How to Choose the Right Attorney for Your EB-1 and NIW Petitions
Choosing between an EB-1 visa and an EB-2 national interest waiver (NIW) visa application requires an assessment of your background, work, accomplishments, employer, and immigration goals. The right attorney can use that information to explain whether an EB-1A, EB-1B, EB-1C, EB-2 NIW, or another immigration option may fit your circumstances. You can evaluate prospective attorneys based on their experience with those applications, who would perform the work, and which services their fees include.
At Immigration Desk, our attorneys have focused exclusively on immigration law for decades. We have advised more than 15,000 employers, investors, entrepreneurs, and individuals on immigration matters, focused onl work-based visas both employer and self sponsored. Because we handle applications online, we can evaluate your options and represent you from anywhere in the world.
What Is an EB-1 Visa?
Employment-based (EB) immigrant visas, which lead to green cards and permanent residence, fall into five preference categories. The EB-1 visa is the first employment-based preference category and covers people:
- EB-1A—individuals with extraordinary ability in the sciences, arts, education, business, or athletics;
- EB-1B—outstanding professors or researchers, including certain internationally recognized academics with qualifying experience and an eligible U.S. employer; and
- EB-1C—multinational managers or executives transferring permanently to qualifying U.S. employers.
You can sponsor yourself through an EB-1A petition without a job offer, while you need a U.S. employer to sponsor EB-1B and EB-1C applications.
What Is an EB-2 NIW Visa?
The EB-2 category covers people with exceptional ability in the arts, sciences, or business, as well as professionals with advanced degrees. Exceptional ability means ability significantly above the level ordinarily encountered in the field.
While you typically need an employer to sponsor you for an EB-2 visa, if you qualify for a national interest waiver (NIW), you can bypass the employer sponsorship requirement. To receive an NIW, you must identify what you are coming to the U.S. to do and convince a United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) officer that:
- What you propose doing in the U.S. has substantial merit and national importance;
- You are well-positioned to advance that endeavor; and
- On balance, waiving the job-offer and labor-certification requirements would benefit the U.S.
Your evidence must explain what you plan to do, why that work matters, and how your background equips you to advance it. A skilled attorney can connect those facts to each part of the NIW test.
What Role Does an EB-1 or NIW Attorney Play?
An attorney builds an EB-1 or EB-2 NIW application by applying the governing legal test to your work and accomplishments. We begin by talking with you to understand who you are and what your immigration goals are. Using the information you provide, we determine which visa you might qualify for, help you organize application materials, and submit an application to USCIS that explains why you should receive a visa under U.S. law. We then help you respond to USCIS’s review and handle each next step during the immigration process.
Determining Which Visa May Fit Your Record
Based on the information you provide, your attorney can advise you whether you are likely to qualify for an EB-1 visa or an EB-2 NIW visa. We typically assess your:
- Education,
- Employment history,
- Publications,
- Citations,
- Awards,
- Original contributions,
- Leadership,
- Compensation,
- Media coverage,
- Commercial success, and
- Influence within your field.
A careful assessment identifies the visa that best fits your record and the areas that require additional evidence.
Organizing Your Application Around Visa Requirements
Once we identify a possible visa, we determine what you must prove and which facts can help you prove it. The requirements depend on the visa you pursue. For example, EB-1A applicants must establish extraordinary ability through national or international acclaim and show that they will continue working in their field. We use those legal requirements to decide which facts the application should establish and how to arrange the supporting materials, so USCIS can follow the evidence and see how it supports your eligibility.
Showing USCIS What Your Evidence Proves
We help you gather records that document your qualifications and explain what each record proves. The most useful evidence depends on your visa, profession, accomplishments, and proposed work.
Some common forms of helpful evidence include:
- Recommendation letters that can explain your contributions and their effects on other people, organizations, or industries;
- Citation records showing how researchers have used or discussed your findings; and
- Patents, contracts, financial records, and product information may document investment, revenue, job creation, or commercial success.
We then provide the context USCIS needs to understand each document. By connecting the evidence to the visa requirements, we show how your complete record supports approval.
Handling USCIS Review and the Remaining Immigration Process
After we submit your application, we monitor the case and keep you informed of each development. If USCIS requests additional evidence or indicates it may deny the application, we evaluate the agency’s concerns, identify available supporting evidence, and prepare a response addressing each issue.
Approval of the application may require you to take additional steps before you receive permanent residence. Depending on where you live and whether a visa is available, we can guide you through adjustment of status in the U.S. or immigrant visa processing through a U.S. consulate abroad. We remain involved from application to residence and, often, beyond.
How Should You Evaluate an EB-1A or NIW Attorney?
The attorney you choose should have experience performing the work your application requires. Look for direct experience with the EB-1 or NIW visa you may pursue, then learn how the attorney would evaluate, prepare, and manage your case. You can ask:
- How many EB-1 and EB-2 NIW applications have you personally handled?
- Does your experience include EB-1 or EB-2 NIW cases like mine?
- Have you represented people in my profession or industry?
- Who would assess my qualifications and help me identify and organize supporting evidence?
- Who will draft and review my application?
- Will you communicate with me after filing?
- How would you handle a request for evidence, possible denial, or prolonged USCIS inaction?
- Which filing and post-filing services would the quoted fee cover?
You should know which attorney is handling your case and how to contact them if problems arise.
Discuss Your EB-1 or NIW Petition with Immigration Desk
Your work, accomplishments, proposed activities, employment circumstances, and immigration goals shape the visa options available to you. Our role as your immigration attorney is to learn about those circumstances, advise you on how U.S. immigration law applies to you, and guide you through each step of pursuing an immigrant visa.
We provide online representation to clients throughout the U.S. and abroad. Contact Immigration Desk today.
