Immigration law (INA §203(b)(2)) determines MINIMUM basic statutory requirements to qualify in EB2 National Interest Waiver category. Either Exceptional Ability OR Advanced Degree Professional requirement must be met.
Regulatory requirement (8 CFR 204.5(k)(2)) define the term Advanced Degree: means any United States academic or professional degree or a foreign equivalent degree above that of baccalaureate. A United States baccalaureate degree or a foreign equivalent degree followed by at least five years of progressive experience in the specialty shall be considered the equivalent of a master’s degree. If a doctoral degree is customarily required by the specialty, the alien must have a United States doctorate or a foreign equivalent degree.
And the term Profession as: any occupation for which a United States baccalaureate degree or its foreign equivalent is the minimum requirement for entry into the occupation.
Regulation (8 CFR 204.5(k)(3)(i)) further requires that petition must be accompanied by:
- An official academic record showing that the alien has an United States advanced degree or a foreign equivalent degree; or
- An official academic record showing that the alien has a United States baccalaureate degree or a foreign equivalent degree, and evidence in the form of letters from current or former employer(s) showing that the alien has at least five years of progressive post-baccalaureate experience in the specialty.
Simply said: EB2 NIW applicant needs to have at least master’s degree or bachelor’s degree plus five years of work experience (sometimes called BS+5) to meet this criterion.
Majority of National Interest Waiver petitions go easily through this requirement. This way is very popular by postdoctoral research fellows, scientists, scholars or sometimes even PhD students.
Regulation (8 CFR 103.2(b)(3)) requires certified translation of degree in foreign language:
Any document containing foreign language submitted to USCIS shall be accompanied by a full English language translation that the translator has certified as complete and accurate, and by the translator’s certification that he or she is competent to translate from the foreign language into English.
Foreign degree should be also evaluated to prove required equivalent degree. In Adjudicator’s Field Manual (22.2(j)(1)(C)) published at USCIS website is written:
In cases involving foreign degrees, ISOs may favorably consider a credentials evaluation performed by an independent credentials evaluator who has provided a credible, logical and well-documented case for such an equivalency determination that is based solely on the alien’s foreign degree(s). In addition, ISOs may accept a comparable evaluation performed by a school official who has the authority to make such determinations and is acting in his or her official capacity with the educational institution.
Same as in case of second requirement (Exceptional Ability), this is just basic and minimum criterion and is not sufficient for granting Permanent Residency in USA under National Interest Waiver category. Main goal of NIW petition is to prove national interest described further in EB-2 National Interest Waiver criteria category.
Hello,
Thank you for the useful blog.
I have two questions:
1. I’m in US for 3 years under H1B. Can I file EB2-NIW under H1B?
2. I’m thinking of changing employer, so transfer H1B (new H1B petition) – will this interfere with EB2-NIW filing anyhow? Or vice-versa?
Thanks
Hi Pavel,
we are glad we can help.
Regarding your questions:
1) H1B is “dual intent” visa and allows to apply for green card
2) H1B status stays valid unless EAD (employment authorization) for work or AP (advanced parole) for travel purposes are used.
Please note that this is not a legal advice what you should do but general information.
I am currently on J1 visa for a research work at UTA, I am a masters student from India, could you please help me with this whether i can apply for EB2 ?
My visa expires on Jul 1 2014 and also i have e212 applied on my visa
Hi Vikram,
I am very sorry I am not authorized to give such direct legal advice. Only lawyers can legally do that.
Yes You can apply. Before hand you must have J-1 waiver. If so you can get into NIW and the chances depends on the merits and work experience and research papers along with several other factors
Will a Special Education Teacher qualify under EB2- NIW? Does this NIW DIY kit cover this area to?
Thank you
I found a case at USCIS official website where officer confirmed that special education teacher qualified as a member of the professions holding an advanced degree. Check the case here: http://www.uscis.gov/sites/default/files/err/B5%20-%20Members%20of%20the%20Professions%20holding%20Advanced%20Degrees%20or%20Aliens%20of%20Exceptional%20Ability/Decisions_Issued_in_2013/DEC052013_11B5203.pdf . As you can see the key element here is still to satisfy NIW requirements.
