sustained EB-1A Case: Applied Physics

U.S. Department of Homeland Security 
20 Mass. Ave., N.W., Rm. 3000 
Washington, DC 20529 
PUBLIC cmx: 
U.S. Citizenship 
and Immigration 
Services 
Office: NEBRASKA SERVICE CENTER Date: APR 1 0 2008 
EAC 06 015 51050 
PETITION: 
 Immigrant Petition for Alien Worker as an Alien of Extraordinary Ability Pursuant to Section 
203(b)(l)(A) of the Immigration and Nationality Act, 8 U.S.C. § 1153(b)(l)(A) 
ON BEHALF OF PETITIONER: 
INSTRUCTIONS: 
This is the decision of the Administrative Appeals Office in your case. All documents have been returned to 
the office that originally decided your case. Any further inquiry must be made to that office. 
w 
wert P. Wiemann, Chief 
- Administrative Appeals Office 
DISCUSSION: The employment-based immigrant visa petition was denied by the Director, Nebraska Service 
Center, and is now before the Administrative Appeals Office (AAO) on appeal. The appeal will be sustained and 
the petition will be approved. 
The petitioner seeks classification as an employment-based immigrant pursuant to section 203(b)(l)(A) of the 
Immigration and Nationality Act (the Act), 8 U.S.C. $ 1153(b)(l)(A), as an alien of extraordinary ability in 
the sciences. The director determined the petitioner had not established the sustained national or international 
acclaim necessary to qualifL for classification as an alien of extraordinary ability. 
On appeal, counsel argues that the petitioner meets at least three of the regulatory criteria at 8 C.F.R. 
4 204.5(h)(3). 
Section 203(b) of the Act states, in pertinent part, that: 
(1) Pnority workers. -- Visas shall fvst be made available . . . to qualified immigrants who are aliens 
described in any of the following subparagraphs (A) through (C): 
(A) Aliens with extraordinary ability. -- An alien is described in this subparagraph if -- 
(i) the alien has extraordinary ability in the sciences, arts, education, business, or 
athletics which has been demonstrated by sustained national or international acclaim 
and whose achievements have been recognized in the field through extensive 
documentation, 
(ii) the alien seeks to enter the United States to continue work in the area of 
extraordinary ability, and 
(iii) the alien's entry into the United States will substantially benefit prospectively 
the United States. 
Citizenship and Immigration Services (CIS) and legacy Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS) have 
consistently recognized that Congress intended to set a very high standard for individuals seeking immigrant 
visas as aliens of extraordinary ability. See 56 Fed. Reg. 60897, 60898-99 (Nov. 29, 1991). As used in this 
section, the term "extraordinary ability" means a level of expertise indicating that the individual is one of that 
small percentage who have risen to the very top of the field of endeavor. 8 C.F.R. $ 204.5(h)(2). The specific 
requirements for supporting documents to establish that an alien has sustained national or international 
acclaim and recognition in his or her field of expertise are set forth in the regulation at 8 C.F.R. $ 204.5(h)(3). 
The relevant criteria will be addressed below. It should be reiterated, however, that the petitioner must show 
that he has sustained national or international acclaim at the very top level. 
This petition, filed on September 30, 2005, seeks to classify the petitioner as an alien with extraordinary 
ability as a scientific researcher in the field of applied physics. The petitioner's research focuses on 
magnetism and spin electronics. At the time of filing, the petitioner was working in the Francis Bitter Magnet 
Laboratory at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). 
The regulation at 8 C.F.R. 9 204.5(h)(3) indicates that an alien can establish sustained national or 
international acclaim through evidence of a one-time achievement (that is, a major, internationally recognized 
award). Barring the alien's receipt of a major internationally recognized award, the regulation at 8 C.F.R. 
3 204.5(h)(3) outlines ten criteria, at least three of which must be satisfied for an alien to establish the 
sustained acclaim necessary to qualify as an alien of extraordinary ability. We find that the petitioner's 
evidence meets at least three of the regulatory criteria. 
