FROM

F1 VISA TO GREEN CARD

HOW TO PETITION FOR A GREEN CARD
UNDER EB2-NIW CATEGORY

1
WRITTEN BY DR. OZI F-1 Visa to Green card
 HOW TO PETITION FOR A GREEN
CARD UNDER EB2-NIW CATEGORY

TABLE OF CONTENTS
Introduction
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Our Story
6

Benefits of a Green Card

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General Steps to Filing for a

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Green Card N
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Requirements for EB2-NIW

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Recommendation Letters
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and Supporting Documents

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How to Organize Your 23

Application Package

Purchase the Deluxe

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Version of the eBook

2 FROM F1 VISA STATUS TO GREEN CARD

F-1 Visa to Green card
 Liability Disclaimer

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This document is licensed ‘as-is’ without any warranty for any

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particular use. It is not to be considered legal, financial or tax advice,
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nor does it establish any relationship between the licensee and licensor.
There is no representation that the content of this document comports
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with the laws of the United States of America or any laws of individual
states. OZIOMA CHIOMA disclaims any responsibility or liability for
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the usage of this document that the licensee may make. OZIOMA
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CHIOMA does not represent the use of this document to aid in the
preparation of any Permanent Residency application will any manner
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lead to, or improve the success chances on any such application. This
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document stands as a guide. Use at your own risk.

3 F-1 Visa to Green card

 Preface

The “F1-Visa to Green Card” eBook.

Thank you for downloading this eBook. My name is Dr. Ozioma Chioma and in 2019,
my husband; Adé and I went from being international students on F-1 visas to
becoming United States Permanent Residents (Green Card holders).

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This eBook contains information that will help highly skilled professionals successfully

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self-petition for their green card under the Employment Based Second Preference

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National Interest Waiver (EB2 – NIW) category without the help of a lawyer.

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We know that employing the services of a lawyer and easily cost you thousands of
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dollars, so we painstakingly put this book together to help you compile and submit
your petition for a green card without any legal aid or sponsors.
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We provide information on the EB2-NIW category, eligibility requirements, benefits of

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a green card, general steps to filing for a green card , and how to organize application
documents before submission to the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS).
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We have provided information directly from USCIS website (information in italics) with
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the appropriate links and references. This information may change, so always lookup
new information from the USCIS website.
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 1. Introduction
My name is Dr. Ozioma Chioma (“Ozi”) and this is an introduction to the
book “From F1 to Green Card.” This book presents in detail, a guide to
how my husband, Adé, and I went from being international students on
F-1 visa status to becoming U.S. Green Card holders. We painstakingly
put this together to help you navigate the seemingly complex hurdle of
filing for a green card without any legal aid or

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sponsors.

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We hope this book provides hope to people
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who are in a similar situation as we were in,
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and most importantly provide practical

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tools in the form of explanations, sample

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petition letters, recommendation letters

and a complete list of documents to be submitted to U.S. Citizenship and
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Immigration Services (USCIS), to help you navigate and apply for your
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green card under the EB2- NIW category.

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We know you can succeed in applying for and getting your green card
because WE DID, so LET’S GET STARTED!

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 2. Our Story

Adé and I met in Nigeria. We were college sweethearts, where we both

earned our B.Sc. degrees in Microbiology and Marketing respectively. In
2010, I moved to the United States, to pursue a PhD in Microbiology and
Molecular Genetics, while my husband (boyfriend at the time) went on to
pursue a career in investment banking.

In 2015, Adé had proposed on New Year’s Day, and even though our

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relationship was long-distance we kept at it.

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All this while, I had been on a student visa (F-1 Visa) and remained on
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this visa for the duration of my studies. 6
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years later (2016), I graduated and

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proceeded to work as a postdoctoral fellow

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in a leading research institution.

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Optional Practical Training (“OPT”) is a

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period during which undergraduate and

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graduate students with F-1 status who have been pursuing their degrees
for one academic year or have completed their degree program are
permitted by the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services
(USCIS) to work for one year on a student visa, to gain practical training
to complement their education.

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 Since I had earned a degree under the Science, Technology, Engineering,
and Math (STEM) category, I was also eligible to file for an OPT extension
after the first year of OPT. This means that STEM students are eligible for
up to three (3) years of OPT in total.

