EB-2 NIW Case Study: Approval for a Renewable Energy Engineer from Mexico

Our client is a renewable energy engineer with more than 25 years of experience, and her work focuses on solar power and rural electrification. She specializes in photovoltaic systems, the technology that turns sunlight into electricity, and has spent her career bringing power to communities that the traditional grid does not reach. 

Early in her career, she studied and taught the science behind solar energy, and published research on solar water pumping and photovoltaic system design that other engineers cite in their own work.  

She then moved from the classroom into the field, where she designed and delivered solar projects across Africa, the Middle East, and Latin America. She trained local technicians who went on to install more than 1,500 solar systems and led a market analysis that expanded electricity access for roughly 70,000 people in a refugee settlement and its surrounding community.  

On another project, she oversaw the construction of a solar system that brought power to a remote community for the first time, improving access to health care and education. 

Our client had already carried out renewable energy programs funded by U.S. development agencies and partnered with U.S. consulting firms on projects overseas. As Attorney Picataggio said, a current or prior U.S. relationship can be a strong asset: “I get excited when a client already has these ties. It lets us show USCIS that the endeavor not only can benefit the United States but already has.”