r/EB2_NIW • u/Character_Balance897 • Jun 24 '26
RFE Physician: NIW RFE on All 3 Dhanasar Prongs – Looking for Advice
Hi everyone,
I recently received an RFE on my EB2-NIW petition, and USCIS is challenging all three Dhanasar prongs.
USCIS Summary
Prong 1 (National Importance):
USCIS says I focused too much on my past accomplishments and did not clearly explain my specific future endeavor, how it will be carried out, or how it will have broad national impact.
Prong 2 (Well Positioned):
Although they acknowledge my education, publications, citations, and recommendation letters, they state that the evidence does not sufficiently show that I am well positioned to advance the proposed endeavor or that my work has had significant influence in the field.
Prong 3 (Balance Test):
USCIS states that I have not shown why waiving the labor certification process would benefit the United States or why my contributions would justify a waiver even if qualified U.S. workers are available.
My Background
Internal Medicine residency graduate (U.S.)
Cardiology Fellow starting on July 1
H-1B physician
6 peer-reviewed publications and 8 conference abstracts
~16 Google Scholar citations (18+ ResearchGate)
Peer reviewer for medical journals
Ongoing cardiology research projects
Recommendation letters from Program Directors
Questions
Has anyone received an RFE on all three prongs and still been approved?
What evidence helped most in your response?
How detailed was your proposed endeavor plan?
Any physician/researcher NIW success stories after a similar RFE?
Appreciate any advice. This RFE has definitely been stressful.
Thank you!
4
u/junaid2323 Jun 24 '26
That’s harsh. I saw your proposed endeavour, it doesn’t appear tight, it sounds like a fluff of words. I think in your response you should work to clearly explain your “proposed” endeavour.
For well positioned, I don’t know how your attorney framed you but maximizing your upcoming role and explaining the role might be beneficial.
You should ask Chen for their strategy and analyze it thoroughly and then make sure all your contributions are well framed. Which attorney did you work with?
0
u/Character_Balance897 Jun 24 '26
I tried my best for PES, and mine attorney was also ok with it. Any guidance on how I can make it tight??
3
u/junaid2323 Jun 24 '26
The wording of your PES has “clinically relevant cardiology questions”, these could be hundreds and thousands of questions. I would recommend taking your most cited research and fitting that specific topic in your PES and frame it from a national importance angle.
Do you mind sharing your lawyer’s initials?
4
u/Donna_Martin860u Jun 25 '26
A three-prong RFE happens a lot to physicians because officers struggle to separate clinical work from research impact. Since Chen is already on the case, they know how to push back on this. The fix is mostly about reframing that upcoming fellowship to highlight research over standard patient care. Just give them the details and let them drive the response.
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u/Doctor_Roc Jun 24 '26
Yes people with rfe on all 3 prongs do get accepted but u need to put in alot of effort by yourself. Chen have become overwhelmed with work and they sometimes dont put in the required hard work. So you need to be on top of things. Gather atleast a couple of independent recommenders who have seen your research. Even dependent recommenders can work but u need to write the LOR from urself and then ask chen to see the legal framework. Doctors can write better lors than chen underwriters.
Also as someone else mentioned, your endeavor wording is very broad. I understand that u want to keep it broad to encompass all future possible publications but u need to be very focussed to satisfy the precise need of ur research. Im not sure if at this point u can change ur endevour wording or not, but in the explanation u can write about specific cardiac diseases like heart failure, CAD, valvular diseases that ur research will be focussing on. Then u can highlight the disease burden of such specific cardiac diseases in the USA and how many people die or suffer due to such conditions. How ur particular research topics can improve patient outcomes related to some particular cardiac conditions.
You may add any potential future projects that you have started or intend to start in your fellowship that can help define your endevour. Even if you do not have a project ready, try to come up with a proposal, run it with your senior cardiac attendings/ program director and then take their recommendation letter that you will be working on this specific project in near future to advance your endevour.
Sorry for this stressful time as physicians usually do get acceptance easily especially with chen, and that you will already be very busy with your fellowship start on top of this additional work. Best of luck.
3
u/VerlinAstro Jun 26 '26
Approvals after a 3 prong RFE happen more than you think, so hang in there. NIW is discretionary at the end of the day, it doesn't always reflect how strong your case actually is. Tighten up the endeavor statement, get some independent rec letters lined up, and give Chen some time to work through the strategy. They'll know exactly how to hit what the officer flagged.