To file for an OPT extension the following requirements must be met

• Must be an F-1 student who received a STEM degree included on
the USCIS STEM-designated degree program list

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• Must be employed by an employer who is enrolled in and is using

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E-Verify, and

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• Received an initial grant of post-completion OPT employment

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authorization based on your STEM degree.
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It is important to note that during the OPT training years, even though
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your F-1 may expire, I was still technically under the F-1 visa status. (If
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you want to learn about what steps to take if you want to travel out of
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the country during your OPT, purchase the DELUXE version)

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Before extending my OPT authorization, (after the first year) I started

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thinking about applying for a green card. I did not know how or where to
begin, so I started doing what I know best; “researching”. In my first years
as a postdoctoral fellow, I didn’t make a lot of money, so I knew
employing the services of a lawyer would be out of the question.

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 Researching what it would cost to have an immigration lawyer to file for
me, their fees for this service, and it ranged anywhere from $6,000-
$12,000, depending on the state of residence.

I also tried asking my employer to sponsor the process, but the

organization did not sponsor postdoctoral fellows, as this was not a
“permanent position”.

Through this disappointment, I resolved to petition for the green card

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myself, and to be honest, it was quite easy. If you are good at following
instructions and dedicated to putting in the time this process would be

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easy for you too!
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Midway through my OPT training, Adé and I got married in Nashville TN,
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he relocated to the U.S. to pursue an MBA degree. In this same time, I

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started “Tales of an African Princess in America” podcast

(www.talesofanafricanprincessinamerica.com).
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I thought it would be important for you to understand my background

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and the journey it took to get here and how I can help you out with your
green-card journey.

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 3. Benefits of a Green Card

The green card is an identification card issued by U.S. Citizenship and

Immigration Services (USCIS) to permanent
residents, who are legally allowed to live and
work in the U.S. indefinitely. Except for the
right to vote, a green card gives you almost
all the legal rights available to U.S. citizens.

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It’s technically a ‘visa for immigrants.

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The question I get a lot is, “What’s the big deal about getting a green

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card?”, and I have tried to list my top 10 benefits-
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1. Permanent Residence: A green card allows the bearer to live

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permanently in the United States provided you do not commit any

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actions that would make you removable under immigration law.

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2. Convenience and Ease of Travel: with a green card, you do not

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need to keep re-applying for a US visa, to maintain your non-

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immigrant status. You only need to renew your permanent resident

card once every 10 years (generally 6 months before its expiration
date) by completing a Form I-551 and submitting it to USCIS. A
Green card is valid for readmission to the United States after a trip
abroad if you do not leave for longer than 1 year. If your trip will
last longer than 1 year, you need a re-entry permit. It’s also just
less-stress getting back into the US!

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 3. Proof of employment eligibility in the United States: with a
green card, you can work in any company located in the US
territories, regardless of job function and hours and you do not
need employer sponsorship. A green card also provides more
opportunities as there a certain jobs and scholarships that are only
open to US citizens and permanent residents.
4. Protection: A green card affords the bearer protection by all laws

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of the United States, and one’s state of residence and local

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jurisdictions.

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5. Save Money: Green card holders and citizens pay less college and
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university tuition compared to international students (usually 3 to
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4 times less), and can also apply for government-sponsored

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financial aid for education.

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6. Sponsor Family Members to get Green cards: With a green card,

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you are legally able to sponsor your spouse and unmarried children
below age 21 for permanent resident status.
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7. Social security benefits: as a permanent resident, you may be

eligible to receive social security, supplemental security income,
and Medicare benefits.

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 8. Tax benefit: Permanent residents and Citizens are
taxedFdifferently from foreign nationals and that can come
with some benefits.

9. Become a U.S. citizen: As a permanent resident you may apply to

become a US citizen when you are eligible

10.Social Security card and Driver's License: A green card is also

useful for applying for a social security card and a state-issued

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driver’s license. In addition, your driver’s license is no longer valid

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for the length of your F-1 Visa, but the mandatory minimum of the

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state you reside in, which sometimes can be up to 8 years!
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Do these sound like benefits that would interest you? Then keep reading.
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 4. General Steps to filing for a green card

My first advice is for you to first read USCIS Eligibility Categories to

determine what category of green card you want to petition for.

For the purpose of this book, our discussion would center around the
‘Green Card through Employment’, which is the most popular type of
immigrant visa, after the ‘Family-Based Immigrant Visa’.

