National Interest Waiver
Foreign nationals under the employment-based second preference may seek a waiver of the job offer and labor certification requirements through a national interest waiver. The second employment-based preference category applies to foreign nationals who possess advanced degrees in professional fields or who have exception ability in the arts, business, or sciences.
To qualify for a national interest waiver, the foreign national's work must benefit the U.S. in the national interest. Some of the factors which are taken into account when determining a national interest waiver are: the U.S. economy; wages and working conditions for U.S. workers; education, healthcare, environment, etc.
The following is a list of supporting documents which may be provided to prove that a foreign national qualifies for a national interest waiver:
1) Reference/endorsement letters from professors;
2) Reference/endorsement letters from professional trade associations;
3) Reference/endorsement letters from industry peers and leaders;
4) Publications of the foreign national;
5) Articles of the foreign national;
6) Patents, awards, and other achievements of the foreign national;
7) Conference presentations of the foreign national.
