Koerner & Associates - Immigration Law Offices

National Interest Waiver Petitions

The National Interest Waiver (NIW) is a waiver of the job offer requirement for individuals who wish to immigrate to the United States in the second preference category who are members of the professions holding advanced degrees or individuals of exceptional ability in the arts, sciences, or business. A NIW petition requires that one must show:

1. That the alien seeks employment in an area of substantial intrinsic merit;

2. That the proposed benefit is national in scope; and

3. That the petitioner seeking the waiver must persuasively demonstrate that the national interest would be adversely affected if labor certification were required of the alien.

The PERM process requires the petitioning employer to conduct a series of recruitment activities to test job market before filing the application.
If no qualified and willing applicant (US citizen or Permanent Resident) is found through the recruitment process, the employer can submit the PERM Labor Certification.