Case of A.V.

A was an individual with extraordinary ability in the eyes of all — except the consular officer. Mr. V contacted us after his petition was referred for revocation. According to the consul, Mr. V was a “rank-and-file scientist”, did not have sustained acclaim, and that based on this “new information”, the consul referred the petition for revocation. But the consul was so egregiously wrong that we were able to impress upon consular management and Washington that Mr. V’s immigrant visa application should be reopened and reconsidered: that it would be unfair and unjust for Mr. V to have to wait for USCIS to review his case, a process that can take more than 6 months. After a couple of months of legal wrangling, dialog, and another interview, the Embassy issued to Mr. V his EB-1A immigrant visa. But that was not the end of Mr. V’s case. More than 10 years later, Mr. V applied to naturalize, and at his naturalization interview, a USCIS officer confronted Mr. V with the allegations in the consular revocation memorandum. In fact, USCIS considered denying his naturalization application and reviewing his current status — leaving open the possibility of rescinding his permanent resident status and deporting him. A contacted us, and we were able to attend and participate in his follow-up naturalization interview at the local USCIS office. Over all of those years we had retained Mr. V’s file in our archive, and were able to present it to USCIS — showing what had happened when he applied for the immigrant visa at the Embassy and how he had properly received the visa. After several months of review and investigation, USCIS approved his naturalization application and Mr. V was sworn in as a US citizen.