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National Interest Waiver Petitions

This self-sponsoring category is specifically designed for professionals holding advanced degrees or individuals with exceptional ability in their field, who might be able to skip the first step of the LPR process, called labor certification, if their work is in the national interest. There are two types of National Interest Waiver petitions, one for physicians, and one for all other petitions. Individuals applying for a National Interest Waiver can either self-petition or be supported by an employer. 

The United States Citizenship and Immigration Service (USCIS) has put forth a three-part test that is used for non-physician occupations in evaluating an application for a waiver of the labor certification requirements based on whether an individual’s work is in the national interest.

Requirements for Obtaining a National Interest Waiver

The three-part test for judging an application for a National Interest Waiver is as follows:

  1. The foreign national’s proposed endeavor has both substantial merit and national importance.
  2. The foreign national is well positioned to advance the proposed endeavor.
  3. On balance, it would be beneficial to the U.S. to waive the requirements of a job offer and thus of a labor certification.

The adjudicator needs to determine if the individual's significant contributions to their field warrant a national interest waiver. This means assessing if, despite the availability of a qualified U.S. worker, it would still benefit the nation to exempt the petitioner from the usual requirements of a job offer and labor certification. Essentially, the decision hinges on whether the individual's contributions are valuable enough to the U.S. to justify bypassing the standard labor certification process.