EB-2 National Interest Waiver (NIW)

What the National Interest Waiver Is

The EB-2 immigrant category is for two groups: members of the professions who hold an advanced degree, and people of exceptional ability in the sciences, arts or business. Normally an EB-2 petition needs a United States employer to offer the job and to obtain a labor certification from the Department of Labor, proving that no able, willing and qualified U.S. worker is available for the position.

The national interest waiver removes both requirements. The statute lets the government waive the job offer when it "deems it to be in the national interest," and the regulation adds that the waiver carries the labor certification with it. When you ask for the waiver, you may be your own petitioner: the regulation says "the alien, or anyone in the alien's behalf, may be the petitioner."

In practice this means no employer has to start the case or keep it alive, you are not tied to one position while it is pending, and self-employment is possible. The petition rests on your work, your record and your plan, not on a job.

What the waiver does not change: an approved NIW is still an EB-2 petition, so you wait for a visa number under the EB-2 limits for your country of birth, and the petition is decided on evidence under a precedent decision called Matter of Dhanasar. The rest of this page explains who qualifies, what Dhanasar asks, what to file, what it costs, how long the visa wait is, and what to do if USCIS asks for more evidence or denies the petition.

Harry Asatrian handles EB-2 National Interest Waiver petitions, including initial filings, responses to requests for evidence, and appeals after a denial. The firm represents researchers, physicians in underserved areas, engineers, entrepreneurs and public health professionals in NIW petitions, from the first review of the record through adjustment of status or consular processing.

Who Qualifies: The Two Doors Into EB-2

Before USCIS looks at the national interest, you must qualify for EB-2 itself. Since January 15, 2025 the USCIS Policy Manual says this in so many words: a petitioner seeking a national interest waiver "must first demonstrate qualification for the underlying second preference visa classification." There are two ways in.

Door one: an advanced degree

An advanced degree is "any United States academic or professional degree or a foreign equivalent degree above that of baccalaureate." A U.S. bachelor's degree, or its foreign equivalent, "followed by at least five years of progressive experience in the specialty shall be considered the equivalent of a master's degree." If a doctorate is customarily required in your specialty, you need one. The occupation must also be a profession, meaning one that requires at least a bachelor's degree to enter.

Because an NIW has no labor certification describing the job, USCIS decides case by case whether the occupation in which you will advance your endeavor is a profession, and whether your five years of experience are in the specialty. It is your burden to show each element.

Door two: exceptional ability

Exceptional ability means "a degree of expertise significantly above that ordinarily encountered in the sciences, arts, or business." You show it with at least three of six kinds of evidence, and the ability must relate to the endeavor you propose.

• An official academic record of a degree, diploma, certificate or similar award relating to the area of exceptional ability.
• Letters from current or former employers showing at least ten years of full-time experience in the occupation.
• A license to practice the profession, or a certification for the profession or occupation.
• Evidence that you have commanded a salary or other pay that demonstrates exceptional ability.
• Membership in professional associations.
• Recognition for achievements and significant contributions to the industry or field by peers, government entities, or professional or business organizations.

If these standards do not readily apply to your occupation, the regulation allows comparable evidence. One caution from Dhanasar itself: being well above average is not the same as qualifying for the waiver. The decision says a person "cannot qualify for a waiver just by demonstrating a degree of expertise significantly above that ordinarily encountered in his field of expertise." The national interest is a separate showing.

The standard of proof is a preponderance of the evidence: you must show it is "more likely than not" that you meet each element. USCIS weighs the quality of the evidence, including its relevance, probative value and credibility, not only its quantity.

The Dhanasar Test, in Plain Language

The legal test comes from Matter of Dhanasar, 26 I&N Dec. 884, decided by the Administrative Appeals Office on December 27, 2016 and designated a precedent that USCIS officers must follow. It replaced the 1998 framework of Matter of New York State Department of Transportation. After you establish EB-2 eligibility, USCIS may grant the waiver if you show three things. If all three are met, USCIS "may approve the national interest waiver as a matter of discretion."