Arguments convincing about “national interest” are different in every case according to applicants achievements, abilities etc. (even in case of another special ed teacher). The DIY Kit covers all NIW requirements and shows how they were satisfied in our case but of course it will be different from anyone else arguments.
Hello,
I’m interested in NIW DIY package.
I have talked to a few of lawyers with my CV and they usually told me my case is applicable for NIW case and asked for 6K to 15K USD to help.
It’s so expensive while they cannot give 100% guarantee for my case.
Can you please review my CV and if the free package is applicable..?
Regards,
Hi Youngseok,
Thank you for your interest.
It is a good sign that lawyers would take your case – this usually means you should have quite easy case. Lawyers like to take cases which are not tough cases. It is less work for them and they do not risk their reputation (they do care about approval rate and denial would hurt it).
I would love to review your CV and tell my opinion but truth is I am not allowed to. In US only lawyers are allowed to provide such advice regarding particular cases (= legal advice).
However, as I wrote, there is good chance because lawyers said they like your case.
Question regarding self petition vs. lawyer – personally I didn´t want to pay so much money because we had to do most of the job anyway (petition letter, recommendation letters etc.). We also know our achievements and qualities much better than any lawyer and this would be wasting our time to explain it to them. Thus I felt that lawyer wouldn´t add any value to our case. This might be applicable to you – people with outstanding achievements are usually able to prepare NIW application by themselves since they are doing similar job their whole professional life. But it is up to you to decide which way you want to go. Good luck!
Dear Sir/Madam
I have an offer for a position qualified for eb2. We want to format it in a way
which can be clearly seen as such. May I send it to you to do the formatting for us.
Of course, we will bear the costs.
Thanks
Hi Ali,
please specify what do you mean. You can contact me directly at contact@eb2niw.com.
Veronika, EB2 NIW team
Hi, I am an advanced Ph.D. student and am currently wrapping up my dissertation proposal (fingers crossed!). I have 2 masters (MA and MS) and a CAS (certificate of advanced studies in educational research, a degree higher than a master’s). So, from what I read my education should be sufficient for an application for this waver. The only thing I am unsure about is the employment – so the advanced degrees I have would be equivalent to the employment or are 5 years of employment required either way? If required either way, would my experience be counted? – My areas of specialization is Education (couldn’t be much more US beneficial as US education system is my area of interest, higher education in particular) and I have been teaching part time (as an adjunct) since 2009. It is not considered full time, however…Do Teaching Assistantships and Graduate Research positions count toward that experience?
Thank you so much! The recent development in this front made me look around and this is the first time I learned about this waiver. I have been struggling to support myself with just adjunct positions and possibly have been overlooked for a full time position at a community college, which does not sponsor for work visas…so your information gave me some hope! 🙂
Hi Anna, congratulations and best wishes! Regarding EB2 NIW and Advanced Degree requirement – masters degree is enough, only bachelors need those 5 years experience. However, this is only basic requirement of this green card category. There are another 3 NIW requirements which are more difficult to reach. Check these articles here. All 3 NIW requirements must be satisfied to get National Interest Waiver. Good luck!
I got my perm approved..
In perm they did not specify my master degree..
My job requirement is bs + 5 years of exp( production,cs,electronic)
I completed my
BE ( production)in 2003 and ME in 2005 in india
I have 10 years exp in IT company..
Can I clear my i140 without specifying my master degree..or if they specify my masters in i140 will I be overqualified and denied…
Since my job requirement is only for bachelor can I be eligible with my master degree from India…
Hi Samy, I don’t have experience with your situation. I would recommend you to consult it with lawyer. Sorry about that…
Hi, I have to talked to lawyer that he advise for NIW when i was doing my PHD Program and he told me that my case is applicable for NIW and he can bring me the green cards by three month but he asked for 20K USD to go through my case It’s so expensive.Now I graduate Ph.D. in Business from U.S . I have MBA from U.S .I have 12 years of experience.
Can you please review my CV and if the free package is applicable..?
