This benefit is popularly called the national interest waiver. A person qualifies for this benefit if he falls within the second preference employment based category, namely a person in the professions who either holds an advanced degree or is considered possessing exceptional ability in the sciences, business or arts. Although the INS states that it will be flexible in determining who qualifies for the national interest waiver, it sometimes uses more stringent standards when deciding cases filed for people in the business and arts than for people in the sciences. It all depends upon the individual case. NIW's have been granted to acupuncturists, environmental scientists, artists, civil engineers, geologists, physicians, computer consultants, etc.
Cases involving defense related research or energy related research have the greatest success.
The petition can be filed either by the alien workers themselves, their employer or anyone acting as a representative for the alien. It may be possible in some cases to change employers provided the worker's job duties and responsibilities will be similar to those while employed with the previous employer and therefore, it is still in the national interest. In all other NIW cases, changing jobs before the GC interview has no consequence at all. To process your case, kindly send us your detailed and updated resume, together with a list of your publications and writing sample. We also need a short signed statement from you explaining why you feel you are qualified for such an application.