Law Office of Sheela Murthy Receives Recent Approval in NIW Appeal
Posted Jan 31, 1999

The Law Office of Sheela Murthy received an approval in a complex National Interest Waiver (NIW) appeal, decided subsequent to the New York State Department of Transportation case, from the Administrative Appeals Office (AAO), dated January 11, 1999. This is indeed another outstanding achievement for The Law Office of Sheela Murthy.

With the assistance of another attorney, the petitioner had submitted a case to the INS which unfortunately resulted in a denial. The petitioner approached The Law Office of Sheela Murthy to file an appeal and based on a review of the original submission and her background, we felt that we could attempt to file an appeal with the hope of an approval, after explaining the slim chance for approvals in the appeal process (see statistics below of AAO approvals). The reason the Law Office of Sheela Murthy decided not to file a new petition in this case (which would have been easier to do) was because the Petitioner had been out of status and had a pre-January 14, 1998 priority date, was therefore grand fathered and eligible to file for adjustment of status without being subject to the 3 or 10 year bars.

To understand the complexity of obtaining approvals from the AAO, it is useful to understand the context and percentage of cases approved on appeal. In 1997 out of more than 210 AAO decisions on National Interest Waiver cases only 31 cases were successful. These 31 approvals included many that had been already approved by the Texas Service Center but certified by the AAO, a practice which has since abated. None of the cases that were submitted in the early part of 1998 were approved. Getting a case that was not approved by the Service Center to be overturned by the AAO is an extremely formidable process.

The Law Office of Sheela Murthy propounded strong arguments with supporting letters of reference from leaders in her field (Environmental Engineering), including independent experts, that established the reaction of the scientific community to the petitioner's research in the field of pollution reduction and that her reputation had traveled well beyond her circle of colleagues and former professors. The AAO sustained the appeal, agreeing that the Petitioner had met the burden of proof of establishing that her work would benefit the U.S. in the national interest and the fact that she would work as an independent consultant was helpful in understanding why a labor certification could not be filed by an employer. These factors and the excellent team effort of the Law Office of Sheela Murthy and the Petitioner resulted in another victory and success story and will now help an entire family to participate in the American dream.