Employment-Based Second Preference – National Interest Waiver

(Employer Sponsorship and Labor Certification Not Required)

 

The Employment Based Second Preference Category is for professionals who hold advanced degrees and individuals of exceptional ability in the arts, sciences or business. Although this category generally requires a job offer and labor certification, the Attorney General may waive this requirement if the alien’s work is in the “national interest.” This means that an individual who does not have a tenure-track or permanent job offer may be eligible to file a self-sponsored NIW petition in light of his or her professional achievements.

 

As governed by the precedent decision in Matter of N.Y. State Department of Transportation in 1998, in order to qualify for NIW, the following three requirements must be met. First, the applicant must be seeking employment in an area of substantial intrinsic merit. Second, the proposed benefit of the employment should be national in scope. Third, the applicant must show that the national interest would be adversely affected if a labor certification were required.