Prong one: your proposed endeavor has substantial merit and national importance

The word that matters is "endeavor." It is the specific work you propose to do, and the Policy Manual says it "is more specific than the general occupation." In Dhanasar the occupation was engineer; the endeavor was research and development of hypersonic propulsion systems. USCIS expects a description of "the specific projects and goals" rather than a job title.

Merit can be shown in "business, entrepreneurialism, science, technology, culture, health, or education." Evidence that the endeavor could create a significant economic impact "may be favorable but is not required." Research and pure science can qualify "whether or not the potential accomplishments in those fields are likely to translate into economic benefits."

National importance is about "potential prospective impact": national or even global implications within a field, such as improved manufacturing processes or medical advances. It is not measured by geography alone. A project focused on one region can have national importance, for example if it has "significant potential to employ U.S. workers" or other substantial economic effects, "particularly in an economically depressed area." On the other side of the line, USCIS says benefits to one employer alone, "even an employer with a national footprint," are not enough, and that officers should look at the nature of the endeavor rather than only its geographic breadth.

Dhanasar also shows the limit. The same petitioner proposed to teach STEM subjects. The AAO found that teaching has substantial merit, but the record did not show that his teaching would "impact the field of STEM education more broadly," so that part of the endeavor failed prong one. The Policy Manual repeats the point: classroom teaching by itself generally does not show an impact on the field.

Three illustrations of the difference between an occupation and an endeavor. A software engineer's endeavor is not "software engineering"; it might be building fraud detection methods for payment systems that banks across the country adopt. A physician's endeavor is not "practicing medicine"; it might be a protocol that improves stroke outcomes in rural hospitals and that other systems can use. A founder's endeavor is the company's specific product and the problem it solves, not "running a business."

Prong two: you are well positioned to advance the endeavor

This prong moves from the work to you. Dhanasar lists the factors: your "education, skills, knowledge and record of success in related or similar efforts; a model or plan for future activities; any progress towards achieving the proposed endeavor; and the interest of potential customers, users, investors, or other relevant entities or individuals."

You do not have to prove the endeavor will succeed. The AAO wrote that "many innovations and entrepreneurial endeavors may ultimately fail, in whole or in part, despite an intelligent plan and competent execution," so USCIS does not require a showing that the endeavor is more likely than not to succeed. You do have to show, by a preponderance, that you are positioned to advance it.

The Policy Manual adds practical rules. "A degree in and of itself" is not enough to show you are well positioned. Letters "may be persuasive when they are from experts in the person's field who have first-hand knowledge" and are "supported by other independent evidence." A business plan is useful to explain the endeavor but must also be backed by independent evidence. A job offer is not required, but communications with prospective employers can show the plan is feasible.

Prong three: on balance, waiving the job offer benefits the United States

Congress wrote the job offer and labor certification rules to protect U.S. workers, and it also created the waiver because in some cases other national interests outweigh those protections. Prong three asks USCIS to weigh them. Dhanasar names three factors: whether it would be impractical for you to secure a job offer or for an employer to obtain a labor certification given your qualifications or your endeavor; whether the United States would benefit from your contributions "even assuming that other qualified U.S. workers are available"; and whether the national interest in your contributions is "sufficiently urgent to warrant forgoing the labor certification process."

The decision gives examples: a labor certification may prevent an employer from hiring someone whose unique knowledge or skills cannot be written into a job description, and an entrepreneur or self-employed inventor may have no employer to apply for one. The Policy Manual adds a time-sensitive public health or safety benefit as an example of urgency. Two things are no longer required: you do not have to show harm to the national interest, and you do not have to compare yourself against U.S. workers in your field. One thing is not enough on its own: evidence of a national labor shortage in your occupation does not by itself satisfy prong three.

What USCIS added in 2022 and 2025

The Policy Manual guidance of January 2022 explains how USCIS weighs STEM work and entrepreneurs. An advanced degree, "particularly a Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.), in a STEM field" tied to the proposed endeavor is treated as an especially positive factor, and USCIS calls a specific combination "a strong positive factor": an advanced STEM degree, an endeavor in a critical and emerging technology or another STEM area important to U.S. competitiveness or national security, and evidence that the person is well positioned to advance it. Letters from interested government agencies or quasi-governmental entities are not required, but can be relevant to all three prongs.

