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At least until NYDOT raised the standard, the national interest waiver was a very powerful device for obtaining lawful permanent resident status, a "green card," through a self-petition, without the need of an employer for a sponsor. The national interest waiver is well suited for use by scientific and academic researchers and scholars engaging in research involving innovation in technology or health care, and is entirely appropriate as a self-sponsorship vehicle in the commercial sector for certain qualifying business leaders or entrepreneurs. The statutory language creating the 2nd preference visa category that encompasses the national interest waiver includes the arts, sciences, business, and the professions within its scope. The information contained in this web site is general and is not intended to substitute for professional advice in specific situations.
For a total of $3,000 in attorney's fees, which excludes filing fees and costs, Tom Youngjohn will prepare and file your national interest waiver application. The $3,000 price-tag does not include applying for green cards ("lawful permanent residence") for your spouse or children, nor does it include subsequent "green card" processing for yourself. "Green card" processing, once the national interest waiver has been granted, costs an additional $1,000. The $1,000 does not include any additional expenses such as: translation costs, foreign degree evaluations, professional copying costs, or mailing/delivery costs. (A national interest waiver petition can also be combined with an Extraordinary Ability Alien petition. Click here for details. It can also be combined with a Schedule A, Group II petition.)
Statistically, the majority of national interest waiver cases involve technological or scientific endeavors (either in academia or in the private commercial sector). However, many successful national interest waiver petitions have come from individuals with such diverse backgrounds as: insurance fraud detection; Indian drumming; and avant-garde sculpture, and whose educational backgrounds range from dual advanced degree recipients to high school drop-outs. The trick is in how the application is put together.
In order for the foreign national to show that he or she offers a substantial prospective benefit to the United States, significantly greater than that ordinarily expected of persons in their field, the foreign national must prepare their national interest waiver application correctly. Factors, that the Immigration Service will consider in determining whether the national interest is affected, include, but are not limited to, improving the US economy, improving health care, improving education and training programs, creating employment opportunities, improving wages and working conditions, improving the environment, improving cultural awareness and diversity through artistic endeavors, and significant scientific contributions.
The foreign national should establish the significance of the activity in which the foreign national is currently engaged, and the significance of the foreign national's participation in the activity. What has the foreign national already accomplished in the field? What would be the consequences if the foreign national were unable to continue his or her participation?
The foreign national's strongest evidence that he or she is entitled to a national interest waiver normally are the letters from recognized national experts in the field explaining, in a simple way, how the foreign national's participation in the activity would benefit the national interest. If there is an interested US government agency, submit a letter from an official of that agency. If the evidence includes awards, prizes, or scholarships, consider explaining: the reputation of the organization granting the award; the significance of the award; and the criteria used to select the recipient.
If the evidence includes memberships in associations in the field, consider submitting evidence of the requirements which must be met for membership. If the evidence includes participation as a judge of the work of others in the field, consider explaining the criteria for selection as a panelist, reviewer, etc.
If the evidence includes published material about the foreign national's work, it should clearly indicate that the work is significant. An unevaluated listing in a subject matter index about the foreign national's work, by itself, without evaluation, is relevant but not sufficient.
For researchers, the foreign national should show that the foreign national's research has set the foreign national apart from other researchers to such an extent that the foreign national will "contribute to the field" to a significantly greater degree than other qualified researchers.
If the evidence includes the display of work at artistic exhibitions, explain the significance of the exhibit, gallery, or other venue at which the work appeared. If, as with the vast majority of successful cases, the evidence includes authorship of scholarly articles, submit the articles, and also consider explaining the significance of the publications in which the articles appeared. The letters from recognized national experts in the field explaining, in very simple language, how the foreign national's participation in the activity in question would benefit the national interest are the best vehicle for explaining the significance of publications, the prerequisites for association membership, as well as for explaining the criteria for selection as a reviewer of others work. Evidence that those outside the foreign national's circle of colleagues and acquaintances also consider the work important is especially valuable.
For a total of $3,000 in attorney's fees, which excludes costs and filing fees, Tom Youngjohn can prepare and file your national interest waiver application. The $3,000 price-tag does not include applying for green cards ("lawful permanent residence") for your spouse or children, nor does it include subsequent "green card" processing for yourself. "Green card" processing, once the national interest waiver has been granted, costs an additional $1,000. The $1,000 does not include any additional expenses such as: translation costs, foreign degree evaluations, professional copying costs, or mailing/delivery costs.
To read the NYDOT decision, click here.
To see what the INS has said it looks for in the application of a national interest waiver case, click here. (To see what the INS has said it looks for in an Extraordinary Ability Alien petition, click here.)
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