Entrepreneur NIW: The National Interest Waiver for Entrepreneurs

In an effort to encourage foreign nationals to immigrate to the United States, establish or purchase a business and employ US persons, USCIS has established a new set of regulations specifically for foreign entrepreneurs.  This new regulations allow entrepreneurs to utilize the H1B visa to establish and run a business in the US temporarily and obtain permanent residency through the EB2 green card category as well as the EB2 NIW category.  This blog post will cover using the NIW to obtain a green card by establishing a US business and hiring US workers.

The National Interest Waiver allows a foreign national to apply for permanent residency through the EB2 category without having a US employer or a job offer.  This means that there is no requirement to undergo PERM labor certification and petitions can be approved in as little as 3 months provided that the entrepreneur’s immigration is in the national interest.

The entrepreneur can show his immigration is in the national interest if he can establish the following three points.

1. The NIW entrepreneur must seek employment in an area that has substantial intrinsic merit.  An example would be a structural engineer working on highway bridges.
2. The NIW entrepreneur must demonstrate that the proposed benefit to be provided will be national in scope.   For example, the entrepreneur might be able to demonstrate that the jobs his or her business enterprise will create in a discrete locality will also create (or “spin off”) related jobs in other parts of the nation. Or, as another example, the entrepreneur might be able to establish that the jobs created locally will have a positive national impact.
3. The NIW entrepreneur must demonstrate that the entrepreneur will serve the national interest to a substantially greater degree than would an available U.S. worker having the same minimum qualifications.  The entrepreneur who demonstrates that his or her business enterprise will create jobs for U.S. workers or otherwise enhance the welfare of the United States may qualify for an NIW. For example, the entrepreneur may not be taking a job opportunity from a U.S. worker but instead may be creating new job opportunities for U.S. workers. The creation of jobs domestically for U.S. workers may serve the national interest to a substantially greater degree than the work of others in the same field.

The USCIS finally recognizing that immigrants are vitally important to the success of the US economy and are providing additional avenues to permanent residence for them.  If you are considering starting, purchasing or expanding a US business, the NIW may be the right choice for you.

3 Responses

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  1. Written by Raj
    on August 12, 2011 at 8:59 am
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    Hi,

    I am planning to invest some money(around $30000) in an ethnic restaurant which will employ US workers. My partnership would be about 50%. Will this qualify for EB2 NIW?

  2. Written by vet 28
    on August 15, 2011 at 12:00 pm
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    This is very promising news. I am a veterinarian on H1 B visa. I want to buy an existing practice and improve the business with the help of a managing board and apply for NIW green card. I was wondering If my area (veterinary medicine) comes under national interest area. How do you define it.

  3. Written by Nikhil
    on April 23, 2012 at 10:19 am
    Permalink

    I’m on F1 visa with another year of study left. I plan to start a new technology business while in school and hopefully meet all criteria. Will I qualify for EB2 NIW, after I’m out of school and on OPT.

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