Your citations are the start. Impact is the argument.
A publication list is evidence; it is not yet a case. visaworker.ai helps you show who built on your work, why it mattered beyond your lab, and where your proposed research is going, then drafts the petition with every claim tied to an exhibit.
- The hard part
- Numbers without a narrative.
- What we do
- Evidence into a draft.
- What we are not
- Not a law firm.
Citation counts need context: field norms, independent use, outcomes.
Publications, reviews, grants and letters, mapped to criteria.
Prepare with confidence. Review with counsel you choose.
Show independent impact,
not just output.
Reviewers see many petitions with long publication lists. What distinguishes a strong research case is evidence that people with no connection to you relied on your work: cited it as a basis for their own, adopted your method, funded your next step, or asked you to judge theirs.
Independent citations matter more than totals.
Separate self-citations and citations from your co-authors and lab from those by unconnected groups. Then show what the citing papers did with your work: extended it, replicated it, applied it in a new domain.
Peer review is judging, if you document it.
Journal review invitations, conference program committee service and grant panel work may support the judging criterion when documented appropriately. Keep the invitation emails and any reviewer records the publisher provides.
Grants prove others bet on your plan.
Competitive funding shows independent experts found your research worth backing. Award letters, success rates where published and your role on the grant are the exhibits to gather.
Proposed research needs a plan, not a wish.
For NIW especially, describe the specific problem, why it matters nationally, what you have already achieved toward it, and what resources, collaborators and positions you have lined up to continue.
Evidence worth collecting first.
You do not need all of this to start. Paste what you have; the agent tells you where the gaps are and which letters or documents would close them.
Publications and citations
Your scholarly record, with the context a non-specialist reviewer needs.
- Google Scholar, Scopus or Web of Science profile with h-index and totals
- Citation breakdown: independent versus self and co-author citations
- Journal impact data and acceptance rates where published
- Examples of citing papers that extended or applied your findings
Peer review and judging
Evidence that the field asks you to evaluate other people's work.
- Reviewer invitations and completed-review confirmations from journals
- Program committee, editorial board or grant review panel appointments
- Publons, ORCID or publisher records of review activity
- Thesis committee or competition judging appointments
Grants, awards and recognition
Independent signals that your research direction is worth funding and honouring.
- Grant award letters, your role, and funder selection rates where available
- Fellowships, prizes and early-career awards with selection criteria
- Invited talks, keynotes and plenary sessions with audience size
- Membership in societies that require outstanding achievement
Original contribution and future work
What you changed in the field and where you intend to take it next.
- Letters from independent experts describing how they used your findings
- Evidence of adoption: methods, datasets, software or clinical protocols in use elsewhere
- A research statement with specific aims, timeline and national relevance
- Job offers, lab affiliations or collaborations that support the proposed work
What the agent does with what you paste.
Illustrative example. A postdoctoral researcher in materials science with a modest publication count, a strongly cited first-author paper, regular reviewing for two journals, and a co-investigator role on a federal grant.
- Ex. 1Google Scholar profile link and an exported citation report
- Ex. 2Two citing papers from unaffiliated groups that applied the method
- Ex. 3Reviewer confirmation emails from both journals, plus a Publons export
- Ex. 4Grant award notice naming the researcher as co-investigator
The petitioner has served as a peer reviewer for [Journal A] and [Journal B], completing [N] manuscript reviews between [year] and [year] (Exhibits 21 to 24). Both journals invite reviewers based on demonstrated expertise in the subject matter, as described in their reviewer guidelines at Exhibit 25. Independently of this service, the petitioner's first-author paper (Exhibit 4) has been cited by [N] publications, including work at [Institution C] and [Institution D] that applied the petitioner's synthesis method to new material systems (Exhibits 6 and 7).
This is a fictional, shortened illustration of how the agent ties claims to exhibits. It is not a real client, not a complete criterion, and says nothing about whether any petition would be approved.
From a call to a compiled packet.
The same open-source workspace every applicant uses. Nothing here is specific to your profession except the evidence you bring.
- 01
Free strategy call
Talk through your background and timing. We discuss which routes are worth exploring. Not legal advice.
- 02
Paste links, upload files
Articles, profiles, patents, letters and PDFs are captured as exhibits and numbered automatically.
- 03
Agent drafts each criterion
The agent interviews you, ties every claim to an exhibit, and writes the petition section by section.
