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Physician
Colombo & Hurd secured approval of an EB-2 National Interest Waiver (NIW) petition for a Colombian physician specializing in perioperative care, the medical care given around the time of surgery, and cardiovascular outcomes. USCIS approved the petition with Premium Processing in 1 month and 13 days, without a Request for Evidence (RFE).
Cardiovascular disease is a leading cause of death in the United States, and conditions like hypertension and diabetes are widespread. These conditions raise the risk of complications during and after surgery. About 50 million patients undergo noncardiac surgery each year, and even though these procedures do not involve the heart directly, cardiovascular complications are a leading source of harm in these settings. Heart attacks, heart failure, and arrhythmias account for much of the death and serious injury that occur around the time of surgery. Stronger perioperative care can prevent many of these events, reduce avoidable hospital stays, and ease pressure on the health system.
Our client has built her career around perioperative medicine, cardiovascular risk, and the safe use of medications in surgical patients. Her proposed work in the United States focuses on technology-integrated protocols that improve how doctors assess cardiovascular risk before surgery and manage anticoagulation, or blood-thinning treatment, for patients with chronic conditions.
Senior Attorney Yadira Aguilar led the petition to a straightforward approval in just over a month, with no RFE.
A Career Built on Perioperative Medicine and Cardiovascular Research
Our client holds a Doctor of Medicine and has practiced across a range of clinical settings. Her early career in Colombia included general practice and a year of social service as a physician. Over the years, she treated patients with complex and overlapping conditions in demanding clinical environments. Today she works as a research fellow in general internal medicine at a leading academic medical center in Florida.
Her research centers on perioperative cardiovascular risk and anticoagulation management. In one project, she reviewed real-world electronic health records to study how anticoagulation is handled for surgical patients with atrial fibrillation. The framework she developed reduced perioperative complications by 25% and improved how closely care followed clinical guidelines.
In the United States, she will design technology-integrated protocols for perioperative risk assessment and anticoagulation management. Her work applies data analytics and artificial intelligence to improve how cardiovascular risk is identifiedand treated, reducing preventable complications and lowering avoidable hospitalizations.
Connecting Specialized Research to a Clear National Need
The petition needed to show how focused, specialized research in perioperative cardiovascular care can address a need that affects millions of patients and surgical settings across the country. It also needed to show that her work would do more than help individual patients. The goal was to show how better risk stratification and anticoagulation protocols can improve outcomes across many surgical settings and ease the wider burden on the health system.
Aligning Perioperative and Cardiovascular Research With Federal Priorities
The petition presented the client’s work as both valuable in itself and important to the nation. It connected her research directly to federal health initiatives, including the Million Hearts 2027 initiative to prevent cardiovascular events and the Advanced Research Projects Agency for Health, which funds scalable health solutions. The petition showed that her work to strengthen perioperative protocols advances the same goals these programs pursue.
The petition also tied her work to national efforts on health equity and innovation. It pointed to the Healthy People 2030 program and a federal research program focused on understanding and reducing disparities in surgical care.
The evidence showed a record of real results, not just plans for the future. The petition drew on the client’s completed research, her work product, and letters of recommendation from physicians and researchers familiar with her contributions. Together, this material showed both the quality of her work and its relevance to the proposed endeavor.
A well-prepared petition also depends on a strong partnership between the client and the legal team. The client’s close involvement helped move the case forward without delay. As Ms. Aguilar noted, “She was a true partner from start to finish. She came prepared and stayed engaged at every step, which let us put a strong, well-supported petition together quickly.”
EB-2 NIW Approval With Premium Processing, Without an RFE
USCIS approved the EB-2 NIW petition with Premium Processing in 1 month and 13 days, without issuing a Request for Evidence. A clean approval on this timeline reflects how clearly the petition presented the client’s work and its national importance.
Proven Results Meeting a Clear National Need
Several factors made this case strong. The client had already produced measurable results, giving the petition a concrete foundation that showed what her work could deliver at a national scale.. Her work also carries a multiplier effect, since better perioperative protocols can protect many patients and guide many clinicians at the same time. On top of that, she holds an active research role in the United States that ties directly to several national health priorities. The mix of real results, broad impact, and clear alignment with federal goals brought the national importance of her work into sharp focus.
A Research Agenda in Perioperative Cardiovascular Care
This approval moves the client closer to permanent residency in the United States, where she will continue building her research program in perioperative and cardiovascular care, with the goal of improving surgical outcomes for patients across the country.
| Category | Details |
| Visa Classification | EB-2 NIW (EB-2 National Interest Waiver) |
| Nationality | Colombia |
| Professional Field | Internal medicine; perioperative and cardiovascular research |
| Education | Doctor of Medicine (M.D.) |
| Request for Evidence (RFE) | No |
| Premium Processing | Yes |
| Processing Time | 1 month and 13 days |
| Outcome | Approved |
| Date of Approval | May 13, 2026 |
| Attorney | Yadira Aguilar |
