Strategy built around you
No fill-in-the-blank petitions. We learn your achievements and build a case and evidence strategy written for your specific record and field.
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Proven Experience with NIW Cases
See if you qualify to petition for a green card based on your work's positive impact on the nation.
Overview
The National Interest Waiver lets you petition for a green card on your own when your work serves the national interest of the United States. No employer sponsorship and no job offer required. We help you make the case clearly.
Why Choose Ellis Porter?
Communication you can count on
You work with a dedicated attorney from start to finish. No conflicting answers, no repeating yourself, and a reply within one business day.
Quality that holds up
Our attorneys have personally answered hundreds of RFEs. We prepare your petition to stand up to scrutiny.
People, not case files
This work is personal. We treat every client with respect and care, and we keep sponsors informed clearly at every step of the process.
Results that reflect real experience.
- 23+ Years guiding clients through a system that rarely stands still.
- 90k+ Immigration approvals secured for individuals, families, and employers.
- 4.9/5 Average client review rating across hundreds of cases.
High Skilled Immigration
A green card you can pursue on your own.
The NIW is a second-preference green card that waives the usual job offer and labor certification when your work is in the national interest. It is a strong option for advanced-degree professionals and those with exceptional ability.
Self-petitioned
You file for yourself. No employer sponsorship and no job offer are required at any point in the process.
No labor certification
The NIW skips the PERM labor certification process, which often saves significant time compared to other employment green cards.
Substantial merit and importance
Strong cases show work with substantial merit and national importance, and a record showing you are well positioned to advance it.
Advanced degree or exceptional ability
An advanced degree or exceptional ability in your field, paired with evidence that waiving a job offer benefits the United States.
High Skilled Immigration
A clear process, start to finish.
You should never wonder where your case stands. We map the path up front, build the case for the national importance of your work, and stay with you through approval, so you always know what to expect and what to do next.
Assess your strongest path
We learn your background and confirm whether the NIW is the strongest path for your profile.
Build the national-interest case
We build the case for the substantial merit and national importance of your work, supported by clear evidence.
Draft and file
We draft your petition, legal brief, and recommendation letters, then file your I-140 with USCIS.
Respond and move forward
We respond to any requests for evidence at no additional cost. Once approved, we scope Adjustment of Status as a separate stage.
Working with an NIW attorney, and what the waiver really takes
The three Dhanasar prongs, explained
Matter of Dhanasar (26 I&N Dec. 884) holds that USCIS may grant an NIW when three elements are met. The decision states them directly: the foreign national’s proposed endeavor "has both substantial merit and national importance," the foreign national "is well positioned to advance the proposed endeavor," and "on balance, it would be beneficial to the United States to waive the requirements of a job offer and thus of a labor certification." If all three are satisfied, the decision says, "USCIS may approve the national interest waiver as a matter of discretion."
The prongs sound abstract at first, so here is what each one is really asking of you.
Prong one: substantial merit and national importance
The first prong looks at the specific endeavor you propose to undertake, not just your field in general. Dhanasar explains that merit can be shown in areas including "the entrepreneurialism, science, technology, culture, health, or education," and that an endeavor can have merit even without an immediate or quantifiable economic benefit. National importance turns on the potential reach and impact of the work, not on where you happen to live.
Prong two: well positioned to advance the endeavor
The second prong is about you specifically. It asks whether your education, skills, record of success, and plan make you likely to actually move the endeavor forward. Progress, not a guaranteed outcome, is the standard. Evidence here often includes your past results, adoption or use of your work by others, funding, and a concrete plan for what comes next.
Prong three: on balance, beneficial to waive the requirements
The third prong weighs whether it benefits the country to skip the job offer and labor certification, given prongs one and two. In plain terms, if your endeavor is important and you are well positioned to advance it, requiring you to first find an employer and run a labor-market test may not serve the national interest. This is where self-petitioners, entrepreneurs, and people whose work is not tied to one employer often fit.
