EB-1A & NIW Profile Evaluator

Under Matter of Dhanasar, 26 I&N Dec. 884 (AAO 2016), a petitioner seeking a National Interest Waiver must establish: 1) the proposed endeavor has substantial merit and national importance; 2) the petitioner is well positioned to advance the proposed endeavor; and 3) on balance, it would be beneficial to the United States to waive the requirements of a job offer and thus the labor certification. These are evidence-based adjudicative standards, not simple checkbox tests.

Yes, both EB-1A and EB-2 NIW may be self-petitioned on Form I-140. EB-1A does not require a U.S. job offer or labor certification. An approved NIW waives the job-offer and labor-certification requirements; however, an NIW petitioner must first qualify for the underlying EB-2 classification as an advanced-degree professional or person of exceptional ability.

For a self-petitioner, the Form I-140 filing fee is $715 plus the $300 Asylum Program Fee, for $1,015 total. Premium Processing for an eligible I-140 is an additional $2,965 as of March 1, 2026 and provides USCIS action within the applicable premium-processing period, generally 15 business days for an EB-1A or NIW I-140; an RFE or NOID can suspend and reset the premium-processing period under USCIS rules. Fees are subject to change, so applicants should verify the current USCIS fee schedule before filing.

Yes. A person may file separate EB-1A and EB-2 NIW petitions when independently eligible. Filing both does not guarantee approval or an earlier priority date. Each petition has its own priority date when filed, and an earlier priority date may generally be retained or transferred between employment-based petitions only when the applicable USCIS requirements are satisfied, including approval of the petition establishing the earlier priority date.

Reviewing or judging the work of others can qualify under 8 CFR § 204.5(h)(3)(iv) when the evidence establishes that the petitioner actually participated, individually or on a panel, as a judge of the work of others in the same or an allied field. Peer-review assignments can qualify, but merely editing a journal or serving on an editorial board does not automatically satisfy the criterion without evidence showing qualifying judging activity.