EB1 – Dr. Meghna – Gender And Social Justice Consultant – India
EB1 – Dr. Meghna – Gender and Social Justice Consultant – India
Intent on promoting change within her community, Meghna pursued her graduate education and eventually became a national leader in the fight for social justice and to end gender violence. After receiving many accolades and accomplishments she turned to the Law Offices of Chris M. Ingram to assist in her immigration journey. Today, she continues her career as a Social Justice Consultant and advocates for a better world. Learn more about Dr. Meghna’s experiences and how she navigated her immigration experience during a global pandemic.
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Tell me about where you are from and a little bit about what you do?
I am a first generation immigrant from India and have been living in the USA for the past 18 years. I arrived to the US first as a graduate student and completed my M.S. and PhD in the social sciences field. Currently, I am an experienced and successful national gender and social justice consultant, scholar, training specialist and storyteller with about 18 years of diverse work experience in research, trainings, campus and community programs. My work entails developing and facilitating interactive workshops and trainings for communities and organizations geared towards preventing and ending gender violence and other forms of social injustice. I have been invited to present my research and provide my expertise, insights etc. at many statewide conferences and global panels.
Why do you want to live in America? What’s so special about America?
Growing up in India, I always wondered what it must be to study and live in the US and personally realized how the educational system and learning approaches was a much better fit for me. It helped me recognize my strengths, utilize excellent learning opportunities, and meet and interact with people across all cultures. I learned how to live independently, work hard, pay rent etc as well as recognize my privileges. The range of creative and wonderful opportunities to pursue my dreams in non-traditional unique careers like mine is what made me stay in the US.
What was your visa choice and how did you come to that decision?
After living in the US being on an international student visa and then a spouse dependent work visa (H4) for many years– a couple of friends who had gotten their permanent residency through EB1 motivated us to talk to lawyers and see if I would be eligible to qualify for an EB1-A permanent residency. I knew I had worked really hard and am proud to have come such a long way with many accomplishments and critical role experiences. I believed I could be eligible but wasn’t sure since it was so competitive. Then my husband and I reached out to The Law Offices of Chris M. Ingram inquiring about my eligibility and they told me I was qualified and should definitely consider applying for EB1-A petition. I knew with the EB1A- category, I would have more flexibility to continue working as a consultant and training specialist in the social justice field, thus creating ongoing positive social change in our communities.
Dr. Meghna enjoying her time in the USA
How would you describe your experience in working with us?
I started out the EB1A process with the Ingram team in March/April 2020 when I had just started a new job and the COVID lockdown began. The first intake meeting with Diana was very reassuring and thorough and we were glad to hear that I was eligible to apply for EB1A petition with 3-4 categories and they would do their best to ensure my success. But with a new job and constant exhaustion from being on the computer, it took me a long time to start the paperwork on my end in 2020. M. Faizaan, a new caseworker assigned for our case in early 2021, worked really hard to motivate me to prepare the documents. Because of the hurdles that came with the pandemic, we had quite a few case workers changed for our case which was confusing for us. But each of our case workers Faizaan, Praveen and Arushi were very efficient and did their best in their contributions. What impressed us the most was when I received a RFE in June this year and Adriana Verduga went beyond her role to present excellent and compelling evidence to respond to the RFE. I received an approval this October 2022 and we are finally relieved and excited that I got approved! Besides the hiccups in this uphill tedious immigration paperwork preparation, we found Adriana, Annie and the team patient and easy to work with. I thank them and Mr. Ingram for believing in my accomplishments.
What were some of the evidence challenges you had to work on in the preparation of your case?
Since my career expertise and accomplishments is rare and unique especially among other EB1 candidates who are professors, STEM professionals, business entrepreneurs, artists etc., I wasn’t sure how the lawyers would present my categories and prepare my arguments. It was a new learning experience for them and us — which needed a lot of patience and faith in demonstrating the significance of my work. The tedious process and paperwork to present my unique work accomplishments in a language so that USCIS can understand the scope and significance of my extraordinary accomplishments was what was most challenging for our lawyer’s team, especially when preparing the Critical roles category and then for the RFE. Since I worked mainly for state coalitions and organizations who are non-profits, it was difficult to explain the scope of my critical role and its significance to the USA, especially when the assessments of economic impacts looks different across other industries. I was also unable to find independent experts to write their letters from third party agencies, because they had not worked closely with experts in my industry, which was frustrating. I ended up finding an independent expert myself from my field, who agreed to write the letter. But while preparing a response to my RFE, Adriana thoroughly did her research and provided excellent evidence and prepared the response that was easy to understand and was approved.
Celebrating Her Approval.
What were you doing when you found out you were approved? What was your immediate reaction? How did you celebrate?
I just could not believe what I was reading when I checked the status on the USCIS website! I was working in a cafe and had to tell my husband to check online to see if I was imagining or dreaming. But when we both checked online- we were beyond excited and shocked! I then called our lawyer to check online and she too congratulated us while advising us to wait for the approval notice. Waiting for the approval receipt notice in the mail felt like ages. When the approval receipt came in the mail we informed our families in India and our close friends in the US who were rooting for us. We celebrated a few times with ice cream and dinner. It still feels surreal that I was approved! We hope to celebrate again with our families in India when we get our travel authorization next year. I am hoping with the approval of my case, I can pave the way for potential accomplished and exceptional candidates and future generations in similar unique careers and fields to feel inspired to apply and get approved for this green card category!
Would you recommend your family and friends and why?
During my EB1A preparation process, we already had recommended our friend- a professor from Stanford University to your firm. Despite the uphill struggles due to the unique nature of my career, the hiccups and change of case workers due to the pandemic, we definitely overall had a pleasant experience working with the firm. We truly appreciated each of the case workers’ meticulous and detailed prep and research, especially Mr. Ingram, Adriana V and the manager Annie Mishra’s efforts in turning our EB1A RFE into an approval. We would continue recommending your firm to our family and friends! Thank you again for believing in me!
In order to qualify for an EB1 Green Card you need to be able to satisfy three from a list of ten categories. We’ve provided informative videos on each category for your kind perusal so please review them and get back to us if you feel we can help you.
Select Your 3 EB1 Categories
Checkout these EB1 green card categories below. If you can satisfy three categories, then you may just qualify for your green card. Good luck.
EB1 – Green Card – Checklist Summary
EB1 – One Time International Award
EB1 – Visa Award Nomination or Win
EB1 – Invited Memberships
EB1 – Publications About You
EB1 – Participation on Judging Panel
EB1 – Innovation or Invention
EB1 – Published Scholarly Articles
B1 – Exhibitions and Showcases
EB1 – Leading or Critical Roles
EB1 – High Salary or Remuneration
EB1 – Commercial Success in Arts
EB1 – Ok Let’s Get Started
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