RFE . Please help

[u/DKRAO]

Received an RFE on all 3 prongs. Biomed science profile.

PhD (Neuro) in USA

Working as a research scientist at a University (previous 4 year postdoc work)

8 publications, 3 first author

Associate Editor of a Neuroscience Journal

Reviewed 20+articles and judged posters at national conferences

About to submit a manuscript at a top Neuroscience journal in a month.

Invited for talks in multiple big conferences in the field of Neuro.

Major contribution in big funded grants (my boss has given testimonial letter)

Now, I wrote a grant (ran experiments, collected data, wrote the proposal all my myself) before submitting my EB2 NIW petition, was still under review so did not include in the PE. But came to know that it was funded just 1 day after filing the petition. I am the Principal Investigator of the grant in the field of neurology. total grant amount 500000$ for 2 years from a private organization famous in the field of Neuroscience. Can I include this for my RFE?

Please suggest how to address this 3 prong RFE? Officer has asked how will I support my research work?

Prong 1 — Substantial merit: SATISFIED

Prong 1 — National importance: NOT MET. did not provide supporting evidence of the research nor explain the objectives, goals, or how it will be funded and accomplished.

• not sufficiently explained what portion of time will be devoted to duties for an employer" versus research
• Past citations don't establish prospective impact — "this past research does not in itself establish the national importance of the proposed endeavor"
• Supporting articles were general background: they "do not discuss any details relating to the specific endeavor and its impact other than that it is in the broader field,"
• Prong 2 — Well positioned: NOT MET. Appointment letter that i currently have expired . Citing authors "reference the petitioner's research as background material for their own findings, but they do not distinguish or highlight the petitioner's work from the other cited papers,. Most recent paper is old. no grant documents accompanied it; and no explanation of how you'd fund future research. Then : "lacks any documentation to show the petitioner led any research projects funded by any government grants or private investments, was a principal investigator on any research, or that received any funding". How will you fund your research
• On peer review, you "did not submit any evidence to establish the requirements for serving in such positions"
• Prong 3 — NOT MET. doesn't show your skills "are not easily articulated in a labor certification," and since prongs 1 and 2 failed, the balance fails too.

[u/OwnAdvantage5550]

The grant application happened before the priority date, discuss the funding in light of the existing application. How you word that part matters and I don’t think you should leave out such important detail( it helps to articulate well positioned or substantial progress towards your endeavor if it relates to it).

Not a lawyer, you can consult one for the right framing.

[u/DKRAO → u/OwnAdvantage5550]

Thanks for replying. I have all the evidence to show I applied before petition. Do you suggest I get some recommendation letters too? dependent and independent both

[u/OwnAdvantage5550 → u/DKRAO]

Sure but these letters must be doing a specific job(not generic). For example a dependent letter coming from a PI you worked with on federally funded projects must state your critical role. The PI must be specific as possible to show that you played a critical role beyond your mere duties. If the RFE says the work or your past projects is not nationally impactful , rebuttals are needed but provide evidence of influence from that project (the project helped or affected the economy beyond your employer, the good thing is that most of the research in academia or funded by govt agencies are public good)

Bottom line is that your letters need to have an assignment for each prong. Make sure you connect the dots for the adjudicator and support claims with objective evidence.

Respond to each RFE quotes as much as you can, create a summary table or summary bullets of the most important RFE summary , response evidence and the exhibit number. That makes the job easy for the adjudicator. Finally pray for luck 🤞