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.