EB-2: National Interest Waiver
If you are an American employer requesting a national interest waiver on behalf of a qualified alien physician or you are an alien physician petitioning for yourself in the second preference classification, the petitioner is relieved from the labor certification process. The criteria for a National Interest Waiver include:
- Seeking employment in an area of substantial intrinsic merit;
- The benefit will be national in scope; and
- The national interest would be adversely affected if a labor certification were required for the foreign national.
Some or all of the following criteria may be used to meet the requirements of “national interest”:
- Improving the U.S. economy;
- Improving wages and working conditions for U.S. workers;
- Improving education and training programs for under-qualified workers and U.S. children;
- Improving health care;
- Providing more affordable housing;
- Improving the environment of the United States and making more productive use of natural resources; or
- A request from an interested U.S. government agency, such as a VA (Veterans Affairs) Hospital.
