Normally, if you qualify for the second employment-based ("EB-2") category (Workers Holding Advanced Degrees and Persons with Exceptional Ability in the Arts, Sciences and Business), you are subject to the labor certification requirement. However, a limited exception exists if your employment is in the "national interest".

A NIW petition offers an attractive green-card option to a foreign-born researcher if s/he does not have a permanent job offer from a sponsoring employer (prerequisites for EB-1(b) petition). Like EB-1(a) petition, it belongs to a “self petition”, and the researchers can personally file the petition without sponsorship from his employer. S/he can also change employers while her/his NIW petition is still pending as long as s/he still conducts research in the same field. The minimum education requirement of this classification is Master degree.

In order to qualify for an NIW petition, the alien must demonstrate the following:

· S/he seeks employment in an area of substantial intrinsic merit;

· Her/his proposed work will benefit the nation in a national scope; and

· The US national interest would be adversely affected if a labor certification were required for the alien. (NYSDT issued on August 7, 1998)

Ultimately, an alien who seeks an exemption under an NIW from the job offer requirement must be able to demonstrate that the benefit his or her activity would provide to the nation is so great as to outweigh the nation's interest inherent in completion of the Labor Certification (PERM) process.