United States EB-2 National Interest Waiver

The National Interest Waiver allows you to petition for yourself, without an employer filing on your behalf.

uscis.gov/employment-based-immigration-second-preference-eb-2

With the waiver you do not need to obtain a labor certification from the Department of Labor, and are therefore not tied to an employer.

uscis.gov/employment-based-immigration-second-preference-eb-2

First prong: the proposed endeavor must have both substantial merit and national importance.

uscis.gov/employment-based-immigration-second-preference-eb-2

Second prong: you must be well positioned to advance the proposed endeavor.

uscis.gov/employment-based-immigration-second-preference-eb-2

Third prong: on balance, it must be beneficial to the United States to waive the job offer and thus the permanent labor certification requirement.

uscis.gov/employment-based-immigration-second-preference-eb-2

You must still qualify for EB-2 itself: an advanced degree, or a bachelor's plus at least five years of progressive post-bachelor's experience, or exceptional ability.

uscis.gov/employment-based-immigration-second-preference-eb-2

On the exceptional ability route, at least three of the six regulatory criteria must be met. It is a counting threshold and depth of evidence does not substitute for the count.

uscis.gov/employment-based-immigration-second-preference-eb-2

An approved petition does not mean a green card is available. The wait is set by the Department of State's monthly Visa Bulletin and differs sharply by country of birth.

uscis.gov/employment-based-immigration-second-preference-eb-2