national interest waiver
A National Interest Waiver is an exemption from the labor certification process and job offer requirement for advanced degree/exceptional ability workers applying for an EB-2 Visa for Immigration into the United States.
EB-2 petitioners can avoid the PERM Labor Certification process by presenting as a ‘national interest waiver’. NIW (National Interest Waiver) requires the foreign national to ‘self-petition’ so that he/she can file the I-140 form on his/her own behalf without involving any labor certification or a sponsoring employer.