Get Your U.S. Greencard Fast in 2018 Through NIW

Get Your U.S. Greencard Fast in 2018 Through NIW

Mangmang Cai, J.D., Ph.D.

NIW, or National Interest Waiver, does not require employer sponsorship, and does not require a job offer in the U.S. (the “waiver” here means the employer recruitment step is waived).  An individual can file by self-petition whether he/she is in the U.S. or not.  Furthermore, NIW’s requirements have a lower threshold than EB-1. Therefore, it is a very good choice for many applicants.

We’re one of the leading firms serving clients from mainland China.  Because there are many Chinese applicants - even the EB-5 investment-based greencard applicants, who spend $500,000 to $1 million – they may have to wait 10 years or longer before receiving their U.S. greencards. On the other hand, if you were born in Europe, the Americas, Korea, Japan, the Middle East, Africa, or anywhere except mainland China and India, you can receive a U.S. greencard through NIW without waiting, and with little cost.  Your spouse and children can receive a U.S. greencard along with you.  So, wait no more and start to take the first step of your greencard application.

NIW (and EB-1) requires that the applicant’s work benefits the U.S.  This is broadly defined.  For example, we at New Weiming Law Group obtained NIW and EB-1 approvals for a whole host of professions and specialties: musician, dentist, medical school student, physician, data analyst in a company, investment analyst, financial analyst in a bank.  In fact, we’ve helped chess players, merchants, designers, artists, painters, trade and customs specialists, documentary film directors, and many others obtain their green cards. Overall, the majority of our NIW approvals come from researchers, engineers, scientists, postdocs, faculty members, and visiting scholars.

There’s a major change in the NIW standards recently. In the past, from 1998 to 2016, the standard was based on case precedent Matter of New York State Dep’t of Transp., 22 I&N Dec. 2.  Before we established our firm, I received my own U.S. greencard through NIW under this standard (my NIW was approved in 2001). Thereafter, in December 2016, the USCIS started to use the new standard for NIW based on the new decision Matter of Dhanasar.

Under the new guideline for NIW, National Interest Waiver can be granted if the petitioner demonstrates:

(1) That the foreign national’s proposed endeavor has both substantial merit and national importance;

(2) That he or she is well positioned to advance the proposed endeavor; and

(3) That, on balance, it would be beneficial to the United States to waive the requirement of a job offer and thus of a labor certification.

Based on our experience during the past year, under this new guideline it is easier for applicants to qualify for NIW:

Example 1: Client is working in a small company in agricultural research and plant science field, with 2 publications and 2 citations, submitted NIW application in April 2017, case approved in June 2017.

Example 2: Client has 4 publications and <20 citations, working as visiting scholar in a biotech institute, submitted NIW in May 2017, received NIW approval in July 2017.

Example 3: Client is a postdoc who majored in Mechanical Engineering, has 6 publications and <20 citations, submitted NIW application in March 2017, received approval in August 2017.

Example 4: Client (from Korea) is working on Big Data analysis in a small company (fewer than 10 employees), has 7 publications and ~40 citations, also received NIW approval in August 2017.

Example 5: Client does not have Ph.D. degree, working on management position in a small company, has 8 total publications and ~30 citations. NIW application was submitted in August 2017 and approved in September 2017.

Example 6: Client is a physician whose child is already in college. Client does not have citations to his few publications, and received NIW approval in September 2017.

Example 7: Client (from Asia) is a musician who teaches Violin, has degree in performing arts. Her application was submitted in August 2017, and received NIW approval in September 2017.

Example 8: Client is an electrical engineer working in a small company in solar energy field, has 8 publications and 22 citations. The NIW application was submitted in July 2017 and approved in October 2017.

Example 9: Client conducted HIV research in school, and then worked on project analysis after graduation, in a trade company. She has 5 publications and ~20 citations. Her application was submitted in February 2017 and approved in October 2017.

Example 10: Client lives in the U.S. but is not working, submitted NIW application and then left the U.S., received NIW approval in 2017 after leaving the U.S. (will come back to the U.S. to receive her greencard).

Example 11: Client is a faculty member in a foreign university, with publications and citations mostly in foreign language.  Submitted NIW application from abroad in August 2017, received approval in November 2017.

Example 12: Client was from Mexico and received medical degree there, has 2 publications and 9 citations, submitted NIW application in June 2017 and received NIW approval in November 2017.

Example 13: Client graduated from a foreign medical school and currently works in a hospital abroad. The NIW application was submitted in September 2017 and approved in November 2017.

Example 14: Client graduated from a foreign university and then came to the U.S. as a visiting scholar, submitted NIW application in January 2017 and received approval in December 2017.

Example 15: Client works abroad in a foreign company, in charge of data analysis and modeling, submitted NIW application in May 2017, received approval in December 2017.

Example 16: Client is a student in a foreign medical school, has 12 publications and ~50 citations, submitted NIW application in September 2017 and received approval in January 2018.

Example 17: Client received a Master’s degree from a foreign university, then came to the U.S. as a visiting scholar, submitted NIW application in October 2017 and received approval in January 2018.

Example 18: Client received a Bachelor’s degree from a foreign university and currently works in healthcare industry abroad, submitted NIW application in August 2017 and received approval in January 2018.

Example 19: Client majored in electrical engineering and currently works in IT field in a company, has 5 papers and 22 citations, submitted NIW application in December 2016 and received approval in February 2018.

Example 20: Client majored in molecular, cell, and developmental biology, received a Ph.D. degree from Indiana University at Bloomington, which is the same school where one of our own coworkers, Dr. Wang Wei, received his Ph.D. degree.  NIW application was submitted in April 2017 and approved in February 2018.

The above are just a small fraction of our approved NIW cases in the past 12 months. We have obtained thousands of NIW and EB-1 approvals (Disclaimer: Past results do not predict or guarantee future outcome).

To save additional time between submission of the application and receiving a U.S. greencard, applicants can also submit I-485 together with NIW I-140, or submit I-485 when NIW I-140 is pending.

There’s more than 1 million foreign students currently enrolled in universities and colleges in the United States.  In addition, there are many visiting scholars and professionals who are working in the U.S. and/or conducting research.  Furthermore, applicants can file NIW or EB-1 applications directly from abroad, even if they have never been to the U.S.  For applicants born in mainland China and India, because the total number of applications is high, many have no choice but to apply through the more challenging EB-1 category (we have obtained a large number of EB-1 approvals for them as well).  On the other hand, for applicants born in all other countries in the world, they can simply apply for NIW and receive a U.S. greencard relatively quickly.

As mentioned above, numerous applicants from China (~10,000 each year) are investing $500,000 to $1 million (the required amount is projected to further increase to $1.8 million soon) to get a chance to receive a U.S. greencard 10 years later.  If you are reading this article, most likely you are already in an advantageous position and can save that $1 million or 10-year waiting time, by simply applying NIW and make your past achievements/track record work for you. To learn more, please contact us at info@nwmlaw.com    You can see more information about our law firm in the 2-minute video here (in English).

 

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