Outstanding Professor/Researcher or National Interest Waiver-Which is the best option for you?
Should a native of Japan apply under the EB-1B Outstanding Professor/ Researcher category or under the EB-2 National Interest Waiver? The answer is that if the individual qualfiies under both categories, it is best to apply under the EB-2 NIW category. This is because for citizens of any country other than India and China, the priority date is current for both categories. Citizens of China or India should try to qualify under the EB-1 category.
We assist clients with all aspects of preparing the EB-1 or EB-2 National Interest Waiver, which include drafting a legal memorandum, editing the employer support letter, peer support letters, and letters of recommendation from former professors and/or experts in the field, among other evidence. After several back-and-forth calls and emails, we submit a flawless work product that contains over 100 pages of qualifying evidence.
Employment First Preference (E-1): Priority Workers.
Persons with extraordinary ability in the sciences, arts, education, business, or athletics. Foreign nationals in this category must have extensive documentation to prove “sustained national or international acclaim” and recognition in their fields of expertise. These foreign nationals do not have to have specific job offers, so long as they are entering the U.S. to continue work in the fields in which they have extraordinary ability. Labor certification is not required for any of the Priority Worker subgroups.
Outstanding professors and researchers should have at least three years of experience in teaching or research, and be recognized internationally. Foreign nationals in this category must pursue tenure, tenure-track teaching, or a comparable research position at a university, other institution of higher education, or private entity.
Multinational Managers or Executives are foreign nationals who have been employed for at least one of the three preceding years by the overseas affiliate, parent, subsidiary, or branch of the U.S. employer. The foreign national’s employment outside of the U.S. must have been in a managerial or executive capacity, and he or she must be coming to work in a managerial or executive capacity. Labor certification is not required for Priority Workers.
Employment Second Preference (E-2): Foreign nationals are Professionals Holding Advanced Degrees (beyond a baccalaureate degree), or a baccalaureate degree and at least five years progressive experience in the profession. Foreign nationals of Exceptional Ability are those employed in the sciences, arts, or business and have a degree of expertise significantly above that ordinarily encountered in the sciences, arts, or business. A labor certification is required unless an exemption under the National Interest Waiver is filed.
Employment Third Preference (E-3): Skilled Workers are foreign nationals whose job requires a minimum of 2 years of training or work experience (not of a temporary or seasonal nature). Foreign nationals must perform work for which qualified workers are not available in the U.S. Professionals are members of the professions whose jobs require at least a baccalaureate degree from a U.S. university or college or its foreign equivalent degree. Unskilled Workers are foreign nationals who will fill positions that require less than two years training or experience that are not temporary or seasonal. For this reason, a labor certification and a permanent, full-time job offer is required for all third preference categories.
Employment Fourth Preference (E4): Certain Special Immigrants are foreign nationals who are the beneficiary of an approved Petition for Amerasian, Widow(er), or Special Immigrant, Form I-360, with the exception of Certain Employees or Former Employees of the U.S. Government Abroad. Labor certification is not required for any of the Certain Special Immigrants subgroups. There are nearly twenty subgroups within this category.
Employment Fifth Preference (E5): Immigrant Investors are for capital investment by foreign investors in new commercial enterprises in the United States which provide job creation.
Contact Us
We offer a free case evaluation by phone. We are available Monday through Friday from 8:30 am to 8:00 pm and Saturday from 8:00 am to 12:00 pm. In-person consultations are by appointment only. Please call our office at 301.529.1912 or click here to contact us. Please be sure to provide a timeline of events along with details of your entire immigration history.
