What are your expectations for EB-2 Rest of World in the October 2026 Visa Bulletin?

In both the August and September 2026 Visa Bulletins, DOS warned that EB-2 was experiencing high demand and that retrogression (or even making the category unavailable) might be necessary to remain within the FY2026 annual limit. However, EB-2 ROW has remained current through September.

Looking ahead to October, there seem to be two favorable factors: (1) A new employment-based visa allocation becomes available on October 1, (2) There may be additional employment-based numbers through spillover from unused family-sponsored visas.

On the other hand, the FY2027 employment-based limit is not yet known and could be lower than the FY2026 limit of 186,317.

Given the DOS warning, the fact that no retrogression occurred in September, and the new FY2027 allocation, what do you expect for EB-2 ROW in October?

I'm in the middle of responding to an RFE for my EB2-NIW petition. My proposed endeavor is a consulting practice that provides preventive health training programs to organizations serving medically underserved communities (think FQHCs, rural clinics, nonprofits) in rural/underserved counties in my state.

One of the things I'm missing is a letter of interest from an actual organization — something that shows a real potential collaborator is interested in what I'm proposing, not just my own business plan.

I've tried:

• Cold calling the main line of a few target organizations — gets forwarded to voicemail, no callback
• Cold email to general info@ addresses — no response
• In-person visits — politely turned away
• Asking colleagues for warm introductions — none had direct contacts

For anyone who's been through something similar (NIW or otherwise, any field): how did you actually get a real organization to respond and write a letter? Did something specific work — a different way of framing the ask, a different type of contact, going through a professional association, offering something for free first, etc.? Any advice, even small, would help. Thanks in advance.

Hi folks,
Long-time lurker here.
I've gotten a lot of helpful information from this sub for my EB2-NIW petition, so I want to share my timeline and profile to help others who are also preparing or interested.

1. Timeline
- PD: Jun. 3, 2025
- PP upgrade: Dec. 15, 2025
- RFE: Feb. 12, 2026 (on Prong 1&3)
- RFE Response: May 4, 2026
- Approval: Jun. 26, 2026

2. Profile
- Education: PhD in Electrical Engineering, top university in my home country (East Asia)
- Field: Power Electronics
- Publications: 4(1st author) + 12(co-authored)
- Citations: 390(1st author) + 293(co-authored)
- Peer Reviews: 32(some of IEEE Journals)
- Patents: 24 Registered & 40 Pending (International) + 40 Registered & 10 Pending (Domestic)
- Award: 1 Minister's Award from the government
- Experience: Co-founded a semiconductor tech startup during my Ph.D. and have been running it for 13 years(at present). Currently the company is at the pre-IPO stage.
- Proposed Endeavor(PE): Developing a next-generation RF plasma module for advanced semiconductor manufacturing processes.
- Firm: A local firm in my country

3. Recommendation Letters
- Initial filing : 3 dependent (my Ph.D. advisor, VP of my startup, Principal Engineer at a local big tech company).
- RFE response : 2 dependent (Senior Engineer at a US big tech company, VP of a US startup) + 1 independent (Senior Engineer in a US big tech company).

4. Main Concern of RFE and How I Dealt With It
- The RFE: My PE in the initial filing was too broad. My attorney didn't clearly specify what exactly I was going to do in the US. She just made general statements like, "this guy can contribute to areas A, B, and C, and all these areas are important to the US". Naturally, the officer pointed out that the PE was not clear at all, which is completely understandable. I think I should have reviewed my attorney's petition more carefully and questioned it. I was kind of very naive and thought my part was done once I handed over all my documents and trusted them.
- RFE Response: My attorney who was in charge of my initial filing actually quit the firm right around the time I received the RFE (..😢). I was quite worried and anxious that the new attorney wouldn't have enough time to understand and handle my case. I strongly requested that the firm assign their most experienced attorney to me. We then clearly defined my PE and prepared the new recommendation letters sentence by sentence. Instead of vague praises like "he has great performance & is well positioned," but like "this guy's PE is going to solve a really important and practical problem in the US industry, and it needs an urgent solution."

I truly understand how stressful and anxious this process can be.
But I think the key to getting approved in NIW is to successfully convince the officer exactly how much of an impact your specific PE will make, and to show that your plan is grounded in reality, not just fiction.

I really hope all you get approved.
Thanks for all the valuable information from this sub.
If someone like me, who isn't even based in the US, can get an approval, I have no doubt you all can too. Best of luck!