Evidence of the alien's participation, either individually or on a panel, as a judge of the work of 
others in the same or an allied$eld of specijication for which classijication is sought. 
The petitioner submitted evidence that reviewed several research papers submitted for journal publication and 
conference presentation. For example, the petitioner submitted evidence that he reviewed papers for the 
Journal ofApplied Physics and the 5oth Magnetism and Magnetic Materials Conference. 
The petitioner also submitted electronic correspondence indicating that he independently reviewed and served 
as a panelist for multiple proposals submitted to the Electrical and Communications Systems Division of the 
National Science Foundation (NSF). 
The director's decision did not specifically address this criterion but noted that the record lacked information 
establishing the significance of the petitioner's review of proposals submitted to the NSF. On appeal, the 
petitioner submits training material detailing the "NSF Merit Review Process." The petitioner also submits 
information from the NSF's internet site stating: 
Nearly every proposal . . . receives the same rigorous and objective treatment. It is evaluated by a 
panel of independent reviewers consisting of scientists . . . who do not work for NSF or for the 
institution that employs the proposing researchers. NSF selects the reviewers from among the 
national pool of experts in each field . . . . 
The panel's job is to decide which projects are the very highest priorities. This competitive process, 
called "merit review" ensures . . . that only the best projects make it to the funding stage. An 
enormous amount of research, deliberation, thought and discussion goes into the final 
recommendations of the independent reviewers. 
We find that the evidence submitted on appeal is adequate to demonstrate the significance of the petitioner's 
participation in the NSF proposal review process. In light of his review of NSF proposals and multiple 
research papers submitted for publication and presentation, the petitioner has established that he meets this 
criterion. 
Evidence of the alien S original scientzjk, scholarly, artistic, athletic, or business-related 
contributions of major sign$cance in the$eld. 
The petitioner submitted several letters of support discussing his research contributions. We cite 
representative examples here. 
Dr. Andy Thomas, Assistant Professor, Bielefeld University, Germany, states: 
Conventional electronic devices rely on the transport of electrical charge carriers - electrons - in a 
semiconductor such as silicon. Very recently scientists all over the world are trying to exploit the 
"spin" of the electron rather than its charge to create a remarkable new generation of 'spintronic' 
devices which will be smaller, more versatile and more robust than those currently making up silicon 
chips and circuit elements. . . . The spintronics devices have both technological and medical 
applications. [The petitioner] has shown a tiny working spintronic device which is called magnetic 
spin transistor or ferromagnetic single electron transistor (this work was published in the Journal of 
Magnetism and Magnetic Materials). It combines the technology of both magnetic tunnel junctions 
with single electron transistors in which the number of spins in a tiny metal or semiconductor island 
can be manipulated by a gate voltage. This type of devices opens a new realm of applications . . . . 
[The petitioner] has developed a semiconductor with a high ferromagnetic transition temperature to 
be used as a spin injector or detector for spin transistor devices (Applied Physics Letters). It has 
several better qualities than the conventional ferromagnetic materials. The dilute ferromagnetic 
semiconductor discovered by [the petitioner] is transparent so that it can be used as [a] transparent 
electrode for rapidly growing organic light emitting diodes or organic spin transistors. The high 
ferromagnetic transition temperature (900 K) makes it very robust, so that it can be used in nano spin 
devices or spintronics devices which operate at room temperature. 
Dr. Young Ju Park, Principal Research Scientist, Nanodevice Research Center, Korea Institute of Science and 
Technology, states: 
[The petitioner] has shown that an extremely thin layer of Aluminum film (100 x 500 nm) between 
ferromagnetic cobalt electrodes can function as a quantum device which exploits both the charge and 
spin of the electrons. This type of device is the building block for next generation electronics. 
