National Interest

Overview

The requirement of a labor certification can be waived if it is in the National Interest. To qualify for the National Interest Waiver, the applicant must demonstrate (1) that he or she is working in a field of substantial national importance, (2) the promised benefits of his or her work are national in scope and (3) the applicant, by virtue of his or her personal accomplishments in the field can better serve the National Interest than a U.S. worker with the same qualifications.

Attorney Paul Herzog delves into the details of the National Interest Green Card application in the prominent immigration publication, Interpreter Releases (Read "The National Interest Waiver: Understanding Its History and Navigating Its Terrain" here).

National Interest Evaluation

If you would like a free evaluation of an application for a self sponsored National Interest, Outstanding Professor/Researcher or Extraordinary Ability petition, please email Adam Green the following items:

1. Updated Curriculum Vitae or resume. Please include your email and home, work and cell numbers so that we may contact you. Please also include any U.S. government funded projects on which you are working and the grant numbers, if applicable. In particular, the extraordinary ability and national interest applications are more favorably viewed if you are working on government funded projects. Make sure you include all of your publications. If you have been asked to serve as a publications reviewer, or as a judge of the work of others, please include that information as well.
2. One to two page description of what it is you do and why it is important to the U.S. taxpayer. Please note that this should give us the big picture of what you do.  For example, if you are a mathematician, you might explain how your math research has impacted nuclear physics, the engineering of earthquake resistant bridges, or the oil industry.  You have to remember that the immigration bureaucrat who will eventually read your case may or may not have any knowledge of your area of research, therefore we need to be as clear as possible about your national impact.
3. The names of at least five individuals from around the world who might be willing to write letters of recommendation on your behalf. Please also include where they work. Normally, immigration frowns upon more than two of the letter writers having the same employer as you do. The more potential letter writers that you can provide the better. The letter writer does not need to be a U.S. citizen or resident of the U.S. Please indicate if there is anything special about any of these people that we should know. For example, is one of your potential letter writers a member of the National Academy of Sciences, the National Institutes of Health, the Department of Energy, the Department of Defense, or some other renowned organization?  Or, is a potential letter writer the editor, or a member of the Board of Editors, of an important international journal?