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Since I knew my options were limited to ‘self-petition’ (this means that I

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wasn’t sponsored by any organization, and was applying for myself). I

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reviewed the process, and for your convenience, I will summarize 3
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immigrant worker self-petitioning categories.
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First preference (EB-1) – priority workers

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The employment-based first preference category is available to foreign

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nationals with extraordinary ability in the sciences, arts, education,

business, or athletics, such as outstanding professors and researchers
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(e.g. Nobel laureates); or certain multinational managers and executives.

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Second preference (EB-2) – The employment-based second preference

category is available to foreign nationals who are members of the
professions holding advanced degrees or who have exceptional ability
(including requests for national interest waivers). This was the category I
applied for.

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 Third preference (EB-3) – The employment-based third preference is
for skilled workers, professionals, or other workers.

IT IS CRUCIAL TO CONSIDER YOUR CREDENTIALS CAREFULLY WHEN

CHOOSING THE CATEGORY TO APPLY FOR.
Even though I knew that I could qualify for EB-1 group, the fact that

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they listed Nobel Prize laureates in that category made me feel like I

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should go for EB-2. In retrospect, I could have applied for either EB-1 or

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EB-2.

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 5. Requirements for EB-2 NIW

The employment-based second preference national interest waiver or

EB2-NIW is so named because it asks that the otherwise required Labor
Certification requirement be waived "in the U.S. National Interest." This
category was perfect for me because I could self-petition and it did not
require a sponsor. Below are the requirements for EB2- NIW.

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1. Have an advanced degree.

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This means that you must possess an advanced

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degree or its equivalent (a U.S. baccalaureate
degree plus 5 years of progressive work
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experience in the field). Proof of this would be
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an official academic transcript, which shows

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that you have a U.S. advanced degree or a

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foreign equivalent degree, or an official

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academic record showing that you have a U.S.

baccalaureate degree or a foreign equivalent degree. Letters from your
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employers (current and past) to verify that you have at least 5 years of
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progressive post-baccalaureate work experience in the specialty.

2. Exceptional Ability
You must be able to show a “degree of expertise significantly above that
ordinarily encountered in the sciences, arts, or business.” As proof of this,
you must satisfy any 3 of the criteria listed below

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 Criteria
• Official academic record showing that you have a degree, diploma,
certificate, or similar award from a college, university, school, or
other institution of learning relating to your area of exceptional
ability.
• Letters documenting at least 10 years of full-time experience in
your occupation.
• A license to practice your profession or certification for your

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profession or occupation.

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• Evidence that you have commanded a salary or other remuneration

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for services that demonstrates your exceptional ability.

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• Membership in a professional association(s)
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• Recognition for your achievements and significant contributions to
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your industry or field by your peers, government entities,

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professional or business organizations.

• Other comparable evidence of eligibility is also acceptable.
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Based on the criteria listed above, I knew I qualified for this because
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• I have a PhD in Microbiology and Molecular Genetics, evidenced by

an official transcript and degree certificate;
• I am a member of Professional associations; and
• I have received recognition for my significant contributions to my
field by my peers and institutions in the form of scholarships,
awards, and grants.

3. National Interest Waiver (NIW)

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 You must demonstrate that it is in the national interest to allow you to
work permanently in the United States. By seeking a national interest
waiver, you are requesting that the Labor Certification be waived because
it is in the interest of the United States. Though the jobs that qualify for a
national interest waiver are not defined by statute, national interest
waivers are usually granted to those who have exceptional ability and
whose employment in the United States would greatly benefit the
nation. Those seeking a national interest waiver may self-petition (they

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do not need an employer to sponsor them) and may file their labor

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certification directly with USCIS along with their Form I-140, “Petition for

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Alien Worker.”

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As proof of this, you must satisfy a minimum of three (3) of the criteria
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listed below to demonstrate that it is in the national interest that you

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work permanently in the United States.

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Criteria
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• Official academic record showing that you have a degree, diploma,

certificate, or similar award from a college, university, school, or
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other institution of learning relating to your area of exceptional

ability
• Letters documenting at least 10 years of full-time experience in
your occupation
• A license to practice your profession or certification for your
profession or occupation

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• Evidence that you have commanded a salary or other remuneration

for services that demonstrates your exceptional ability
• Membership in a professional association(s)
• Recognition for your achievements and significant contributions to
your industry or field by your peers, government entities,
professional or business organizations
• Other comparable evidence of eligibility is also acceptable.

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NOTE: I used the same evidence to satisfy the exceptional ability and

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national interest criteria.