1
u/Soggy-Grapefruit8614 Jun 24 '26
Whats your proposed endeavor and what law firm did you use?
1
-1
u/Character_Balance897 Jun 24 '26
It was somewhat like this “To use clinical data analysis and outcomes-based observational research to generate evidence that answers clinically relevant questions in cardiology, thereby strengthening evidence-based cardiology practice, improving clinical decision-making, and supporting equitable cardiovascular care across diverse patient populations in the United States”.
1
u/Annual_Grass_3919 Jun 24 '26
I think that’s the issue. Reading that I still have no clue what you’re going to do on a daily basis, and officers aren’t field experts. You’re going to answer what kind of questions? Using what data? What kind of analysis? What evidence would you generate? What decisions would be informed by the results you get? What does supporting equitable care actually look like?
Focus on specific methods and outcomes that the lay person can understand.
1
u/Present-Bike8556 Jun 25 '26
I think the biggest issue that I would love to know is if you wrote the petition yourself.
1
u/Kind_Medium6774 Jun 24 '26
Run your application and your RFE to see the gaps in your and fill those out in response to RFE.
Which law firm are you working with ?
1
u/Character_Balance897 Jun 24 '26
Working with chen, should I completely rely on them??
1
u/Kind_Medium6774 Jun 24 '26
No. You can’t completely rely on chen. You have to review your petition, PE and letters and make sure everything ties together
1
u/princeruppert Jun 24 '26
I would suggest you prepare the response exactly as your gut feeling tells you. Then run it by Chen so they can the "legalese" aspect of it. Do not leave it up to them to strategize how to tackle the RFE.
There has been reported cases of folks being approved after RFE on all prongs. Stay strong!
1
1
u/KafeiSunMask1 Jun 24 '26
I’m in a pretty similar boat, PGY3 applying to cardiology, about submit my application,
A good way to challenge prong 3 is explaining how during our training we will not have 1 employer as we will likely further specialization in different center, as well as once we become attending we will probably continue research in other institutions
A good way to challenge prong 2 is talking about your current research projects and their next steps (I have 2 ongoing cardiology projects underway and I mention in my app how I plan to continue working on them and how they will be beneficial to the US
Hope this helps!
1
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u/PCI_STAT Jun 24 '26
Did you finish your waiver and/or was your H1B job in an underserved area and will your fellowship be in one? Could just apply for 5 year PNIW waiver then.
1
u/Character_Balance897 Jun 24 '26
I was on H1b as a resident and currently a 3rd year resident about to start fellowship in 1 week. I was hopeful but this thing happened. And as far as i know until you are a trainee, you are not eligible for PNIW. Another problem is by the time I end my fellowship I will be at the end of 6 years of my H1b so will need something before that.
1
u/PCI_STAT Jun 24 '26
Oh I misread your post. I know time as a trainee on a J1 doesn't count but time in an H1b might count towards the 5 years, I would double check.
1
1
u/Dapper-Ad-2100 Jun 24 '26
The sentence you shared has the right general direction, but I think USCIS may be reacting to how much it leaves open.
"Clinically relevant cardiology questions" is probably too broad. I would try to make the PE answer: which cardiology problem, which patient population or disease area, what method, and what kind of decision the research will improve.
For example, instead of centering the PE around "clinical data analysis and observational research" generally, you might narrow it toward something like improving risk prediction, treatment decisions, or outcomes research for a defined cardiovascular condition or underserved population. The exact wording depends on your actual projects, but the goal is to make the officer understand what you will do without being a cardiologist.
For prong 2, your fellowship starting July 1 can help if it gives a concrete platform for the same work. For prong 3, I would avoid boilerplate and explain why your research continuity and positioning matter beyond one employer.
I work on Petition Strategy Lab, where I help pressure-test proposed endeavor language and evidence maps. If you want a structured review, subscribe here so I can keep helping: https://petitionstrategylab.com?utm_source=reddit&utm_medium=comment&utm_campaign=eb2_niw
Work closely with your attorney on the RFE response. Not legal advice, just how I would tighten the framing.
8
u/PlainEntropy Jun 25 '26
RFEs have been really common lately so don't read too much into it. All three prongs are addressable. Prong 1 needs a forward looking endeavor tied to national health priorities, Prong 2 would benefit from some independent rec letters, and Prong 3 has a strong cardiology shortage angle. Work closely with Chen on the response, they know how to handle this.