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| PROFESSIONALS/ADVANCED DEGREE HOLDERS |
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Professionals/advanced degree holders
The second employment preference is for: 'Professionals holding advanced degrees (or equivalent) and aliens of exceptional ability in the arts, sciences or business'. There are 40,000 visas available for this category.
'Advanced degree' means a US degree or a foreign degree equivalent to a US degree above that of a baccalaureate. A United States baccalaureate degree or a foreign equivalent degree followed by at least five years of progressive experience in this specialty shall be considered the equivalent to a master's degree. If a doctoral degree is customarily required by the specialty, the alien must have a United States doctorate degree or a foreign equivalent degree.
'Exceptional ability in the sciences, arts or business' means a degree of expertise significantly above that ordinarily encountered in the sciences, arts or business. Exceptional ability is a very high standard, but is less than that of 'extraordinary ability' found in the 'priority worker' category, thus a degree by itself is not enough.
Unlike the Eb-1 category, the EB-2 category requires an employer and a labor certification. There is however an exception to this rule. If the alien's job is deemed to be "in the national interest" of the United States there is a "waiver" of the labor certification requirement. Obtaining this waiver is beneficial because the processing times will be greatly reduced.
National Interest Waiver is a section under the Second Employer Preference category which requires at least a Master's degree or above, or a person of exceptional ability in sciences, arts, or business. A petitioner uses a national interest waiver to avoid the labor certification process described in this section. The regulation, found at 8 CFR 205.4(k)(4)(ii) is very vague and open to the interpretation of each individual United States Citizenship Service (USCIS) examiner who reviews a file.
In general there are two things that have to be shown. One is that the position is in the national interest of the United States, which means that it must be important to the whole United States and not just one individual company, city, or region. Secondly, it is not enough just to be working in the area of national interest, but that the petitioner must make a real "contribution" in that area. A person must also be considered "above" the average person working in that same area of national interest. These are very general guidelines.
In considering whether or not an individual's work is in the national interest, the INS, through its Administrative Appeals Unit (AAU) has suggested seven factors to be considered by the Service in determining whether an individual's work is in the national interest. These factors are:
- improving the U.S. economy;
- improving wages and working conditions of U.S. workers;
- improving education and programs for U.S. children, and under-qualified workers;
- improving health care;
- providing more affordable housing;
- improving the U.S. environment, and making more productive use of natural resources; and
- an interested government agency request
Please note that these factors are not all-inclusive; other factors can, and should be presented to the INS as well.
A particular advantage to the national interest waiver, in addition to not having to go through the permanent labor certification process, is that the alien may file the petition him/herself.
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| CONTACT US |
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Richard I. Fleischer & Associates
917 Main Street - Cincinnati, Ohio 45202-1314 USA
Phone: 513.977.4209 - Fax: 513.977.4238
fleischer@immigrate2usa.com
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| Disclaimer |
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Nothing at this site should be construed as legal advise for any individual case or situation. This information is general content only, and should not be relied upon for any specific information.
For specific legal advise consult an experienced immigration attorney.
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