by Natalie McQuilkin Each year, from October 1 to September 30 of the following year (fiscal year), the United States provides 140,000 employment-based visas to foreign nationals. Approximately 40,000 of these visas fall under the Employment-Based Second Preference (EB-2) category. The EB-2 National Interest Waiver (NIW) allows self-petitioning for professionals with advanced degrees, professionals with a bachelor's degree plus five years of work experience, or professionals with exceptional ability. In this post, we will cover the basics of the EB-2 NIW visa so you can determine if this is a compatible path for you to establish your future in the United States. Who qualifies for the EB-2 NIW? The EB-2 NIW visa extends to three groups:  professionals with advanced degrees, professionals with a bachelor's degree plus five years of work experience, or professionals with exceptional ability. For the EB-2 NIW visa, an advanced degree is equivalent to a master's or doctoral degree. As part of the application process, you must be able to provide detailed academic records. If you cannot meet the requirement of holding an advanced degree, you may still qualify for the EB-2 NIW visa if you have a bachelor's degree plus five years of post-graduate experience. Along with your academic records, you can provide support letters from past or current employers detailing your professional experience. One of the best things about these two categories is that the degree can apply to any educational field, creating more opportunities for foreign nationals with degrees in humanities, STEM, business, and more. Professionals with exceptional ability also qualify for the EB-2 NIW visa. According to USCIS (U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services), “exceptional ability” is “a level of expertise significantly above that ordinarily encountered in the sciences, arts, or business.” For this category, it is imperative to establish how your skill set goes beyond what is normally expected in your respective field. That is why USCIS requires you to provide evidence of at least three of the following:

• records of a title, diploma, certificate, or award;
• Letters from current or former employers to prove that you have worked in the field professionally for at least 10 years
• occupational license;
• adequate compensation for work requiring exceptional skill;
• membership in a professional association; and
• Recognition of achievements.

What is the National Interest Waiver? If you belong to one of the three categories, the next step is to determine if you can provide evidence that your employment in the United States would be in the interest of advancing and benefiting the country. USCIS explains that you must meet these three requirements to qualify for the NIW:

• The effort proposed by the person has both substantial merit and national importance;
• The person is well positioned to advance the proposed effort; and
• Ultimately, it would be beneficial for the United States to waive the job offer requirement and, consequently, the requirements for permanent work authorization.

These qualifications require you to set forth your “proposed endeavor,” or specific plans for your proposed career or research, and how your work will benefit the United States. An example could be a researcher who plans to focus on advancing national security. National importance may also extend to improving the U.S. economy by working in impoverished areas or dedicating work and research to a specific region of the U.S. Because of this, the NIW can be applied to a large number of occupations: you can have a career as a pilot, teacher, engineer, artist, professor, or scientist, but eligible jobs are not limited to just these types of careers. The important thing is that you can provide evidence of your academic and professional experience or your exceptional ability and that you can establish how your occupation serves the interests of the country. For the “well positioned” requirement, USCIS will consider the following:

• His education, skills and track record of success in the field;
• A model or plan that you have developed or played a significant role in developing and that is related to the proposed effort;
• His progress toward achieving the proposed effort; and
• The interest or support of potential customers, users, investors, or other relevant entities or individuals.

USCIS will consider all of these requirements—the proposed endeavor, its merit, national importance, and whether it is well-positioned—to determine whether these factors outweigh the need for a labor certification and a job offer. This is to ensure that job opportunities, working conditions, and wages for U.S. workers are not adversely affected if you are granted the EB-2 NIW visa. Benefits of the EB-2 NIW Visa There are several benefits to obtaining an EB-2 NIW visa. One of the main advantages is that the NIW waives the need to obtain a labor certification or a job offer, so you can apply for this visa on your own. This eliminates the need to work directly with an employer. Because you do not need to obtain a labor certification, it also reduces processing times, since labor certifications can take at least six months to process. The other benefits are related to permanent residency in the U.S. Once you obtain your EB-2 NIW visa, you will become a lawful permanent resident of the United States. With a green card, you can study in U.S. schools, receive unemployment benefits, and travel abroad. This visa also allows you to apply for green cards for your spouse and unmarried children under 21 years of age. Once you have been a green card holder for more than five years, you can apply for U.S. citizenship. If you have lived in the U.S. for three years and are married to a U.S. citizen, you can apply for citizenship just three years after becoming an LPR. Cost and Processing Times When applying for an EB-2 NIW waiver on your own, there are several forms and applications you must file and pay for. One is Form I-140, or Immigrant Petition for Alien Workers, which costs $700. As of October 2023, processing times for this form ranged from 10.5 to 13.5 months. After this form is approved, you will file Form I-485, which costs $ 1,140, to adjust your status if you already live in the U.S. The processing time for this depends on the location of the field service center, but it generally takes at least one year. If you live abroad, you’ll need to file the DS-260 Electronic Immigrant Visa Application, which can take a few months to process. 

References: Employment-Based Immigration: Second Preference EB-2 | USCIS https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/us-visas/immigrate/employment-based-immigrant-visas.html Chapter 5 – Advanced Degree or Exceptional Ability | USCIS Consular Processing | USCIS Pathways for Immigrants to STEM Jobs in the United States | USCIS Processing times (uscis.gov) How to apply for an EB-2 NIW visa – Boundless