Regards,Regards,
Hi Ahmed,
I would love to review your case but I am not allowed to because only authorized lawyers can do that. But we show what we did to be successful. We also give a ton of valuable information which you can use when building your case just by yourself (DIY kit). Hundreds of our clients already bought our DIY kit and decided to go without lawyer so it is possible. If you are still not comfortable to do it on your own, look for another lawyer. It is definitely too expensive to pay 20k for legal service of this kind, average price I have seen was 5k-10k. If you are interested in doing your NIW case on your own, here is the DIY kit which might help you. Let me know in case of any questions.
Veronika
EB2 NIW team
Hi, I’m finishing my Phar.D this may and I would like to know if I qualify to apply for NIW. Can I apply under EB1? Also, I got an job offer, however, they don’t process green card. Please advise.
Thanks,
Hi Prabin,
I cannot give you direct legal advice or evaluate your case because I am not a lawyer. But you might consider contacting several law firms and let them evaluate your case. They usually do this for free after you submit your CV, just google “free niw evaluation” etc.
Good luck!
Veronika
Founder of EB2 NIW project
Hi ,
My name is Alan , I have a Masters degree ( BTech from an Indian University ) from a UK university .
And over 10 years of work experience from UK ( Telecommunications field) , currently employed/residing in UK . Would I be able to apply for GC under EB2 Advanced degree category ?
I believe the priority date is current in my case as my place of birth is Dubai . Please advice
Hi Alan,
it depends if the degree is evaluated as equivalent of US master’s and USCIS takes this particular evaluation. There is no regulation so practically you need to choose some trustworthy credential evaluation company – we used foreigncredits.com and this one worked.
You can check your priority dates here : https://travel.state.gov/content/visas/en/law-and-policy/bulletin.html . Sorry I cannot give direct legal advice (I am not a lawyer so I am not allowed to).
Veronika
Founder of EB2 NIW project
Hello,
Thank you for creating this website. The amount of information you provide and your intent are both amazing.
I have a question. I hold a number of degrees (8) in two areas. One is the area in which I work, and I have letters to satisfy all three prongs – hopefully. My plan is to describe in a very detailed manner my primary field of expertise, and to have strong letters about it. I also wanted to include 3 letters that support me in my other field of expertise, but I am wondering if you think this could hurt me in any way.
What do you think?
Best regards
Hi Emanuele,
thank you very much for such a nice feedback, made my day!
Regarding your question – please do NOT take this as an advice what to do. I am not a lawyer and so I am not allowed to give any advice to anyone. I can just reveal what I would probably do (NOT necessarily the best way).
Imagine USCIS officer as a complete stranger who doesn’t know you at all and his only job is to find three prongs and check if it is satisfied or not. So your goal is to lead him the shortest way you possibly can without too much distraction.
I took our arguments, from the most important to the least, and put the letters in that similar order too. Which of your letters does cover the most important and which one the least? Do these letters from other field cover any argument which is important for your NIW case or it “only” shows that you are great in other field too?
Please understand I am not saying your other field career is underestimated, not at all. I think it is awesome you are excellent in both fields! Just trying to let you think what would be beneficial for your particular NIW case and what could be potentially distracting officer’s focus. I would include the letters if they confirm some important fact related to satisfying the three NIW prongs.
Hope it helps a bit. Please let me know if you have any other questions.
Wish you all the best!
Veronika
Founder of EB2 NIW project
Hello,
I have a PhD and 3 years experience in US after I got my PhD. I also have teaching/ research and summer internships experience. Am i eligible to apply for the EB2? Because I read above that “EB2 NIW applicant needs to have at least master’s degree or bachelor’s degree plus five years of work experience (sometimes called BS+5) to meet this criterion”.
Thanks for your help,
Cheers
Hi Henny,
there are also other requirements which must be satisfied, check this post here please.
You can also ask several lawyers for your case evaluation, they might be willing to do it for free. Just google “free niw evaluation”.
Good luck!
Veronika
Hello
I am working in medical products development to match US FDA standards and others international standards.
My work involve customized research to support product medical claims for either nutritional, pharmaceutical or cosmetic. I have BSc degree with and postgraduate certificate from Surrey University – UK
I halped several customer to register their companies and product to US FDA. I helped several companies to export US products
I would like to apply to EB2 NIW in business sector
Hi Mohamed,
thank you for leaving a comment on our blog. I wish you all the best and good luck with you NIW application!