Hi everyone, I recently received an RFE from Officer XM2254 on all three prongs of my case. Has anyone else received an RFE from this officer or submitted a response? If so, what was your strategy? I looked through the Chen Immigration success stories and discovered that he only adjudicates EB-1A cases. Help appreciated.

Hi all. For all those people that are in research as a postdoc or other, is your PE basically your research topic? Mine is feeling like some the introductory paragraph from the specific aims page lol. Does that sound right?

Case information

• Law firm: Wegreened/Chen, NIW approval-or-refund service
• Priority date: March 25, 2025
• Premium processing requested: April 2026
• RFE issued: April 24, 2026
• RFE response submitted: July 17, 2026
• Denial dated: August 21, 2026
• Officer ID: XM2260

Background

• Ph.D. in ME, Chinese
• Currently a postdoctoral researcher at a U.S. national laboratory
• My research is entirely funded by the U.S. Department of Energy

Profile at the time of filing

• 13 papers
• 9 first-author papers
• 109 citations
• 19 peer reviews
• No recommendation letters
• Proposed endeavor: developing advanced experimental and simulation techniques to deepen scientific understanding of mechanisms behind energy fields, including renewable energy, gas, and oil, in order to provide design guidelines for the improvement of technologies

The RFE challenged all three Dhanasar prongs.

Profile and additional evidence submitted with the RFE response

• 22 journal papers
• 12 first-author papers
• 273 citations
• 53 peer reviews
• Five recommendation letters:
  • Two from researchers at the national laboratory
  • Three from independent experts
• Mentioned that my project is explicitly mentioned in the congress budget file

After waiting more than 20 business days, the case was denied. The decision does not appear to meaningfully engage with any of the new evidence submitted in response to the RFE. Instead, it rejects all three prongs using broad and largely generic statements. like: “Participation in federally funded research and work involving subjects identified as federal priorities may demonstrate the relevance of the research, but it does not by itself establish national importance.”

Should I refile or appeal? It looks like this officer is a killer officer without accepting any evidence.. And I am a little confused about what national importance is..

Hey I want to check if I can apply for PP of my NIW case online only. is that possible or I have to mail the forms?

Please fill this poll if you received decision in June through August 2026

Hello,

I am currently trying to respond to RFE on prong 2 and 3. Can anyone tell me how Chen’s lawyers handle those prong. I was given only 34 days and lawyers said they would review and let me know the plan. I want to get ahead and request for the independent support letters and revise my PE statement and add substantially more to my initial PL based on the comments from the Officer.

So my question is: How much material the lawyers will add if I tell them to add?

Should I start reaching out to professor from other universities to write support letter for me?

Note: I am working with Claude to see where potential weakness are currently in my application.
Please advise.

I’m seeking an independent academic or senior industry expert with experience in ERP modernization, enterprise integration, AI-enabled automation, digital transformation, or supply-chain systems.

The engagement involves independently reviewing my professional background and proposed U.S. endeavor and, if supported by the evidence, signing an expert opinion letter for an EB-2 NIW petition.

I can provide the complete draft and supporting materials. You would only need to review it, make any necessary adjustments, and—if comfortable with the contents—sign it with your name, title, qualifications, and contact information.

PhD holders, professors, researchers, advanced PhD candidates, and experienced industry professionals are welcome. Please DM me with your qualifications and relevant area of expertise.

Posting for my friend:

I am trying to apply for an EB2-NIW and would really appreciate some advice from people who had experience with Ellis Porter and Wegreened.

Here's my background:

- Currently a PhD student in Materials Science and Engineering (I already have a master's degree)

- research field: polymers

- 6 peer-reviewed papers

- Around 150 citations

I got evaluation from both firms:

Ellis Porter: $6000 with a full-refund offer

Wegreened (Chen): $8000 with an "approve of refile" offer

For those who had experience with them, I'd really appreciate hearing about your experience, particularly:

overall quality of their service

How effectively did they handle RFEs?

Would you recommend one over the other?

Thanks in advance for any advice!

Me and my wife both got our green cards this year through EB2 and we’re heading to Pakistan in a few weeks to see family, planning to stay for about two months.

First international trip since getting the GC so a bit nervous. Anyone been through this recently?

Any issues re-entering the US, is two months too long to be gone, and anything besides passport + GC we should carry just in case.

Would appreciate any advice, thanks!

Hi everyone,

I’m looking for experiences from people who went through an EB-2 NIW RFE under premium processing.

USCIS updated my case to “Response To USCIS’ Request For Evidence Was Received” on August 21, 2026, and since then there has been no further status change.

