When it comes to immigrating to the United States, we usually think of EB-5. EB-5 is the abbreviation for Employment-Based Fifth Preference. Since there is a fifth preference category, there must be a first, second, third, and fourth preference category, right? You are absolutely correct.
EB-1 is the first preference category, which mainly includes individuals with extraordinary ability (EB-1A), outstanding professors and researchers (EB-1B), and multinational managers (EB-1C).
EB-2 is the second preference category, which mainly refers to professionals with advanced degrees or exceptional ability. The entry criteria for these professionals are:
1. Individuals with a master's degree or higher; or
2. Individuals with a bachelor's degree or higher, combined with at least 5 years of work experience; or
3. Individuals with exceptional ability.
If you meet one of the three requirements above, you qualify for the EB-2 category. However, meeting the EB-2 requirements does not allow you to immigrate to the United States immediately. This is because, under normal circumstances, you need to find a U.S. employer who can obtain a Labor Certification, and you must work for that employer for a period of time after immigrating. This is a difficult process to get approved. However, out of consideration for the national interest, there is a special sub-category within EB-2, which is the National Interest Waiver (NIW). Speaking of a waiver, it actually means being exempt from the Labor Certification process, so there is no need to find an employer, making immigration to the United States simpler. How can one obtain this waiver? You must prove that you can bring national benefits to the country. In other words, without you, the national interest would be harmed.
In practice, we generally require you to meet one of the following two categories to immigrate to the United States under the NIW category:
1. Possess a master's degree or higher and have a certain academic background. For example, attending physicians, university professors, scientific experts, etc. To reach their current professional titles and status, these individuals must have published academic papers, and these papers must have been cited by others. In this case, it is easier to prove that the applicant can bring national benefits to the United States. Therefore, they can immigrate to the United States directly.
2. Alternatively, you have a bachelor's degree or higher, have 5 years or more of work experience, and are outstanding in your industry. For example, entrepreneurs, senior corporate executives, scientific research and development personnel, successful business professionals, etc. If these individuals have won awards, been reported by the media, are senior members of industry associations, or hold patents, they can all prove that they can bring national benefits to the United States. Therefore, they can also immigrate to the United States directly.
So, can you apply if you do not have a bachelor's degree? It is possible. However, in reality, in this day and age, if you do not have a bachelor's degree, it is not easy to prove your excellence.
A feature of the NIW is its fast processing speed. After submission, you can know whether it is approved within 4-6 months. After approval, you need to wait for a visa, which is commonly referred to as the visa bulletin backlog. The current waiting time is 4 years. Overall, its speed is faster than the EB-5 investment immigration. Most importantly, you do not need to pay a $500,000 investment, and the overall cost is only a fraction of the EB-5 investment immigration. At the same time, the green card you receive is a permanent green card with no conditions attached.
This program is particularly suitable for people whose careers are currently thriving in their home country. You hope to obtain U.S. immigration approval as soon as possible so that you can arrange your children's education and the pace of your career development, but you are not in a hurry to move to the United States immediately.
Therefore, NIW immigration is highly favored by people with a certain level of knowledge. We also hope that every U.S. immigration applicant will first test whether they meet the conditions for the EB-1A extraordinary ability category; if not, then test whether they meet the conditions for the NIW national interest category. Only if they do not meet either should they apply for EB-5 investment immigration to the United States.