Veronika, EB2 NIW
Hello,
I have a Bachelor in Industrial Engineering with over 10 years of oil and gas experience, 6 of which were in the US, I’m currently in Canada. Also, I’ve just got my Project Management Professional certificate adn have a couple of papers in the field; do you believe I can apply for the EB2 NIW?
Thanks for the help.
Hi Gustavo,
I am not allowed to give you my opinion (only lawyers can do that). I recommend to google “free niw evaluation” and you will find several attorney firms who will do that initial evaluation for free.
Good luck!
Veronika, Founder of EB2 NIW project
I want to know if your DIY kit will help me in preparing my EB2-NIW petition since I will be applying from Nigeria. I have not seen anybody on your blog yet that applied from outside the U.S.A. I got a free evaluation by a law firm and have been given a 95% chance of getting approved. The question is will your kit help me to prepare my petition since I am based in Nigeria and most cases on your website are for person’s residing in the U.S. I have a PhD and over 40 publications and well over 600 citations with 10 years of experience in teaching and research.
Hi Olugbenga,
thank you for the comment here! Great that lawyers said you have a strong case & they are willing to take it. This is usually a good sign.
Please note that I cannot reveal where my clients come from publicly on the blog if they specifically do not include this information in official testimonial. The statistics shown on my blog elsewhere does NOT include my clients cases, this was collected from available resources almost 8 years ago when I was just starting to write this blog, far from getting our own green cards. After those years, we got our green cards, even citizenship, and more importantly couple thousands people successfully followed our journey (I count only clients who paid for DIY kit). Significant number of these clients applied from abroad, even several people from Nigeria as well.
To answer your specific question – people from abroad must follow the steps described at USCIS website as “consular processing”, i.e. I-140 is the main part:
https://www.uscis.gov/green-card/green-card-processes-and-procedures/consular-processing
Our DIY kit shows the first and most critical part – I-140 petition. The second (easier) part I-485 is only for US residents.
Please let me know if you have any other questions (I am sending this on your email too, you can just hit reply there).
Veronika
Hi Veronika, I’m interested in purchasing the diy kit -thanks for creating that and the blog! However, I’m still a little confused as if my academic and professional background qualifies. I have a MA in hospitality management but haven’t really worked in the area and would like to start my own consulting company. I also have a BA in business administration and 10 years of experience in office management. I know you’re not a lawyer but I would like your help and if you know of any similar cases. So far I have mostly seen phds and people in stem areas so I’m unsure if it’s worth even trying. Thanks in advance for your help and attention. Regards, Luna
Hi Luna,
it depends on your specific achievements from the past and how you want to demonstrate that you satisfied the NIW requirements. I would recommend to submit your credentials to multiple lawyers who offer “free niw evaluation”. If they say NO to you, it does not mean you cannot succeed anyway but you get the idea how strong your case might be. Also, if you are more experienced skilled worker, you might check another green card category which you can do by yourself without employer sponsorship. It is EB1A, there are 10 requirements and you have to satisfy at least 3 of these. These rules of the game are more clear than in NIW but also this category is for more “extraordinary” workers. Check my other blog and read about these rules.
Hope it helps, don’t give up!
Veronika
Hie
Thank you for your informative site. I would like to ask, can a post graduate qualification such as FRM offered by GARP used as an Advanced Degree. According to the GARP website(it is a USA certification), the qualification is equivalent to USA Masters Degree Standard . Is it possible to use it as an Advanced degree for the EB-2 NIW application
Hi,
I don’t know about this, I am sorry.
Veronika
Hello, I would like to buy your NIW DIY offer, however, as I don’t speak English, I would need to be able to translate your guidance texts into my language.
I do this to read your pages on the internet, but how will I do with the pdf material you send me???
If possible, please get back to me at my e-mail.
Hi Asalom,
thank you for your question. Materials in DIY kit are both “pdf” and Word “doc” format and you should be able to copy text from both and translate via Google or any other translator.
Also, keep in mind that USCIS requires this:
Any document containing foreign language submitted to USCIS shall be accompanied by a full English language translation that the translator has certified as complete and accurate, and by the translator’s certification that he or she is competent to translate from the foreign language into English.
Let me know in case of any questions (you can hit reply, I have just sent this also to your email).
Veronika