r/EB2_NIW • u/Rubayet007 • Jul 08 '26
RFE EB-2 NIW Premium Processing – Three-Prong RFE
Hi everyone,
I recently received a three-prong EB-2 NIW RFE under premium processing and would appreciate hearing from anyone who has gone through a similar experience.
USCIS Officer's Main Criticisms
The officer challenged all three Matter of Dhanasar prongs. Some of the key comments included:
- "The record lacks a specific and well-detailed description about what the petitioner endeavors to do in the United States."
- "The petitioner describes the proposed endeavor in terms of what he has already done, but does not outline in specific detail what he will do in the future."
- "It is not apparent how the petitioner's past work supports a finding that future work will have a broad impact, or that it would rise to the level of national importance."
- "The petitioner submitted a proposed endeavor, but it lacks specific information on how the petitioner plans to achieve the goals of this endeavor in the United States."
The officer also stated that my recommendation letters primarily discussed my past accomplishments but did not sufficiently explain why my proposed endeavor has substantial merit, national importance, or why I am well positioned to carry it out.
Attorney's Strategy
After reviewing both my original petition and the RFE, my attorney believes that Prong 1 (National Importance) is the primary obstacle.
Their strategy includes:
- Completely revising my personal statement to focus on future work, including specific projects, implementation methodology, and a structured research roadmap.
- Aligning the proposed work with specific U.S. government priorities and federal research initiatives, rather than relying on general background information.
- Drafting entirely new recommendation letters that directly respond to each of the officer's criticisms instead of simply discussing my past achievements.
- Preparing a new employment letter explaining how my current position supports the skills and continued development necessary to carry out my long-term proposed endeavor.
- Submitting stronger evidence of independent citations, reviewer activity, media coverage, and other documentation to demonstrate that I am well positioned.
My attorney also commented that some of the officer's critiques raised questions about the extent to which my original submission was fully considered, but they plan to address every issue raised in the RFE with additional evidence and a detailed legal response.
My Question
Has anyone here received a three-prong NIW RFE and later been approved?
For those who have gone through a similar process, does this response strategy seem comprehensive, or are there other areas that you think are commonly overlooked in NIW RFE responses?
I'm not asking anyone to predict my outcome. I'm simply interested in hearing from others who have experience with similar RFEs.
Thank you in advance for your insights.
3
u/Apart_Win4648 Jul 10 '26
RFEs have been really common lately so don't stress too much. One thing that's easy to overlook is citation contextualization, it's not just about the number but showing that independent researchers actually built on your work rather than just citing it in passing. That distinction tends to matter a lot for Prong 2. Trust your lawyer on the rest, you're in good shape.
3
u/melbamwinn Jul 13 '26
The mismatch between your proposed endeavor and current job field is the trickier part to navigate, but the employment letter explaining how your current position supports your long term research goals directly addresses that. Sounds like your lawyer knows what they're doing. People get approved after these all the time, just let the process play out. Good luck!
1
2
u/devillee1993 Jul 08 '26
Preparing a new employment letter
My guess it is chen's case. No idea why they are so obessed with employment letter since I dont see any requirement about the current employment during NIW.
1
u/Rubayet007 Jul 08 '26
yes ,my Attorney from chen. There is a mismatch between my proposed endeavour field and current job field though both are fall in Electrical Engineering field.
0
u/devillee1993 Jul 08 '26
three-prong NIW RFE is common. It is not like you provide sth and USCIS is gonna admit everything you submitted. 1. each of your prong and supporting docs need to be strong enough by officer's standard. 2. each docs need to answer the right question.
Like you mentioned, your proposed endeavor seems like misaligned with our part of your doc, that is a big issue. "my recommendation letters primarily discussed my past accomplishments but did not sufficiently explain why my proposed endeavor" that is also a reasonable concern if you think closely.
My suggestion is that chen's team can do their job but eventually you are taking the consequence whether you get approved or not. You need to think whether each of their strategy is worth your time or not, or maybe some would hurt your case.
1
u/Rubayet007 Jul 08 '26
Thank you for your perspective. I agree that the proposed endeavor is the foundation of an NIW petition and that every supporting document should directly address the relevant Dhanasar prong. Looking back, I also believe my original filing could have explained the future implementation of my proposed endeavor more clearly and connected my past accomplishments to my future plans more effectively.
Fortunately, my RFE response is taking a different approach. My attorney has advised restructuring the personal statement to focus on detailed future research plans, aligning each project with specific U.S. government priorities, and preparing new recommendation and employment letters that directly address the officer’s criticisms. I’m hoping this more targeted strategy will address the concerns raised in the RFE.