Another extraordinary work from [the petitioner] is that he has shown in his research that one can 
replace the ferromagnetic electrodes in these devices with a ferromagnetic semiconductor itself, 
which are called dilute magnetic semiconductors. This will increase the efficiency of the device by 
several folds. These dilute magnetic semiconductors have the similar properties of a semiconductor 
like Si or GaAs, but they are ferromagnetic at room temperature. Most of the dilute magnetic 
semiconductors reported in the literature becomes ferromagnetic at a much lower temperature (e.g. 
GaMnAs is ferromagnetic at 170 K). The dilute magnetic semiconductor should be ferromagnetic 
above room temperature for potential applications in electronic circuits; otherwise one has to cool 
down the circuits for its proper functioning. [The petitioner] is the very first to show that two 
transparent dilute magnetic semiconductors, based on Indium oxide, are ferromagnetic below 900 K. 
This is truly an original finding of special significance to science. 
Dr. Jagadeesh Moodera, Senior Research Scientist and Group Leader, Thin Film Magnetism, 
Superconductivity and Nanospintronics, Francis Bitter Magnet Laboratory, MIT, states: "[The petitioner] is a 
brilliant scholar, a creative researcher, and one who has already succeeded in making huge contributions to 
our field - there is no doubt that his innovative research on spin electronics has major implications for 
developing new technologically robust nano spin devices." 
Dr. Alex Punnoose, Assistant Professor of Physics, Boise State University, states: 
 "[The petitioner's] 
research work is seminal with respect to understanding the fundamental basis of ferromagnetic behavior in 
transparent semiconductors . . . and also for developing [a] new generation of devices based on transparent 
semiconductors." 
Dr. Patick LeClair, Assistant Professor, Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of Alabama, 
states: "With the help of techniques [the petitioner] has developed, scientists can routinely fabricate the 
smallest structures and perform exciting new experiments not before possible." 
Professor Markus Munzenberg, IV Institute of Physics, University of Gottingen, Germany, states that the 
petitioner successfully developed "a high Curie temperature ferromagnetic oxide semiconductor for a spin 
injector and detector for nano spin electronic devices. This is exemplary in our field." 
Dr. Boris Nadgorny, Associate Professor, Department of Physics and Astronomy, Wayne State University, 
states: 
Till now, researchers have only limited success to transfer electron spins onto a semiconductor. We 
can make considerable progress by developing new nanodevices based on his publication for 
understanding the spin transport at extremely small dimensions. This type of study is very important 
to replace the existing electronic devices or chips (such as a computer processor and memory) by new 
spin-based eIectronic circuitry with advanced functionalities. [The petitioner] conducted 
groundbrealung research to help elucidate the properties of a high temperature magnetic 
semiconductor, which will find extensive use in many spintronic devices. 
John Michael David Coey, Professor of Experimental Physics, Trinity College, Ireland, and Foreign 
Associate of the National Academy of Science (2005), states: 
Although I do not know [the petitioner] personally, nor have ever worked with him, I am well aware 
of his impressive list of accomplishments in magnetism and spin electronics. 
In a groundbreaking study, [the petitioner] showed . . . that an oxide semiconductor, indium oxide, 
can be made ferromagnetic and tailored its ferromagnetic Curie temperature (temperature above 
which a material loses its characteristic ferromagnetic ability) to very high temperatures. He obtained 
this result by varying the carrier density of a semiconductor by which we can introduce ferromagnetic 
behavior into those materials. This is a notable breakthrough that has stumped other materials 
researchers in the field of spin electronics. The carrier density in oxide materials can be tailored such 
that it introduces a ferromagnetic coupling in the oxide semiconductors. He has also shown that by 
varying the carrier density, one can tailor the ferromagnetic Curie temperature. Thus, this high 
temperature magnetic semiconductor created by [the petitioner] can be used as a spin injector and 
detector in nano-spintronic devices . . . . I highlight this work as being of special interest, in a recent 
review article I wrote on Dilute Magnetic Oxides. 