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However, the burden of proving that you qualify for the NIW is to show
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that your work will GREATLY BENEFIT THE UNITED STATES.
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I demonstrated this by proving that

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My proposed endeavor has both substantial merit and national

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importance.
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• I am well positioned to advance the proposed endeavor and that

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• It would be beneficial to the United States to waive the job offer and
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labor certification requirements.

Now you know the category under which I filed for my Green card, and
my reason for doing so the next thing you want to do is to gather the
required evidence and file a Form I-140 “Petition for Alien Worker.”

Form I-140
This form is used to petition for an alien worker to become a permanent
resident in the United States.

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 Author Note: It is VERY IMPORTANT to download and fill out the
MOST UPDATED version of ALL forms!!! IF you do not use the latest
version of the form, your application will be denied and you will be
required to fill out a new form using the latest version of the form
so double check that you have the latest version of this form.

How do you get the latest version of the form? Go directly to USCIS forms

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webpage and download the form there. I will show you how I filled out

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my form I-140 in the deluxe version of this book. (Click on this link to

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purchase the deluxe version)

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The deluxe version will also include a list of all the documents that
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I submitted along with my I-140, I-765, I-485, and

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I-131application package. The filing fees were applicable in 2018

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and may change so verify that you have the correct filing fee for
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the year that you are applying.

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Please NOTE: I sent only photocopies of all the documents; I did

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not send any original documents.

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6. Recommendation Letters and Supporting Documents

In this entire process, I would consider sourcing recommendation letters
to be the most challenging and longest to compile for 2 reasons:

I. People are BUSY
Writing a recommendation letter for you is a favor you seek from your
recommenders. They don’t owe you, and so there isn’t any pressure on

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their part to do this. You have to very subtlety apply the pressure yourself

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using email reminders. I highly recommend that you prepare a draft that

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they can work with to simplify this task for them.

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II. People FORGET
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It was difficult for me to ask for recommendations and continually follow

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up with people without looking like a pest (LOL). To add to this, you need
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unbiased recommendation letters. This means that you need to collect

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recommendation letters from individuals who know you solely based on

your work and not through personal connections, as well as from your
recent past and current employers.

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 Priority is given to unbiased recommendations. A good way to get your
name out there is to network with people at meetings and conferences,
reach out to journal editors who have previously published your work,
and talk to your current employer to find out people who are very
relevant in your field and occupy important positions in the field. These
recommendations stand out because you are trying to prove to the USCIS
officer that your research will benefit the UNITED STATES and one of the
best ways to do that, in my opinion, is to collect recommendation letters

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of prominent individuals in your field, highlighting the relevance of your

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work.

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The recommendation letter should be composed in a unique format to
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highlight the position and contributions of your recommender in his/her
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field of endeavor. You also need to collect a comprehensive CV from all

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your recommenders. The deluxe version of this book has sample

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recommendation letters to provide a template for you to easily draft

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recommendation letters.
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I personally sourced six (6 letters of recommendation in total, in the

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following order:
• 1 letter of recommendation from my graduate school mentor
• 1 letter of recommendation from my current employer
• letters of recommendation from prominent individuals in my field
who work at (top US Universities, and hospitals)

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 In the Deluxe version of this book, I have included the letters of
recommendation to serve as a guideline to help you write yours.

Please note that the original documents contained sensitive information

such as names and addresses, which I have replaced to protect the rights
of all the individuals concerned.

Supporting Documents

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• Supporting documents must be in English or accompanied by a

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complete English translation.

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• Submit the right documents as evidence to substantiate your
claims
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• Do not submit Originals. Submit photocopies only, unless
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otherwise requested.
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• If you have any attachments, make sure each attached page has
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your name and A-Number (if any). You may also number the pages
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and include the total amount of pages being attached (for example,
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“page 1 of 11”)
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Payment
We paid for ALL USCIS charges by cheque. Make sure you have enough
funds in the account and make sure you pay the correct filing fee. USCIS
periodically adjusts its fees so make sure to check the USCIS website to
ensure that you are paying the correct fee for the form.

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 There are other approved methods of paying a fee to pay USCIS fees such
as the use of
• Debit or Credit cards (VISA, MasterCard, Discover, and American
Express cards are accepted).
• By mail with a card (complete the form G-1450 to authorize credit
card transactions)
• In-person at a USCIS field office near you.

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 7. How to Organize the Application Package

USCIS provides Form Filing Tips, to help you organize your application
package. Please find below how I organized my application Package.

