provided by Jean D. Chen, Attorney at Law

Normally under the second employment category preference (EB-2),a job offer and an approved labor certification is required. A National Interest Waiver (NIW) requests that the job offer and labor certification be waived to advance the national interest. While not an exhaustive list, these are some of the factors that are considered when determining the "national interest"
Will the alien:
- Benefit the U.S. economy?
- Improve the wages and working conditions of U.S. workers?
- Improve the education and training programs for U.S. children and under-qualified workers?
- Improve health care?
- Provide affordable housing for young an/or older, poorer U.S residents?
- Improve the environment of the U.S. and make more productive use of natural resources?
- Or, has a U.S. government agency specifically requested that the alien be admitted?

If you can answer yes to one or more of these factors, you might be eligible for a National Interest Waiver. Researchers, Scholars, different types of Engineers, and Ph.D.'s are all well suited for a NIW.

In order to qualify for a National Interest Waiver you must satisfy three of the following criteria:
a. You must seek employment in an area with substantial intrinsic merit.
- The importance of your occupation or field of endeavor and its relation to an important national goal must be established.
b. The proposed benefits of your work must be national in scope.
- It is not enough to benefit only local, regional, or private interests. Your work must have national significance.
c. The benefit derived from your "national interest" work must considerably outweigh the inherent national interest in protecting U.S. workers through the labor certification process.
- In other words, you must serve the national interest to a "substantially greater degree" than would an available U.S. worker with the same minimal qualifications.
- Additionally, while it is important that your work be unique and exceptional, this may not be enough to satisfy the third criteria of the NIW petition. Recent rulings have required that you also demonstrate your service to the national interest "with some degree of influence on the field as a whole." Also, the "practical significance" of your work may be considered.