[The petitioner's] work on chromium doped indium oxide has shown a new and viable high 
temperature oxide semiconductor, which furthers our understanding of the basic mechanism of the 
ferromagnetic interaction in new type of materials called oxide semiconductor that can be directly 
used in spin electronic applications (e.g., electron spin source and also as a spin detector in nano- 
spintronic devices). The most impressive and excellent aspect about this work is that his new 
magnetic semiconductor avoids the difficulties presented in fabricating devices. Until recently, nano- 
spintronic devices were fabricated using metal ferromagnets such as iron, cobalt, nickel, or their 
alloys. A problem with these metal ferromagnets is that when you fabricate a device with a 
semiconductor and a metal ferromagnet, the resistivity incompatibility of the metal and the 
semiconductor introduces interface scattering that results in loss of spin information. In [the 
petitioner's] work, chromium indium oxide can be readily grown on Si or GaAs semiconductors with 
improved compatibility. This results in a higher percentage of spin injection or detection in nano- 
spintronic devices. Another innovative part of his study concerns achieving the Curie temperature of 
these magnetic semiconductors. Most of the earlier reported magnetic semiconductors (e.g. Mn 
doped GaAs) are ferromagnetic only at low temperatures, at most 173 K, so [they] cannot be used for 
practical device fabrication. [The petitioner] has shown that we can tailor the Curie temperature of 
these magnetic semiconductors from 800 - 960 K, since these Curie temperatures are much above 
room temperature, we can easily use them for devices. 
In support of the preceding experts' statements, the petitioner submitted documentation showing dozens of 
independent cites to his published findings. These citations are solid evidence that other researchers have 
been influenced by the petitioner's work and are familiar with it. This unusually large number of citations 
corroborates the experts' statements that the petitioner has made contributions of major significance in his 
field. The record reflects that the petitioner's original scientific contributions are important not only to the 
research institutions where he has worked, but throughout the greater field as well. Leading experts from 
around the world have acknowledged the value of the petitioner's work and its major significance to his field. 
In light of the above, the petitioner has established that he meets this criterion. 
Evidence of the alien's authorship of scholarly articles in the$eld, in professional or major trade 
publications or other major media. 
The petitioner submitted evidence of his authorship of numerous articles in publications such as Journal of 
Physics-Condensed Matter, Materials Letters, Materials Chemistry and Physics, Journal of Magnetism and 
Magnetic Materials, and Applied Physics Letters. As discussed previously, the record also includes evidence 
of dozens of articles that cite to the petitioner's published work.' These numerous citations demonstrate the 
significance of the petitioner's articles to his field. As such, the petitioner has established that he meets this 
criterion. 
In this case, the petitioner has satisfied three of the regulatory criteria required for classification as an alien of 
extraordinary ability. Pursuant to the statute and regulations, the petitioner qualifies for classification sought. 
In review, while not all of the petitioner's evidence carries the weight imputed to it by counsel, the totality of 
the evidence establishes an overall pattern of sustained national acclaim and extraordinary ability. The 
petitioner has also established that he seeks to continue worlung in the same field in the United States and that 
his entry into the United States will substantially benefit prospectively the United States. Therefore, the 
petitioner has overcome the stated grounds for denial and thereby established eligibility for immigrant 
classification under section 203(b)(l)(A) of the Act. 
The burden of proof in visa petition proceedings remains entirely with the petitioner. Section 291 of the Act, 
8 U.S.C. 5 1361. The petitioner has sustained that burden. Accordingly, the decision of the director denying 
the petition will be withdrawn and the petition will be approved. 
ORDER: 
 The appeal is sustained and the petition is approved. 
' The petitioner initially submitted evidence showing 60 cites to his published articles. In response to the director's 
request for evidence, the petitioner submitted evidence showing 89 cites to his work.