Obtaining a Green Card based can be a complex and lengthy process which requires a job offer, a labor certification, and a long wait. EB-2 petitioners can however avoid the PERM Labor Certification process by presenting as a ‘national interest waiver’. NIW requires the foreign national to ‘self-petition’ so that he/she can file the I-140 form on his/her own behalf without involving any labor certification or a sponsoring employer. A traditional green card process can be complex and long but with NIW, you do not need to obtain a labor certification which makes the process speedy and simple. The processing time for the NIW green cards usually varies from 3-9 months. This mostly depends on the service center and the adjudicating officer assigned by the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services to each petition. Therefore, processing time usually varies from case to case.
Physician National Interest Waiver (PNIW)
Physician national interest waiver is a specially designed category for physicians/doctors to work and conduct impactful research in the United States. It enables a clinical physician/doctor to adjust his/her status to a permanent resident or to a green card holder without actually demonstrating that eligible and qualified physicians are unavailable in the particular location. The physician can also apply for the green card even if his/her employer is unwilling to file the petition on his/her behalf through the national interest waiver. In the United States, there always remains a shortage of physicians who can provide their healthcare services to the disadvantaged areas. To apply for the PNIW category, eligible physicians must meet the set of requirements listed by the USCIS. A physician must agree to work 40 hours a week full-time in his/her clinical practice for a minimum of 5 years in order to be qualified for the NIW category. Also, tThere is not any fixed time limit to complete these 5 years of medical service. It includes the time period before and after filing the I-140 form. According to the regulations of USCIS, a physician may apply for the PNIW by working as a clinician in areas with shortage. The applicant need to work in one of the following areas to qualify: Health Professional Shortage Areas Medically Underserved Area Mental Health Professional Shortage Area Veterans’ Affairs facility Please note that there are two phases to the PNIW process, listed below: There should be a public interest letter issued by the ‘State Department of Health’. Most places follow their own list of protocols in order to obtain these public interest letters. You need to find the one matching your requirement. The physician petitions for the NIW category must indicate a 5-year work commitment in the area with shortage of health and medicinal facilities. Also, if the priority date of the applicant for EB-2 is current, the physician applying for the NIW category, may file an adjustment of status at the same time.
National Interest Waiver (Standard)
NIW is a powerful option to get a green card for certain individuals who have the “exceptional ability” in the field of science, arts, business or any other profession. As you all know that obtaining an employer-sponsored green card can be a complex, time-consuming and expensive process. Hence, many employers are unwilling to sponsor individuals for a green card. But then we have NIW as an easy option to apply for the permanent residence through self-petition. This implies that the foreign national is eligible to apply for his/her green card without any job offer from the U.S. employer. The foreign national simply has to establish the fact that his/her research is beneficial to the United States and therefore determines the national interest. This provision applies to the employment-based immigration category, EB-2. You just have to qualify either for an “advanced degree professional” or an “alien of exceptional ability”. Sending evidence for qualifying both the categories does not guarantee success and therefore is simply unnecessary. Usually, NIW petitions are common among Ph.D. scholars, researchers, postdoctoral research fellows and other advanced degree qualified professionals. You may also apply for an NIW petition while on F1 status because you don't have to present any specific employment offer.
Matter of DHANASAR
According to the Matter of Dhanasar, “USCIS may grant a national interest waiver if the petitioner demonstrates: that the foreign national’s proposed endeavor has both substantial merit and national importance; that he or she is well positioned to advance the proposed endeavor; and that, on balance, it would be beneficial to the United States to waive the job offer and labor certification requirements.”
