PR for EB-2 NIW applicants.

Short answer: unlike EB-1A and O-1, the EB-2 national interest waiver has no criterion about published material. Press coverage is supporting evidence, not a requirement. But articles about you and your work can help show two things USCIS weighs: your record of success, and the interest of customers, users, investors or others in what you do. Your attorney decides whether and how to use them. We never promise a petition outcome.

What is the EB-2 NIW?

EB-2 is the green card category for professionals with an advanced degree or exceptional ability. It normally needs a job offer and a labor certification. The national interest waiver (NIW) lets USCIS waive both, and you can file the petition for yourself, without an employer.

What does USCIS weigh?

USCIS uses a three-part test. You need to show that:

1. your proposed endeavor has substantial merit and national importance;
2. you are well positioned to advance it; and
3. on balance, the United States benefits from waiving the job offer and the labor certification.

Source: USCIS Policy Manual, Volume 6, Part F, Chapter 5, following Matter of Dhanasar (2016). Your attorney builds the case around these three parts.

Can press coverage help an EB-2 NIW petition?

It can, mostly for the second part. In Matter of Dhanasar, the factors for being well positioned include your education, skills and knowledge, your record of success in similar work, a plan for what comes next, progress so far, and the interest of potential customers, users, investors or other relevant people or organizations.

Articles in respected publications about you and your work are one way to show that record and that interest from the outside: what you built, who uses it, who backed it, and why it matters in your field. They sit next to the evidence your attorney already gathers, such as letters, contracts, funding and citations.

What should the articles show?

• You and your work, not only your company, in the field of your proposed endeavor.
• Concrete results: users, adoption, partnerships, funding, research others build on.
• Why it matters beyond your own company, in terms a reader outside your field understands.
• A visible title, date and author, in a publication your attorney is comfortable presenting.

How do we plan it?

We talk to your immigration attorney before writing a word, so each article fits how your case is built. Then we plan backward from your filing date, so everything is live in time. You approve every topic and review every draft. The process is the same one we use for O-1 and EB-1A applicants: one of our case studies is an O-1A petition with 3 articles in 2 months, all live before the filing date. Read the case study →

How can you check a visa PR offer?

• Are the outlets named, and would your attorney present them?
• Will each article be about you and your work, with a title, date and author shown?
• Is it an editorial article or a press release? Ask your attorney how each one would be seen.
• Will everything be live before your filing date, with time to spare?
• What happens if an article isn't published?

Applying for something else? See PR for O-1 and EB-1 visa applicants, PR for EB-1A green card applicants, PR for O-1B visa applicants in the arts or PR for EB-1B researchers and professors.

Questions applicants ask

Is press coverage required for an EB-2 NIW?

No. Unlike EB-1A and O-1, the national interest waiver has no criterion about published material. Articles are supporting evidence, and your attorney decides whether and how to use them.

Can I file an EB-2 NIW petition myself?

Yes. With the national interest waiver you can file for yourself, without an employer. We work with your immigration attorney if you have one.

How many articles do I need?

No number is set. Ask your attorney what your case needs; what the articles show matters more than how many there are.

Will the articles get my petition approved?

No one can promise that. We deliver the articles; your attorney and USCIS decide.

Is EB-2 NIW the same as EB-1A?

No. EB-1A is the extraordinary ability category, and published material about you is one of its criteria. The NIW is an EB-2 route with its own three-part test.