Today we will interpret for everyone the identification criteria of the NIW, a special category in the EB2 of professional immigration in the United States.

The National Interest Waiver (NIW) application is a special case of the EB2 . It refers to the US government based on national interest considerations, exempting those foreigners who have made important contributions to the US national interest from the commitment requirements and lengthy and cumbersome permanent work. The labor certification application allows them to apply directly to the Immigration Bureau to obtain a green card.

National Interest Waiver is divided into two categories, namely Advanced Degree and Exceptional Ability. The categories of applicants for these two categories are also very different.

Advanced Degree

According to the U.S. immigration regulations 8 CFR 204.5(k)(2), “a U.S. academic or professional degree higher than a bachelor degree or a foreign equivalent degree” can meet this requirement.

Regarding this point, we usually think of it as a master's degree or above. If the applicant does not have a master's degree or higher, the equivalent degree can be "Bachelor's degree and 5 years of relevant industry work experience" to meet this requirement.

Exceptional Ability

The U.S. Occupational Immigration EB-2 Regulation 8 CFR 204.5(k)(2) interprets “exceptional ability” as “professional level is significantly higher than the common level in science, art or business.” In other words, if the applicant is not high Educational background requires personal achievement to prove that it has higher professional abilities than others.

According to the current regulations, you need to prove from the following 6 criteria, and you can apply if you meet 3 criteria:

1) Professional skills training certificate: in the applicant's official academic record, there is a degree, diploma, certificate, or similar experience from a college, university, school or other learning institution related to the applicant's special talent or field of study;

2) 10 years of work experience: a letter with at least 10 years of full-time work experience;

3) Practicing qualification: Practicing qualification license or certificate;

4) High salary: There is evidence that you have received a salary or other remuneration that matches your special talents from the service;

5) Association members: membership of professional associations;

6) Peer recommendation: Your peers, government agencies, professional or commercial organizations affirm your achievements and your major contributions to the industry or field.

The principle for determining of NIW is "based on the present and focused on the future." According to this principle based on the "predictable future" of national interests, the most important thing is to prove that the applicant's past achievements can be expected to have a beneficial impact on the national interests of the United States in the future.

Under normal circumstances, when judging whether an applicant’s application is in the national interest of the United States, the USCIS will generally consider the following factors:

1）Will it have a beneficial impact on the economic development of the United States;

2）Can it help improve the health care conditions in the United States;

3）Are there any specific requirements from relevant U.S. government agencies that the application should be approved;

4）Can it help train American workers and educate American children;

5）Can it help improve the housing conditions of the poor, young and old;

6）Whether it can improve the environment and make better use of natural resources;

7）Is it possible to improve the working conditions of American workers and raise wages?

Therefore, we usually think that the recognition of NIW's "exceptional ability" generally has a certain degree of subjective argumentation in actual applications. The key lies in whether the application documents can accurately "position" the applicant's industry segments and rationally demonstrate the "logic".

As long as the applicant can prove that his/her work and contributions can bring benefits to the entire United States, and that such benefits exceed the needs of the U.S. government to protect the interests of U.S. laborers, the applicant is a group that meets the NIW requirements.