The January 15, 2025 update tightened the threshold. It confirmed that EB-2 eligibility comes first, that the five years of experience must be in the specialty, that exceptional ability must relate to the endeavor, and, for founders, that "not every entrepreneur qualifies" and that "broad assertions regarding general benefits to the economy and potential to create jobs will not establish an entrepreneur's qualification." USCIS evaluates all of the evidence together; no single document establishes eligibility by itself.

Defining the Proposed Endeavor

The endeavor statement is the most important drafting decision in the petition, because every prong is measured against it. A good statement answers six questions in plain terms.

1. What problem are you working on, and why does it matter beyond one company or one town?
2. What specifically will you do about it over the next several years: the projects, the methods, the goals?
3. Who benefits if it works: patients, users, an industry, a region, public safety, national security, scientific knowledge?
4. How will you do it: your role, the institutions or company involved, funding, collaborators, and a realistic timeline?
5. Why are you the person to do it: the degree, the record, the progress so far, the people who want the result?
6. How will progress be measured, and what has already been achieved?

Three mistakes USCIS guidance warns against: describing the occupation instead of the endeavor; proposing work whose benefits stay inside a single employer; and proposing an endeavor that has no connection to the advanced degree, the specialty experience or the exceptional ability that got you into EB-2 in the first place.

Evidence and Recommendation Letters

The Form I-140 instructions describe what an NIW petition must contain: the request for the waiver "with documentation provided showing the alien's presence in the United States is in the national interest," plus the EB-2 evidence, either the academic record of an advanced degree (or a bachelor's degree with employer letters showing five years of progressive experience in the specialty) or three of the six exceptional ability items. The regulation also calls for the Department of Labor's qualifications form to be filed with the petition even though no certification is requested; the regulation names Form ETA-750B, and the Department of Labor's current labor certification form is Form ETA-9089.

A complete petition usually holds these parts:

• The endeavor statement, in your own voice, answering the six questions above.
• A petition letter that organizes the evidence prong by prong and ties each exhibit to a specific point.
• Proof of the EB-2 door: degree records and evaluations, or the experience letters, or the three-of-six evidence.
• Your record: publications and the citations to them, patents and licenses of them, grants and contracts, awards, invited talks and peer review, products shipped or protocols adopted, press coverage, revenue and jobs created for founders.
• Your plan and your progress: a research agenda, a product roadmap or a business plan, with what has already been done.
• Interest from others: customers, users, investors, collaborators, institutions or government agencies that want the work.
• Letters, discussed next.

What makes a letter persuasive

USCIS says letters are persuasive when they come "from experts in the person's field who have first-hand knowledge" of your work and when they are "supported by other independent evidence." The best letters are specific. They explain what you did, why it mattered in the field, how others used it, and what the endeavor will do next. They say how the writer knows your work. They do not simply praise you, and they do not all say the same thing. Writers who are independent of you, meaning not your supervisor, co-author or employer, add weight, as do letters from government agencies or quasi-governmental entities with an interest in the endeavor.

Letters cannot carry the petition alone. In Dhanasar the AAO credited detailed expert letters because they were backed by the record: publications and citations, documentation of grant-funded projects in which the petitioner played a significant role, and evidence of government interest in the field.