NIW vs standard EB-2 vs EB-1A
These three paths are close cousins and are constantly compared. Here is the honest shape of the differences.
| EB-2 NIW | Standard EB-2 | EB-1A | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Self-petition | Yes | No | Yes |
| Employer + job offer | Not required | Required | Not required |
| PERM labor certification | Waived | Required | Not required |
| Core standard | Advanced degree or exceptional ability, plus Dhanasar | Advanced degree or exceptional ability | Extraordinary ability (a higher bar) |
| Typical fit | National-impact work you can self-petition | You have an employer sponsor | Top of your field, sustained acclaim |
EB-1A is a separate, higher standard under different rules and can carry priority-date advantages for some applicants. Many people evaluate the NIW and EB-1A together, and some who hold an O-1 visa later pursue one of these green cards. Which path fits is a strategy question that depends on your record and your country of birth.
Where an NIW lawyer really earns their keep
If you are weighing a National Interest Waiver, the first thing you probably want to know is whether a lawyer is worth it and what they actually do. Here is the honest answer, in plain terms.
A National Interest Waiver lawyer’s real job is not filling out forms. It is framing. The EB-2 NIW is decided on the three Dhanasar prongs, and the difference between a strong and a weak petition is usually how the endeavor and evidence are presented, not the raw credentials. This page explains where an attorney adds value and how to choose one, honestly.
What a lawyer cannot do
No attorney can guarantee that USCIS will approve your petition. The outcome depends on your evidence and USCIS adjudication. Anyone promising a result is making a claim no lawyer can honestly stand behind. What a good lawyer can do is assess your case honestly, frame it as strongly as the facts allow, and help you understand your realistic prospects.
How to compare NIW firms and fees
Attorney fees are separate from the government filing fees and vary widely, usually quoted as a flat fee after a firm reviews your background. When you compare firms, look past the headline number.
- Relevant volume. How many NIWs has the firm filed in your field recently?
- Scope. What does the flat fee include, and is a response to a request for evidence covered or billed separately?
- Honesty. Does the firm give you a straight read on your endeavor’s importance, or a sales pitch?
- Who does the work. Will an experienced attorney build the case, or a junior team member you never meet?
- Process. How do they handle the endeavor statement and the recommendation letters?
Comparing firms only on price can be misleading, because a low fee that excludes the request-for-evidence response, or a high fee with no clarity on scope, can each cost more in the end. A written fee agreement that spells out scope is what protects you.
Red flags to avoid
A few signals should give you pause:
- Guaranteed approval. No one can promise a USCIS decision.
- A fee before any review. A responsible quote follows a look at your record.
- No written agreement. Verbal or vague pricing is a problem.
- Ghost-written or inflated letters. Letters must reflect the genuine views of the people signing them.
- An invisible attorney. If you never speak to the lawyer, ask who is really handling your case.
Questions to ask in an NIW consultation
A first consultation should tell you whether a firm understands your case. A few questions do most of the work:
- Based on my background, what would you propose as my endeavor, and why is it nationally important?
- Which of the three Dhanasar prongs is strongest for me, and which needs the most work?
- How many NIWs have you filed in my field, and how recently?
- What is your flat fee, what does it include, and is a request-for-evidence response covered?
- Who will define my endeavor and draft the petition, and how will we work together?
The answers you want are specific to you. A firm that can immediately sketch a credible endeavor and name your weak prong is showing real command of the standard. A firm that speaks only in generalities, or leads with a guarantee, is telling you something too.
The two main stages you pay for
An NIW green card has two government-fee stages:
- The petition (Form I-140): you ask USCIS to approve you as someone who qualifies for the NIW. As a self-petitioner, you pay this yourself, because there is no employer.
- The green card (I-485 or consular): you actually obtain permanent residence.
The costs people tend to forget
Beyond the core USCIS and State Department fees:
- Medical exam by an authorized physician (required for the green card).
- Document translations and certified copies.
- Evidence costs, such as obtaining expert opinion letters, which strong NIW petitions often use.
- Shipping and incidentals.
These smaller items add up, so it helps to pencil them in early rather than be surprised later.
