MBBS MD national Interest Waiver General Info
The National Interest Waiver (NIW)
The National Interest Waiver (NIW) is a waiver of the job offer requirement for individuals who wish to immigrate to the United States. Normally, a professional who wishes to work in the U.S. must undergo the long and arduous Labor Certification process, but if the alien can prove that, he or she is Alien of Exceptional Ability or an Advanced Degree Professional; and
Involved in an activity which could prospectively benefit the National Interest; Then he or she may be eligible to file for a NIW which provides several serious advantages over the usual permanent residency process.
Aliens of Exceptional Ability
The INS has defined an Alien of Exceptional Ability as a professional who has a degree of expertise above that ordinarily encountered in his or her field. To show the INS that you are an Alien of Exceptional Ability in the sciences, arts, or business, you must be able to provide at least three (3) of the following items:
An official academic record showing that the alien has a degree, diploma, certificate, or similar award from a college, university, school, or other institution of learning relating to the area of exceptional ability;
Evidence in the form of letter(s) from current or former employer(s) showing that the alien has at least ten years of full-time experience in the occupation for which he or she is being sought;
A license to practice the profession or certification for a particular profession or occupation; Evidence that the alien has commanded a salary, or other renumeration for services, which demonstrates exceptional ability;
Evidence of membership in professional associations; or
Evidence of recognition for achievements and significant contributions to the industry or field by peers, governmental entities, or professional or business organizations.
Please remember that one needs only to be able to supply three of these items, not the whole list.
Advanced Degree Professionals
An advance degree professional has been defined by the INS as an individual who has achieved a level of education above that of the Bachelor's degree. In other words, a Master's degree or better. In order to qualify under this category, the alien must meet the following requirements:
The alien must have a bachelor's degree. The INS will not accept an education evaluation to determine an equivalency to a Bachelor's. The alien must have a master's degree or the equivalent. The INS has determined that five years of progressive experience in the alien's specialty after obtaining the Bachelor's will be considered an equivalent to a Master's degree.
NOTE: Just having the degrees (Bachelor's and Master's) and working in an area of national interest is not enough. The individual must still be outstanding in his/her chosen endeavor.
The National Interest
The rules provide no guidance other than that the alien'sa activity have a "prospective national benefit." Although, the INS Administrative Appeals Office (AAO), through their decision-making, have clarified what conditions the alien may be granted the National Interest Waiver.
Conditions Necessary to Qualify for National Interest (work must meet one or more of the following)
The alien's admission will improve the U.S. economy;
The alien's admission will improve wages and working conditions of U.S. workers;
The alien's admission will improve educational and training programs for U.S. children and underqualified workers;
The alien's admission will improve health care;
The alien's admission will provide more affordable housing for young, aged, or poor U.S. residents;
The alien's admission will improve the U.S. environment and lead to more productive use of the national resources; or
The alien's admission is requested by an interested U.S. government agancy.
The alien need not meet all these requirements, but only one of them in order to qualify. In addition, there are a number of rules that the INS regularly employs, in addition to the above, that are considered in the adjudication of the National Interest Waiver petition. These rules are the following:
INS Rules for Adjudication
The alien must have at least two years experience in the area in which he/she will benefit the United States. The INS looks at this very closely to determine if the alien has a serious commitment to the activity which promotes the national interest.
The National Interest Waiver may not be based solely on the alien's ability to alleviate a local labor shortage. The INS has determined that granting the National Interest Waiver for this reason would be unnecessary since the Labor Certification is employed to determine if a labor shortage exists and then allow a vacant position to be filled. Therefore, a petition that is based solely on the fact that the alien will ameliorate a labor shortage will be denied.
The alien must be involved in an undertaking that will substantially benefit the United States. Of course, the determination of whether or not the undertaking will benefit the U.S. will be determined by the seven criteria listed above.
The alien must play a significant role in the undertaking, and must not be simply a minor constituent who took part.
Additional Requirements in INS Adjudications
Provide evidence that the benefits of your proposed employment will be in national scope. Your employment may be limited to a particular geographic area. However, you must establish benefit to more than one particular region of the country. Moreover, there should be little or no adverse impact on the interests of other regions of the country.
Submit evidence that you seek employment in an area of substantial intrinsic merit. Your employment must be important to the national interests of the U.S.. Additionally, the benefits of your employment should be immediately apparent to the national interests of the U.S..
Submit evidence realted to your ability to perform the duties of the proposed employment position. To be considered in the national interest, you must make a showing significantly above that necessary to prove the "prospective national benefit" required of all aliens seeking to qualify as "exceptional." Exceptional is defined under Service regulation as "[A] degree of expertise significantly above that ordinarily encountered in the sciences, arts, or business."
You must persuasively demonstrate that the national interest would be adversely affected if a labor certification were required. You must demonstrate that it would be contrary to the national interest to potentially deprive a prospective employer of your services by making available to U.S. workers the position you seek. If self-employed, you must also establish that the national interest would be adversely affected if a labor certification were required.
You must establish that you are not seeking a national interest waiver based on a shortage of qualified workers in a given field, regardless of the nature of the occupation. The NIW is not warranted solely for the purpose of ameliorating a local labor shortage.
If you demonstrate that you hold a patent or are responsible for an innovation, then you must demonstrate that the specific innovation serves the national interest.
You must establish that you have a past record of specific prior achievement which justifies projections of future benefit to the national interest. You must establish, in some capacity, your ability to serve the national interest to a substantially greater extent than a majority of you colleagues. You must demonstrate to some degree, your influence on your field of employment as a whole.