The Process, Step by Step

1. Assessment. Which EB-2 door you fit, what your endeavor is, where the record is strong and where it needs work. This is where many cases are won or lost, before anything is filed.
2. File Form I-140 with the NIW request. The petition is filed with USCIS by mail or online. The filing fee is $715 by mail, $665 online, plus the Asylum Program Fee, which is $300 for a self-petitioner or small employer, under the fee schedule dated October 16, 2026. Your priority date, your place in line for a visa, is the date the completed petition is properly filed with USCIS.
3. Premium processing, if you want it. Form I-907 with a fee of $2,965 asks USCIS to act within 45 business days for an NIW petition: an approval, a denial, a notice of intent to deny or a request for evidence. If it misses the deadline it refunds the fee. A request for evidence stops the clock, and a new 45-day period starts when USCIS receives your response. Premium processing has been available for all new and pending NIW petitions since January 30, 2023. If Form I-907 is filed together with the Form I-140, the petition must be filed by mail.
4. A request for evidence or a notice of intent to deny, in some cases. USCIS may give up to 12 weeks (84 days) to answer a request for evidence and 30 days to answer a notice of intent to deny, plus mailing time. A partial answer is treated as a request for a decision on what has been filed. See how an NIW response is built.
5. Approval, then the green card itself. An approved I-140 is not a green card. The next step depends on where you are and whether a visa number is available for your priority date and country of birth: adjustment of status inside the United States, or consular processing abroad.

Adjustment of status in the United States (Form I-485)

If you are in the United States and a visa number is immediately available under the chart USCIS designates for the month, you may file Form I-485 together with the I-140, or while the I-140 is pending, or after it is approved. The I-485 fee is $1,440 by mail, $1,390 online for each applicant 14 or older, and $950 by mail, $900 online for a child under 14 filing with a parent. Most applicants also file Form I-765 for a work permit ($260 with a pending I-485) and Form I-131 for an advance parole travel document ($630 by mail, $580 online). After filing, USCIS schedules a biometrics appointment, decides whether an interview is needed, may ask for more evidence, and issues a written decision. The regulations do not provide an appeal from a denied I-485, but a motion to reopen or reconsider may be available.

Consular processing outside the United States

If you are abroad, USCIS sends the approved petition to the Department of State's National Visa Center, which holds it until a visa number is close to available, then sends fee bills and asks for documents. The consulate interviews you when your priority date is current. If the visa is issued you receive a sealed visa packet, pay the USCIS Immigrant Fee, and become a permanent resident when admitted at a U.S. port of entry; the card is mailed afterward.

Your spouse and unmarried children under 21 can immigrate with you. The law gives them "the same status, and the same order of consideration" as you, if they accompany or follow to join you. They file their own I-485 applications or consular applications under your priority date.

What It Costs: Government Fees

These are the USCIS filing fees as the fee schedule, Form G-1055, showed them in its edition of October 16, 2026, read on October 22, 2026. They change by rule, and some of them adjust every year, so check the schedule at uscis.gov/g-1055 before you file. Legal fees are separate and are discussed at the consultation.

Two notes on the table. A self-petitioner pays the small-employer amount of the Asylum Program Fee, not the regular amount. The premium processing fee is paid separately from the other fees and is refunded if USCIS does not act within 45 business days.

Timing and Visa Availability by Country

Two clocks run in an NIW case. The first is USCIS's decision on the I-140. With premium processing that is 45 business days per period; without it, USCIS publishes no fixed time, and its processing times page is the only official estimate. The second clock is the wait for a visa number, and for many applicants it is the longer one.

The law allows at least 140,000 employment-based immigrant visas a year, and EB-2 receives 28.6 percent of the worldwide employment-based level, plus any numbers first preference does not use. No single country of birth may use more than 7 percent of the combined family and employment limits, which the bulletin puts at 25,620. Visas go out in priority date order. When demand from one country exceeds its share, the Department of State sets a cut-off date for that country, and only people whose priority date is earlier than the cut-off can move forward. The Visa Bulletin publishes these dates every month in two charts.

• Final Action Dates: when a visa can actually be issued or an I-485 approved.
• Dates for Filing: when applicants can submit documents to the National Visa Center and, if USCIS says so for that month, file an I-485 early so the work permit and travel document can be requested.
• "Current" (C) means every priority date in that category is reached.

USCIS announces each month which chart adjustment of status applicants may use. For October 2026, employment-based applicants may use the Dates for Filing chart. The snapshot below shows the EB-1 and EB-2 rows of both charts for October 2026, read on October 22, 2026. It will be out of date within weeks; the current bulletin is at travel.state.gov and USCIS's chart designation is at uscis.gov/visabulletininfo.

