Can I file two or more kinds of special immigrant visa petitions concurrently or sequentially?
Yes. In particular, individuals may wish to file a special immigrant visa petition in the employment-based first preference category (EB-1) and one in the employment-based second preference category (EB-2) (this would be the national interest waiver). Visa number backlogs vary among the categories for natives from different countries, with India and China usually backlogged for EB-2 and India for EB-1 and EB-2 preferences. The strategy behind filing two or petitions is that the applicant gets more than one bite at the apple. Her cases may be adjudicated by different immigration officers with different perspectives (the standards, such as “extraordinary ability,” international recognition for outstanding research,” and “substantial contributions to the field” are ambiguous).
