The National Interest Waiver (NIW) is a great option for a permanent resident application if you qualify. It is a program that actually by-passes the Labor Certification (PERM) process. It offers the added benefit of putting the applicant in the employment based, second preference (EB-2 Visa) category. With the PERM process, the applicant must have an approved labor certification and a job offer. Using the NIW option, the applicant can apply without a job offer and most importantly, without going through the labor certification process.
What are the qualifications for a National Interest Waiver?
In order to qualify for the NIW program, an applicant must work in a field that is considered to be in the “National Interest.” The concept behind the NIW program is that the applicant is requesting that the job offer requirement be waived for the sake of the United States “National Interest.” There are three major requirements for approval of a National Interest Waiver application.
- The first is that an applicant must be seeking work in an area that is defined to have “substantial intrinsic merit” to the United States.
- The second is that the benefit from the applicant’s proposed activity will be national in scope.
- And third that the United States National Interest would be adversely affected if a Labor Certification were required for the applicant.
To clarify, with the National Interest Waiver (National Interest Waiver) program the PERM process itself is waived. As such, the applicant, even if they have no employer, can file a, NIW petition on their own, without a designated company or institution acting on their behalf. Even so, it should be noted that a United States employer can file a National Interest Waiver for an employee acting as the petitioner. The petition can be filed either way, with an employer or without.
The most difficult part of the National Interest Waiver process is building the case that the work that the applicant is doing is in the National Interest. Work that qualifies must be national in scope, having ramifications that are felt not just locally or statewide but on a national level.
In general of the types of work that would qualify based on the National Interest are scientific research in fields that have received United States government funding but there are other areas of employment that may qualify as well. It is important that you get assistance in preparing your National Interest Waiver (NIW) application because of the complexity of the issues and standards involved. The Ranchod Law Group legal team has successfully handled many National Interest Waiver cases over the years and our experience can be the key to your success.
National Interest Waiver – Success Story
Dr. Albert X – Micro-Biologist
Dr. X received his PhD from a well known United States University in the field of micro-biology. He went on in his field as a researcher working for a well known professor who is affiliated with another well known United States University.
Dr. X retained the Ranchod Law Group to complete an NIW petition. We determined that based on his experience and educational background it would be best to emphasize the great number of US National (NIW) grants which were awarded to fund various projects that he was involved with. We advised Dr. X on what types of expertise and skills to emphasize and aided him in obtaining appropriate letters of recommendation from colleagues in his academic field. In many instances we edited his letters of support and asked that his colleagues in his academic field review and approve our changes and sign their letters again.
We carefully compiled his documentation and wrote a detailed supporting brief which brought all of the elements of his background together in a compelling way which served to support our contention that Dr. X’s U.S. permanent residence status was in the national interest.
We submitted the petition along with an adjustment of status application. The petition was approved in just seven weeks and in just over twelve weeks, Dr. X received an approval of the entire permanent residence application.
Because of our diligent work in preparing this petition and the supporting documents, Dr. X went from a nonimmigrant, temporary work visa holder to a permanent resident in just twelve weeks.
If you think that you might qualify for a National Interest Waiver petition please contact our team at (916) 613-3553 or (209) 219-2377, we would enjoy discussing your possibilities with you.