The October 2026 bulletin says that with the new fiscal year some employment-based categories for countries other than China, India, Mexico and the Philippines moved backward, to keep issuances within the quarterly and annual limits for fiscal year 2027.

What this means in practice. Applicants born in India or mainland China face the longest EB-2 waits, measured in years, because demand from those countries far exceeds the per-country share; the EB-1 rows of the same charts are earlier, which is one reason some applicants pursue EB-1A as well. Applicants born elsewhere face shorter and more variable waits that move with each bulletin. Your country of chargeability is normally your country of birth, not your citizenship. We review the current bulletin at every consultation; no one can predict how the dates will move.

NIW or EB-1A: Which Fits

The EB-1A category for extraordinary ability is the other self-petition. It has no degree requirement and no job offer or labor certification requirement, but the standard is higher: "sustained national or international acclaim," shown by a one-time major internationally recognized award or by at least three of ten criteria. EB-1A is in the first preference, whose visa dates have run ahead of EB-2 for applicants born in India and China.

The two are not exclusive. Nothing limits you to one petition, and an approved petition's priority date carries over to a later EB-1, EB-2 or EB-3 petition unless the approval is revoked for fraud, willful misrepresentation, a material error, or a labor certification problem. Our page on NIW versus EB-1A goes through the choice in detail, and the EB-1A practice page covers that category on its own.

Physicians, Researchers, Engineers and Founders

Each field raises its own questions under Dhanasar, and the Policy Manual has specific guidance for several of them. These pages go deeper:

• NIW for Physicians and Healthcare Workers: the separate five-year underserved-area waiver for physicians under 8 CFR 204.12, the Conrad 30 connection, and the Dhanasar route for clinicians and other healthcare workers.
• NIW for Researchers and Scientists: how publications, citations, funding and letters fit the three prongs, with the Dhanasar example itself.
• NIW for Engineers and STEM Professionals: industry work in critical and emerging technologies, the STEM degree factor, and evidence beyond publications.
• NIW for Entrepreneurs and Founders: what USCIS lists as evidence for founders, and what it says will not be enough.
• NIW Requests for Evidence: the deadline, the issues USCIS raises, and how a response is built.
• NIW Denials and Appeals: the 30-day window, appeals, motions, refiling, and the limits on court review.

Frequently Asked Questions

Do I need a PhD to get an EB-2 NIW?

No. You need to fit one of two doors into EB-2: an advanced degree, which includes a master's degree or a bachelor's degree followed by at least five years of progressive experience in the specialty, or exceptional ability shown by three of six kinds of evidence. A PhD in a STEM field tied to your endeavor is treated as an especially positive factor under the second Dhanasar prong, but it is not required.

Do I need a job offer or an employer to sponsor me?

No. The national interest waiver waives the job offer, and with it the labor certification. You may file Form I-140 for yourself. Self-employment is allowed; USCIS notes that Department of Labor rules generally make labor certification unavailable in self-employment, which is one reason founders use the NIW.

Can I file an NIW while I am in the United States on a work or student visa?

Filing Form I-140 does not by itself change your current status. Whether a pending immigrant petition affects a later visa application or a trip abroad depends on the rules of your particular status, so we review your status and travel plans before filing rather than after.

How long does an NIW take?

There is no single official timeline. With premium processing, USCIS acts on the I-140 within 45 business days of each period or refunds the fee; without it, the only official estimate is USCIS's processing times page. After approval, the wait for a visa number depends on your country of birth and the monthly Visa Bulletin, and for applicants born in India or China that wait is measured in years. Adjustment of status or consular processing adds its own time.

How much does an EB-2 NIW cost in government fees?

Under the USCIS fee schedule dated October 16, 2026: $715 by mail, $665 online for Form I-140, plus the $300 Asylum Program Fee for a self-petitioner; $2,965 for optional premium processing; $1,440 by mail, $1,390 online for each adult Form I-485; $260 for a work permit and $630 by mail, $580 online for advance parole with a pending I-485. Attorney fees are separate.