More NIW questions
Do I need a lawyer for an NIW?
You are not legally required to use a lawyer for a National Interest Waiver; you can self-petition on your own. But the NIW is won or lost on how the proposed endeavor and evidence are framed against the three Dhanasar prongs, which is a matter of legal judgment. Many people use an attorney for that framing and for an honest assessment of whether their record supports a strong case.
What does an NIW lawyer do?
An NIW lawyer assesses whether your record supports the case, helps define your proposed endeavor, builds the argument for each of the three prongs (substantial merit and national importance, well positioned to advance it, and benefit of the waiver), shapes your personal statement, and helps assemble evidence and expert letters. The goal is a coherent petition that addresses the standard USCIS actually applies.
How much does an NIW lawyer cost?
Attorney fees for an NIW vary by firm and case complexity and are separate from the government filing fees. Ask for a clear, written explanation of what the fee covers, including whether responding to a Request for Evidence is included. Government fees (for the I-140 and any later green card stage) are set by USCIS and are separate from legal fees.
Can an NIW lawyer guarantee approval?
No. No attorney can ethically guarantee that USCIS will approve a petition; the outcome depends on your evidence and USCIS adjudication. Be cautious of anyone who promises a result. What a good lawyer can do is give you an honest assessment, frame your case as strongly as the facts allow, and help you understand your realistic prospects.
What is the Dhanasar test for a National Interest Waiver?
Matter of Dhanasar (26 I&N Dec. 884) sets three prongs: your proposed endeavor has substantial merit and national importance, you are well positioned to advance that endeavor, and on balance it would benefit the United States to waive the job offer and labor certification requirements. USCIS then grants the waiver as a matter of discretion.
How long does an EB-2 NIW take, and what does it cost?
Processing times, filing fees, and priority-date waits change and differ by country of birth, so we do not quote fixed numbers here. Check the current USCIS processing times and fee schedule, and note that premium processing is available for the I-140. The specific timeline for your case is a question for an attorney.
Related reading
High Skilled Immigration
Transparent pricing, no surprises.
You deserve to know what to expect before you begin. Our attorney fee is a flat fee that covers all legal services for your NIW petition, with no hidden charges.
EB-2 National Interest Waiver (NIW)
A flat attorney fee for the I-140 petition. Adjustment of Status and government filing fees are handled separately. We stand behind our work. For applicants who qualify, we refund our attorney fee if your NIW petition is denied.
$7,000
What your fee includes
- A custom petition built around the national importance of your work
- Recommendation letters drafted for your recommenders
- RFE responses at no additional cost
- A dedicated attorney from start to finish
- Flexible 16-month payment plans available.
- A strong option for advanced-degree professionals.
- Adjustment of Status is a separate stage we’ll scope with you
- We stand behind our work. For applicants who qualify, we refund our attorney fee if your NIW petition is denied. We confirm whether your case qualifies before you begin
Featured NIW Attorneys
Frequently Asked Questions
Do I need an employer for the NIW?
No. The NIW allows you to self-petition. You file for yourself with no employer sponsorship and no job offer required.
What does national interest actually mean?
Your work must have substantial merit and national importance, and you must be well positioned to advance it. We help you document each of these clearly.
How is the NIW different from EB-1A?
EB-1A is about proven results. It requires a record of extraordinary achievement at the top of your field. The NIW is about impact and direction. It focuses on the national importance of your work and your plans to advance it, so it often fits a wider range of professionals.
Do I need an advanced degree to qualify?
No, but an advanced degree or exceptional ability in your field is one path. We can review your background and tell you honestly whether the NIW fits.
What happens after the NIW is approved?
Once the I-140 is approved, you move to Adjustment of Status or consular processing. We scope that as a separate stage and walk you through it.
Hundreds of Success Stories
My NIW petition was prepared and filed quickly, and it was approved without any request for more evidence. The legal brief read like it was written by an expert in my own field.
Request a Consultation Today
Tell us about your background and the impact of your work. We will help you understand whether the NIW is your strongest path and what to expect from the process next.