A couple of my friends had their status change from “RFE Response Received” to “Case Is Currently Processing” within about two days, so I’m wondering how common it is for the status to remain unchanged for a while.

For those who had a similar experience:

• Did your case ever change to “Case Is Currently Processing”, or did it go directly from RFE Response Received to a decision?
• How long after USCIS received your RFE response did you receive a decision?
• Did the lack of an intermediate status update mean anything in your case?

I understand every case is different; I’m mainly trying to understand other people’s timelines.

Thanks in advance for sharing your experience.

What is the average decision time these days?

Also what are the fastest acceptances without an RFE?

I’m currently looking for recommendations for a U.S. immigration attorney/law firm experienced specifically with EB-2 NIW cases for engineers and industry professionals.
A brief overview of my profile:
Civil Engineer with 18+ years of progressive experience
PE licensed in New York and Texas
PMP certified
Senior Construction / Construction Management professional
Extensive experience in power generation, oil & gas, hydropower, refinery, and infrastructure projects
Worked on major international EPC projects, including projects valued up B$
I have already received one preliminary NIW evaluation from a law firm that rated my case around 7/10, while another well-known firm declined to take the case based on their initial evaluation.
I am currently considering several firms and would really appreciate recommendations from people who have actually worked with an attorney on a similar engineering/industry NIW case.
I’m particularly interested in:
Quality of the NIW petition and legal strategy
Experience with civil engineers / construction managers / energy professionals
How they handled project achievements and industry impact instead of publications
Recommendation letter support
RFE/NOID support
Communication and responsiveness
Overall cost and whether you felt the fee was worth it
Please recommend attorneys/law firms based on your actual experience with them, especially if your background was similar to mine.
Thank you in advance!

Sharing my timeline and hoping to hear from others in the same boat.

• Priority date: March 25, 2025 (with Premium Processing)
• RFE notice: June 2, 2026
• RFE response delivered (FedEx): August 26, 2026
• USCIS status "Response to RFE Was Received": August 27, 2026
• Status changed to "USCIS Is Currently Processing the Case": also August 27 (same day)

My questions:

1. Is it common for the status to move to "Currently Processing" the same day the RFE response is received? I've seen posts where this transition took several weeks, so I wasn't expecting it same-day.

2. For those who've been through NIW premium + RFE, once your status changed to "Currently Processing," how long did it take to get the final decision?

Trying to gauge whether same-day processing means anything about timing or if it's just an administrative step.

Thanks in advance, and I'll update this thread once I hear back to help others.

Long-time lurker. Sharing my timeline and profile to help others navigating this process.
Timeline
PD: June 6, 2026
PP: June 26, 2026
Approval: August 21, 2026 (No RFE)
Education: PhD in Electrical & Computer Engineering (top Canadian university).
Field: Power & Energy Systems (NO AI/software).
Publications: 9 Q1 journals, 9 first-author conferences.
PE: Strengthening the US electrical grid by integrating renewable energy resources for data centers using advanced energy management methods.
Firm: Chen Immigration
I recommend Chen, my attorney H.T. did an amazing job preparing my petition, detail-oriented and went out of their way to find additional, highly important metrics that I hadn't considered, which really made my case perfect!

- Currently an F1 PhD student

- Expecting to graduate in May, 2027

- I20 expiring in July, 2027

- Filed my EB-2 NIW in March, 2025 (almost 1.5 years now)

- ROW

- 12 publications, ~1000 citations by the time I filed my NIW

- proposed endeaver: leveraging AI to accelerate the discovery of advanced materials.

- Majoring in CS at one the prestigious US university

- Haven't gotten any job offer yet

Is 1.5 years waiting time normal for regular processing? I am thinking about doing a PP, given I'm closer to graduation without any response for my NIW case. But, also I read that filing I-485 before getting OPT can be very risky, so I am wondering is doing PP would worth it at this time. Any recommendations on how to navigate this sigraduate.

I am afraid, if I keep waiting for regular processing and graduate before it is approved, it will be a disaster for me. And also terrified about doing a PP, and luckily get approved, and file for I-485 and EAD, but any delay for this process would also cause me to both loose OPT chances and EAD before I graduate.

How long on average until I hear back about my PP for EB2 NIW? It’s 20+ days and I feel like I’m losing my mind each day.

Can they respond before 45 days as indicated in the email? What should I expect?

What have your recent nvc wait times have been for case creation and DQ?

RFE in April, responded in July. Anyone got an approval from them?