28/04/2026
The EB-2 National Interest Waiver gives you a path to a US green card without a US employer sponsoring you.
You make the case yourself. Your work is important enough to the United States that the normal sponsorship requirement should be waived.
The three-prong test is how USCIS decides whether that argument holds.
Prong 1 asks whether your field and your work within it have genuine national importance — whether what you do has implications beyond one employer or one project.
Prong 2 asks whether you, specifically, are positioned to advance that work — your track record, your credentials, the evidence that you are the person to move this forward.
Prong 3 asks whether the benefit of waiving the normal labour market process outweighs the cost. This is the one most applicants underwrite. It is also the one USCIS scrutinises most carefully.
A strong EB-2 NIW application builds all three arguments and shows how they reinforce each other. Not three separate sections — one coherent case.
Swipe through for the full breakdown👆
Exploring the EB-2 NIW as your route to the US? DM us USA and we’ll give you an honest read on your profile.
