firms may have more hierarchies and additional positions, such as Staff Attorney. Specific roles and titles will also vary depending on the region and area of legal practice.

(5) Walk an extra mile, and no one will squeeze with you

Finally, I would like to share a speech that I liked. Although it is hard work and money to apply on your own, there are many fewer people competing than the lotto green card and H-1B scheme. As Lanno said, "Walk an extra mile, and no one will squeeze you."

At least, 2023 looks like that.

The author also has the following articles, feel free to read more at your convenience. 

Cited Data :

  1. Matter of DHANASAR, Petitioner
    Thanks to Dr. Dhanasar's struggle, NIW's audit horizons have been broadened. So if you study NIW, you've probably seen the name Dhanasar.
  2. EB2 NIW application mistakes to avoid
  3. 8 misconceptions about EB-2 NIW green card process
  4. Publications and citations for NIW green card
  5. New version of ETA-9089 form
  6. How to qualify for National Interest Waiver
    This article mentions how to find government information to support your petition.
  7. How to assemble the I-140 petition for EB2 NIW
  8. EB-2 NIW processing time
  9. EB2 NIW cover letter : what it is and how to prepare one
  10. Personal Statement for EB2 NIW
  11. A guide to EB2 NIW Recommendation Letters
  12. The Adjustment of Status for EB2 NIW
  13. Concurrent or separate EB2 NIW application?
  14. Understanding Retrogression: What It Means, Why It Happens, and How to Manage It
  15. Traveling during green card process
  16. Guide to Consular Processing for EB2 NIW green card

Image by  OpenClipart-Vectors from  Pixabay
 

If this article is helpful to you, you don't need to invite me to coffee, but you are welcome to invite me to eat tofu and reduce carbon emissions together. Organic tofu is $3.49, regular tofu is $2.99. If you also like to add green onions, a handful is $1.99. Thank you!

  • If you want to purchase a Cover Letter and Recommendation Letters package, you can scan the QR code below to pay $19.99 and leave an email address to get the package. I will send it to your email inbox.
  • If you want to know the law firm that is taking on the case, you can scan the QR code below to pay $29.99 and leave an email address to get the relevant information.
  • If you want to know the email address of the lawyer team, you can scan the QR code below to pay $39.99 and leave the mailbox to get the relevant information.

After deducting the PayPal handling fee, the full amount will be donated at the spot buying rate of the Bank of Taiwan, and the donation receipt will be sent in the email. Please see Donation Receipts for past donation receipts. Donations are as follows:

  • Taiwan People's Party
  • Taiwan Public Interest Whistleblower & Whistleblower Protection Association
  • "Rising Star" rhythmic gymnastics long-term development plan

Finally, if you are interested in having a one-on-one Google Meet with me, the fee is $60 per 30 minutes, and the payment will not be donated.


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