- 04
Compile the packet
One PDF with cover, table of contents, petition letter and exhibits, ready for review.
- 05
Review with counsel
Prepare with confidence, then share the workspace with a partner lawyer at negotiated partner rates or your own attorney. You keep ownership.
Connect your own AI key and use the full workspace.
We provide the AI. Drafting, revisions and a compiled PDF for one petition.
Government filing fees and any attorney fees are separate and paid by you directly.
Three categories, no shortcuts.
Explore your options. These are the categories the workspace drafts for. Feedback from the strategy call and the agent is informational, not a legal determination or a guarantee of qualification; that judgement is for you and your attorney.
Frequently explored by researchers because it can be self-petitioned and centres on the importance of the research and your record of advancing it, rather than acclaim alone. EB-2 NIW is a permanent-residence category that can be self-petitioned. You first have to qualify for EB-2 through an advanced degree or exceptional ability; the waiver itself is then judged under the three-prong Dhanasar framework: substantial merit and national importance, being well positioned to advance the work, and why waiving the job offer and labor certification benefits the United States.
EB-2 NIW lawyers in our directorySource: USCIS: Employment-Based Immigration, Second Preference EB-2Explored by researchers with a stronger recognition record: high independent citation, significant awards, editorial roles and letters from leading figures outside their network. EB-1A is a permanent-residence category that can be self-petitioned. USCIS applies a two-step review: meeting criteria first, then a final merits determination about sustained acclaim. Meeting three criteria on paper does not decide the outcome.
EB-1A lawyers in our directorySource: USCIS: Employment-Based Immigration, First Preference EB-1Relevant when a university, institute or company is ready to employ you now and act as petitioner, often as a bridge while a permanent case proceeds. O-1A is a temporary work classification. It has to be filed by a U.S. employer or an agent acting as petitioner; you cannot file it for yourself. Whether an agent structure fits your situation is a question for your attorney.
O-1A lawyers in our directorySource: USCIS: O-1 Individuals with Extraordinary Ability or AchievementDraft the science. Let counsel handle the law.
You are the best person to explain your research; an attorney is the best person to judge how the evidence meets the legal standard. visaworker.ai sits between the two: it turns your record into a structured draft that an attorney can review efficiently, and it keeps every exhibit in order. Independent partner lawyers in our directory review and file at negotiated partner rates, or you can bring your own lawyer.
Browse the lawyer directoryThe agent writes in plain language a non-specialist adjudicator can follow, with technical detail kept in exhibits
Partner attorneys in our directory review and file at negotiated partner rates; you can also bring your own lawyer
Attorney fees and government filing fees are separate from the visaworker.ai price
Questions researchers ask us.
How many citations do I need?
There is no published threshold, and visaworker.ai does not give eligibility opinions. Reviewers weigh citations against field norms and look at who is citing you and why. The workspace helps you present independent citations, field context and examples of downstream use, which matter more than a single total.
Most of my citations are from my own group. Is that a problem?
It changes how the evidence should be framed. Self and co-author citations still show activity, but independent citations carry more weight for showing impact. The agent asks you to separate them and focuses the narrative on unaffiliated use, letters from independent experts and other signals such as review service and grants.
I am a postdoc without a permanent position. Can I still prepare a case?
You can prepare EB-1A or EB-2 NIW drafts without an employer, since both can be self-petitioned. For NIW in particular, being well positioned to continue the research matters, so offers, collaborations and lab access are worth documenting. Whether to file, and when, is a question for your attorney.
Does peer review really count as judging?
Manuscript review, program committee service and grant panel work are commonly presented under the judging criterion. What matters is documentation: invitations, completed-review confirmations and evidence of how reviewers are selected. The workspace keeps those records as numbered exhibits.
What does visaworker.ai cost for a researcher?
Start free by connecting your own AI key, or unlock one case for a flat $249 where we provide the AI. That covers drafting, revisions and a compiled PDF. Government filing fees and any attorney fees are separate and paid by you directly.
Does visaworker.ai tell me if I qualify?
The strategy call and AI agent help you explore potential routes and organize the evidence behind your profile. This feedback is informational, not a legal determination or guarantee of qualification. You can work with an independent immigration attorney to evaluate your options and decide whether to file.
Start with what you have. The draft shows the gaps.
Free to start. No card required. Not legal advice.