How My Green Card Application Got Denied
Denial is only a river in Egypt
Coming off the high of getting my O1 (Extraordinary Ability) visa back in 2023, I was ready to take the next step. In January, I began the process of applying for a US Green Card. The natural option for me was the EB-2 National Interest Waiver (NIW) visa, a self-petitioned visa that could use a lot of the evidence already obtained from my O1 petition and supplement it with a plan and promise to continue to work towards US interests.
A Downward Trajectory
The optimism ran high. Speaking with those at the company I chose to use, this was a fairly standard case. A case they had handled multiple times, so I needn’t worry or do anything particularly stressful to get this petition assembled. Gather the evidence, get some letters signed, pitch my case for national interest, and wrap it in a bow.
With the impending election coming up, I was quick with my resources. I wanted this petition to go in before any new administration started changing the rules. However, my lawyers didn’t have the same urgency and the year was getting away from me. By the time the lawyers sent in my application, half a year had passed.
That half-year seemed to change the landscape of what was possible. Stories of rejection and RFEs (requests for evidence) started to become more commonplace. The USCIS backlog was getting stretched; the AI boom caused an influx of applications. As the backlog got bigger, USCIS got stricter, and as I expected, I received an RFE.
A Request for Evidence is a standard procedure when USCIS wants more information on a certain aspect of the application, they’ll ask for it. What I got, however, was a 14-page dissection of my entire application; nothing was sacred. I spoke with my lawyers, shocked but confident again in overcoming the decision and getting that approval.
I got to work. I was too lax the first time around, too much optimism led me astray. This time, when I answered the RFE, it would be with a barrage of evidence. No stone left unturned, I rebuilt my case, gave my lawyers drafts to work from, and compiled what I thought would be undeniable.
Alas, after two months of refreshing the case update page every morning, I finally got my denial notice. Those two months were a long wait, and in that time, I heard more stories of others being denied. I had come to terms with my loss before I even lost. I started in January, and I got the denial this December. It was a year of decline, but it’s over.
Time for an Upward Trajectory
Noah Kagan, in his book “Million Dollar Weekend,” talks about having a rejection target. To truly succeed, you have to go through rejection, it’s a brutal learning curve that will propel you to greatness faster. I intend to come back stronger.
Next year I can work on where my gaps in the petition are, but ultimately, I can focus on the gaps in my career. I need a better network and better examples of my contributions to the US, and I need to be visible.
To be so important that the US can’t ignore you is really an ego-fueled target. But to shoot for any less will just repeat the same cycle of rejection. I’ll prove to the US that I am an asset, and the next time I apply, I’ll expect my approval letter with a bow on top.