Cover letters
I created a cover page for each section of my application. This isn’t
required, but it helps keep your application look organized and easy to
review. I also placed tags at the bottom of each cover page to help the

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USCIS officer going through my files get to each section easily.
I used a 2-hole punch to make holes in all the documents, and attached

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them using 2” capacity Fasteners. (see images below).
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I also marked the envelope and the cover letter with the form number.
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For example, I- 140, I-485 (Cover letters for all sections are included in
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the deluxe version of this book).

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Figure 1: My I-140 application spread across living Figure 1: 2-hole Punch

room floor

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 After I was done punching the holes at the top of the sheets, I then
assembled the pages using 2” capacity Fasteners (see pictures below)

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Figure 2: Fasteners for
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attaching Sheets
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I used sticky tabs to make it easy to locate the different sections of my

application.
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USCIS suggests that you place these tabs on the bottom of the page, not
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the side.
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 D
Figure 3: Completed petition letter and

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supporting documents for form I-140 application
with sticky tabs for easy access

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While Preparing Your Package
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Please follow the following steps when putting your package together,
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Do not submit original documents (as you may not get them back).
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Submit photocopies only. You may be asked to present the original

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documents during your interview.

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• Do not use binders or folders that the reviewers cannot easily

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disassemble.
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• Do not use heavy-duty staples; instead, use fasteners to hold

together thick or bulky applications just like I did above.
• Use Sticky tabs to make it easy to locate the different sections of
your application and place the tabs on the bottom of the page, not
the side.
• If you are sending more than one case in an envelope, clearly
separate the cases by rubber band or fasteners.

25 F-1 Visa to Green card

 • Do not submit oversized documentation unless it is absolutely
necessary.

Filing Method

You have the option of filing the Form I-140 (Petition for Alien Worker),
and after receiving an approval from USCIS, subsequently file the Form I-
485 (Adjustment of Status)

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It is also possible to pay and file for both Forms I-140 and I-485

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concurrently, the benefits are that your application would be processed

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much quicker, however, the risk is that if your I-140 is rejected, you also

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forfeit the fee paid on the unsuccessful I-485.
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Request for Evidence (RFE)

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In some instances, you may receive an RFE from USCIS, where they
require you send more evidence or clarifications to support application.
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In our own experience, we received one after submitting the application

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because I used an older version of the Form I-485. This happened because
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I downloaded the form way before I submitted it and unknown to me;

USCIS had recently provided an updated form right before I submitted it.
Here are a few things to keep in mind if re-submitting your application.

• If you are resubmitting the packet in response to a Request for

Evidence (RFE), please place the notice requesting the additional
evidence/information on the top of the packet. Also, please use the
special mailing envelope provided.

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 • If you are submitting evidence in support of a previously filed
appeal or motion, place a cover letter with “Brief for
(Appeal/Motion)” on top of the packet.

Mailing and Filing Address

For peace of mind and ease of tracking, I suggest you use express mail.
We had one application lost before, so this is me speaking from first-hand

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experience.

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Please visit the USCIS website for I-140 filing addresses to

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ensure that you are sending your form to the right office based on

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your state and application category. Since I live in Nashville,
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Tennessee, I sent my I-140 application to the address listed below
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USCIS
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Attn: AOS
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2501 S. State Hwy,

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121 Business Suite 400

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Lewisville, TX 75067
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 8. The Deluxe Version

We sincerely hope you found the free version of this book helpful. The

deluxe version contains even more information, guides and explainers.

We provide

1. Sample petition letters

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2. Sample cover letters

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3. Sample emails letters to request a recommendation

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4. Sample letters of recommendations
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5. Sample CV
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6. Samples of ALL completed forms I-140, I-1485 and for I-131

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7. List of all evidence and documents submitted

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8. Timeline of events (how long it took to receive green cards

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9. Sample employment letter

10. Sample I-693 (Report of Medical examination and vaccination record)

11. Cost breakdown (how much this process cost us)

12. My credentials at the time of filing for my green card

13. How I included my husband Adé as a dependent to enable him to

obtain his green card too

28 F-1 Visa to Green card

 14. Traveling while waiting for green card

processing and many more details!!!

The deluxe version of the book will walk you through every step of the

process so you can quickly submit your application and get the clock

started on the next steps towards getting your green card.

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CLICK HERE TO PURCHASE THE DELUXE VERSION TODAY!

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(https://myeb2niw.com/product/eb2niw-tool-kit-f-1-visa-to-green-card/)

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