For people who have questions about EB-1 and National Interest Waiver (NIW), The Law Offices of Annie Banerjee, a Houston based immigration law office, can provide guidance with the application process and resolve any questions that arise.
When aliens seeking work in the U.S. qualify as an outstanding professor or researcher, they also qualify for First Employment Based Preference (or EB-1, for short). Usually an employer would sponsor the person to hold a tenure track or a permanent position, for example. If an employer does not sponsor an alien, he or she may still qualify under EB-1 if the person holds “Extraordinary Ability”, or under the Second Employment Based Preference (EB-2) for National Interest Waivers (NIW).
“The difference between Extraordinary Ability and National Interest Waivers is that the requirements are higher for Extraordinary Ability. Generally, the higher the preference, the shorter time to get permanent residency,” said Annie Banerjee from the Law Offices of Annie Banerjee.
Extraordinary Ability Aliens must meet at least three requirements, one more requirement than Extraordinary Aliens must meet. The requirements are: The alien must have nationally or internationally recognized prizes and be members of an association that requires outstanding achievements. The alien should have substantial publications in major journals and should list all publications. Also, others should have cited your work in a publication. It would help if you had participated in a panel or have judged the qualifications of others in a peer review. Also weighing heavily is evidence of original scientific or artistic contributions such as patents or copyrights. Lastly, evidence of earning a high salary would also be one of the requirements.
For National Interest Waivers, one must have a master’s degree or higher and must meet all three of the following qualifications: Work must be of substantial intrinsic merit. For example, it can not an esoteric field of law. Secondly, the scope of the work is national and not merely local; it must appear in national journals, for example. Lastly, the work benefits the national interest to a “substantially greater degree than would an available U.S. worker having the same minimum qualifications.” This means that it significantly exceeds the norm in some way. It must establish that there is no need to protect normal U.S. workers through a labor certification process.
Banerjee also stresses the importance of reference letters. “Reference letters from professors or researchers in the field is always very useful for all the categories,” Banerjee said.
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