EB-2 NIW Scenarios
Real situations people bring us, and how the analysis changes in each.
Situations rather than doctrine: what to do when a petition already went sideways, when another case is already pending, or when your status shapes the timing.
Self-Filed, Then an RFE
What an EB-2 NIW Request for Evidence means, what a response can and cannot fix, and how a firm takes over a petition someone else filed.
Read moreAfter a Denial
The real options after an EB-2 NIW denial: refiling a redesigned petition, motions to reopen or reconsider, and the AAO appeal — plus what to diagnose first.
Read morePERM Already Pending
Whether you can self-petition for an EB-2 NIW while your employer's PERM is pending, how the two tracks interact, and what happens to priority dates.
Read moreUpgrading to EB-1A
You have an approved EB-2 NIW and are weighing an EB-1A filing. How the standards differ, how NIW evidence maps to EB-1A criteria, and what we analyze first.
Read moreFiling Alongside EB-1A
Why some people file EB-2 NIW and EB-1A together: different legal tests, separate visa allocations, and a hedge. The NIW-side view of the dual-filing strategy.
Read moreH-1B Holders
What an EB-2 NIW adds for H-1B professionals: a self-petition with no PERM, independent of your employer — plus the employer-limited-benefit trap to avoid.
Read moreF-1 and OPT Students
Can F-1 and OPT students file an EB-2 NIW? The test ignores visa status but demands a real record. What early-career petitions need — and when to wait.
Read moreFiling From Abroad
How the EB-2 NIW works from outside the U.S.: self-petitioning without a job offer, showing a U.S.-directed endeavor, and gathering evidence from abroad.
Read moreOther EB-2 NIW Resources
Requirements
The EB-2 threshold and the three-part waiver test — one page per question.
ExploreBy Profession
How physicians, engineers, researchers, founders, and others build an EB-2 NIW case.
ExploreFor Physicians
The two physician waivers — the three-prong test and the statutory five-year shortage-area route — plus the J-1 layer.
ExploreTopic Deep-Dives
Processing time, premium processing, priority dates, cost, RFEs, and what happens after approval.
ExploreCompare Other Paths
EB-2 NIW measured against EB-1A, employer-sponsored EB-2, EB-1B, and the O-1A.
ExploreReady to Get Started?
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Immigration counsel to Fortune 500 employers at a national firm · Adjudicated 12,000+ visas at the U.S. Consulate, Mexico · Working in U.S. immigration since 2008
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