What are my chances? What is the NIW approval rate?

We do not quote approval rates on this page. USCIS publishes form-level statistics, but a percentage says nothing about your record, your endeavor or how the evidence is presented, and each petition is decided on its own file by a preponderance of the evidence. A consultation is the way to get an honest read on your case.

Can I file an EB-1A and an NIW at the same time?

Yes. They are separate petitions with separate fees, and nothing in the regulations limits you to one. An approved petition's priority date carries over to a later EB-1, EB-2 or EB-3 petition unless the approval is revoked for fraud, willful misrepresentation, a material error, or a labor certification problem. Filing both can make sense when the record is strong but not clearly at the EB-1A level, or when the EB-1 visa dates are far ahead of EB-2 for your country.

Can my spouse and children get green cards with me?

Yes. Your spouse and unmarried children under 21 receive the same status and the same order of consideration as you when they accompany or follow to join you. Each files a Form I-485 or applies at the consulate under your priority date.

Can I change jobs or work for myself after filing an NIW?

The petition is not tied to an employer, so a job change does not undo it the way it can undo an employer-sponsored petition. The petition is tied to your proposed endeavor, so a change that still advances the endeavor is consistent with it, while a change of direction should be discussed with your attorney before you make it. While the I-485 is pending you may apply for a work permit, and after the green card you may work for anyone, including yourself.

What is a "proposed endeavor," and how specific does it have to be?

It is the specific work you propose to do in the United States, described as projects and goals, not as a job title or an occupation. In Dhanasar the occupation was engineer and the endeavor was research and development of hypersonic propulsion systems. The description should say what problem you are solving, how, for whom, and what you have done so far.

What happens if USCIS sends a Request for Evidence?

An RFE is not a denial. It tells you which requirement USCIS does not yet consider established and gives you up to 12 weeks (84 days), plus mailing time, to answer. A full answer with new evidence and a focused brief can lead to approval. A late or partial answer can lead to a denial on the existing record. Our page on NIW requests for evidence explains how a response is built.

What if my NIW petition is denied?

You have 30 calendar days from the decision, or 33 if it was mailed, to file Form I-290B for an appeal to the Administrative Appeals Office, a motion to reopen with new facts, or a motion to reconsider a legal error. You may also file a new, stronger petition at any time. Federal court review of an NIW denial is limited, because the statute makes the waiver discretionary. Our page on NIW denials walks through each option.

Do I have to live or work in New Jersey to hire the firm?

No. An NIW petition is filed with USCIS, not with a state court, so the firm represents NIW clients anywhere in the United States, and clients abroad who will immigrate through a consulate. Our office is in Ridgewood, New Jersey, and consultations can be held by phone.

I was born in India or China. Is the NIW still worth pursuing?

It can be, with eyes open about the wait. In the October 2026 Visa Bulletin the EB-2 Final Action Date was November 1, 2013 for India and October 1, 2021 for China, against February 1, 2023 and July 1, 2023 for EB-1. An approved NIW secures a priority date that carries over to a later EB-1A petition if your record grows into that category. Many applicants file the NIW now and build toward EB-1A.

Working With Our Firm

Harry Asatrian handles EB-2 National Interest Waiver petitions, including initial filings, responses to requests for evidence, and appeals after a denial. His approach is to document a client's achievements in full and frame the petition around a specific endeavor, in fields from academic research and medicine to technology, the arts and athletics. Every NIW case begins with a full review of your credentials, your field and the work you propose to continue in the United States.

Call (973) 735-2716 or use the contact form. Our office is at 72 South Maple Avenue, 1st Floor, Ridgewood, NJ 07450. For employer-sponsored options such as PERM and the EB-1B and EB-1C categories, see our business immigration page; for the other self-petition, see EB-1A extraordinary ability.

Attorney Advertising. Nothing on this page is legal advice for your situation, and reading it does not make you a client of the firm. Results depend on the facts of each case, and prior results do not guarantee a similar outcome. Government fees, forms and visa dates change; the figures here are a dated snapshot with links to the official sources.