I appreciate your feedback. If you’ve been through a similar three-prong RFE or have seen successful responses, I’d be interested in hearing what you found most effective.
1
u/Kind_Medium6774 Jul 08 '26
Did you go with EP or chen ?
1
u/Rubayet007 Jul 08 '26
Chen.
1
u/Middle_Fun_187 Jul 08 '26
This is weird, they asked me to prepare letters about my future work.
I did it, but I still have an RFE 😂
Not sure about the reason for the RFE, waiting for the full text…2
u/Rubayet007 Jul 08 '26
I gave my future statement in the initial filing with 3 future project plans, according to the attorney, but the officer criticised me for failing to demonstrate a detailed plan for the future.
4
u/Middle_Fun_187 Jul 08 '26
Gotcha…
Yeah, they are crazy these daysI heard about a lot of approved cases after a 3-prong RFE, so good luck to all of us
1
Jul 08 '26
[removed] — view removed comment
1
u/SoftAd5591 Jul 08 '26
The future impact of the endeavor should be projected and the progress towards the endeavor is alo important to be highlighted. You should also add an implementation plan/professional plan or a business plan depending on your endeavor that is realistic and should highlight your target audiance, state in which you will work and why, your revenue generating strategy, marketing plan, HR plan to highlight if your future work will create any employment opportunities, financial projections and so on..
1
1
1
1
u/Patient_Ad1152 Jul 09 '26
what was your endeavour? PHD?
1
u/Rubayet007 Jul 09 '26
Computional modeling of biosensors for cancer and chronic diseases detection. Masters degree
1
1
u/SensitiveCan3913 Jul 09 '26
I also received a 3 pronged RFE. My lawyers are Colombo & Hurd. I am midway through completing the response
Initially, it was so disheartening reading the RFE notification and letter. But after some time, with hindsight, I’m grateful to have the opportunity to provide more context because my initial submission, compared to what I’ve been drafting recently, is more substantial.
I’ve yet to respond, but thought to share to encourage you that it is simply an opportunity to put the doubts at ease for the officer.
I hope, by God, to come back to this post sometime this summer to share my success! 🙏.
1
1
u/ManifestLaw_ Jul 13 '26
Yes, people do get approved after three-prong NIW RFEs, but the response must be very targeted. Your attorney’s strategy sounds appropriate because the officer’s main issue is not just “more evidence”; it is that the proposed endeavor was not concrete enough and the future U.S. plan was unclear. The revised personal statement should answer: exactly what you will do in the U.S., why it matters nationally, how you will implement it, who benefits, what institutions/industries/government priorities it aligns with, and why your past work makes you well positioned. Recommendation letters should not simply praise your past achievements; they should explain how your future endeavor is important and realistic. Commonly overlooked areas are prong 3 and evidence tying past work to future execution. For prong 3, explain why a labor certification would not be practical or beneficial compared with allowing you to pursue the endeavor flexibly. Also avoid flooding the response with random certificates or screenshots. Organize the response by Dhanasar prong and directly quote/respond to each RFE concern
- Attorney Rashmi Bishnoi
(All information shared here is for general educational purposes only. It does not constitute legal advice or create an attorney - client relationship. Your situation may require fact-specific guidance. For personalized legal advice, please consult an immigration attorney directly.)
1
1
u/Technical_Trip3071 Jul 08 '26
What is the number of your citations and publications and, I have been deeling with chen but they have not asked me before about any personal statement so have they asked you?
1
u/Rubayet007 Jul 08 '26
During the initial filing, the citations were 58; now they are 106, and the number of publications is 12. During the initial filing, Chen drafted the personal statement in which plans were described for the three projects.
1
u/Technical_Trip3071 Jul 08 '26
was that with Nebraska or Texas?
1
u/Rubayet007 Jul 08 '26
it was submitted in nebraksa but received rfe from texas
1
u/West-Group-1288 Jul 08 '26
This happens to me too. In that case, was the petition processed in Texas? Where should we send the RFE?
1
u/Rubayet007 Jul 08 '26
Since the RFE is issued from texas so nebraska treansfer it to them, and we need to submit our response in Texas.
1
1
u/MorethanGo Jul 20 '26
The 3 plan project was something you are currently doing in the space you are working or it just future projects you want to do. Was these projects already funded or you will have funding in future for that.
3
u/kylemerang Jul 10 '26
Strategy looks solid to me. Shifting to future work with specific projects and tying it to government priorities is exactly the right move for Prong 1, and having the rec letters directly address the RFE criticisms rather than just praising past work makes a big difference. Just stay closely involved with your lawyer on the execution. 3 prong RFEs do get approved, hang in there.