Sorry, if this bothers you---- and you feel like why the hell I share my information to this f***king weirdo.
Here is my dilemma on NIW case based on Number of Publications and Number of Citations. What is the number that could be reasonable before you even start to contact a lawyer? I got 10 (one first author) and 10 citations. Highly appreciated if you share your numbers.

It depends on journals type?? is it high impact like science nature or just an avg journal

Microbiology, thanks for input. Lets say impact factors ranges from 3 to 10, and total impact factor points=65. Can't dare Nature, NE J of Medicine, and Science.

With 10 publications and 10 citations, it should be okay to proceed (at least 2-3 first authored would have sounded better though). Also, may depend on what you are doing currently and heavily depends on strong independent reference letters. Most NIW specialist lawyers review CV for free and provide suggestions.
(This is based on what I saw in others, and I'm thinking to proceed mine too). Good luck to you.

Let me tell you a true case. One of my friend had 3 first author journal article and 5 second author journal but his case was denied. My other friend had 2 first author journal article and 3 second author journal article and he already got a green card. My suggestion to you is to talk to an immigration lawyer.

Thank you all for sharing your thought. Good luck to all!!

Cicada: Are you planning on doing it by yourself or through attorney? I am in the same boat like you are in. are you done with your phd?

@ cicada
I contacted the lawyer when I had 10 papers (3 first authored) and 15 citations. By the time of filing, I had 30 independent citations and got approved. However, I think 20 citations should get you through. To strengthen your credentials, I would also recommend you to review manuscripts for journals. Contact Victoria Chen at wegreened.com for no obligation free evaluation. Trackitt.com is a wonderful website as well. So is hooyou.com

Khai K Khai K...I have not planned yet. Actually, I have never thought that I could it by myself. And, I only have MS. I thought minimum requirement is MS, unless you have more than 5 yrs of experience and have Bachelor degree.

Suncity....thank you for sharing your case and providing other useful info.

@cicada: Oh great! best of luck if you apply!.
@suncity: I am also thinking of applying but i don't know when... this is my final semester of phd.. 3 paper (2 first and one second).. have 8 citations (6 independent +2 self)... what do you think the chances are?

@KKKT, Self citations do not count! I would suggest you to wait some time before you apply if you have other options (OPT, h1, f1,, O1). If you absolutely need to apply, make sure that you make strong recommendation letter mentioning that the citation count in your particular field is not high and so on....Best of luck.

Evaluate ur case with Chen immigration

Thank you all of you for sharing your thought and case. You all are awesome!!!

Thanks Suncity; microbiology and Cicada!

How many recommendation letters are needed? I have 4 first author papers with less than 10, but few heavy, citations. And, I am working in my own field right now.

Quick question to all experienced NIW applicants (sp1, microbiology, college football, sun city, and many others)

Regarding citations: Do independent citations from book chapters and review papers count ? or the citations from Research papers only ? Thanks a lot .

It counts ..independent citations are paramount..only thing that is going to hurt your application in my opinion is self citation where you citing your own paper