EB-2 Advanced Degree & Exceptional Ability
EB-2 Advanced Degree & Exceptional Ability
A green card for advanced-degree professionals and individuals of exceptional ability.
A green card for advanced-degree professionals and individuals of exceptional ability.
Advantages
Advantages
No labor certification with NIW
No labor certification with NIW
The NIW skips the PERM labor-market test that the standard EB-2 route requires.
The NIW skips the PERM labor-market test that the standard EB-2 route requires.
Self-petition via NIW
Self-petition via NIW
Through the National Interest Waiver, qualifying individuals can petition on their own with no employer and no job offer.
Through the National Interest Waiver, qualifying individuals can petition on their own with no employer and no job offer.
Broad eligibility
Broad eligibility
Open to advanced-degree professionals and individuals of exceptional ability across the sciences, business, and the arts.
Open to advanced-degree professionals and individuals of exceptional ability across the sciences, business, and the arts.
Two EB-2 Paths
Two EB-2 Paths
EB-2 (Employer-Sponsored)
EB-2 (Employer-Sponsored)
For professionals with an advanced degree, a master's or higher, or a bachelor's plus five years of progressive experience or with exceptional ability, who have a U.S. job offer. The employer files the I-140 and must complete PERM labor certification first.
For professionals with an advanced degree, a master's or higher, or a bachelor's plus five years of progressive experience or with exceptional ability, who have a U.S. job offer. The employer files the I-140 and must complete PERM labor certification first.
EB-2 NIW (National Interest Waiver)
EB-2 NIW (National Interest Waiver)
For individuals whose work serves the U.S. national interest. The NIW waives both the job offer and PERM, so you petition on your own.
For individuals whose work serves the U.S. national interest. The NIW waives both the job offer and PERM, so you petition on your own.
National Interest Waiver
National Interest Waiver
The NIW is decided under three prongs. The standard hasn't changed, but how strictly officers apply it has.
The NIW is decided under three prongs. The standard hasn't changed, but how strictly officers apply it has.
Merit & national importance
Merit & national importance
Your work must matter, and matter at a national level.
Your work must matter, and matter at a national level.
Well positioned
Well positioned
You can show you're able to advance it.
You can show you're able to advance it.
Benefit to waive
Benefit to waive
On balance, waiving the job offer benefits the U.S.
On balance, waiving the job offer benefits the U.S.
What fails vs. what works
Triggers an RFE:
Triggers an RFE:
A vague or abstract endeavor
Local or single-employer impact
"Important work" letters with no metrics
Credentials that outpace the endeavor
What a strong case shows:
What a strong case shows:
A clearly defined endeavor
National-level impact
Measurable, documented evidence
Each document mapped to a prong
Our Process
Our Process
1
Strategy
Strategic Planning & Category Selection.
We determine the stronger route and confirm you meet the threshold EB-2 requirement , which USCIS now checks explicitly before anything else.
We determine the stronger route and confirm you meet the threshold EB-2 requirement , which USCIS now checks explicitly before anything else.
2
The path-specific groundwork
PERM Labor Certification (If Required)
For the employer-sponsored route, we guide your employer through PERM labor certification. For the NIW, we build the documented national-interest case around your proposed endeavor.
For the employer-sponsored route, we guide your employer through PERM labor certification. For the NIW, we build the documented national-interest case around your proposed endeavor.
3
I-140 filing
The I-140 Petition Filing
We file the immigrant petition with USCIS. Premium processing is available for a decision within 15 business days for standard EB-2, and within 45 business days for the NIW.
We file the immigrant petition with USCIS. Premium processing is available for a decision within 15 business days for standard EB-2, and within 45 business days for the NIW.
4
Priority date & final step
Final Application (I-485 / Consular)
Once your priority date is current, we file the last step: adjustment of status (I-485) from inside the U.S., or consular processing abroad.
Once your priority date is current, we file the last step: adjustment of status (I-485) from inside the U.S., or consular processing abroad.
Already Here on a Work Visa?
Already Here on a Work Visa?
On an H-1B?
On an H-1B?
Employer-sponsored EB-2 is the most common green card step, and if your work serves the national interest, the NIW may let you self-petition in parallel.
Employer-sponsored EB-2 is the most common green card step, and if your work serves the national interest, the NIW may let you self-petition in parallel.
See the H-1B page
How We Work
How We Work
A deliberately limited caseload
A deliberately limited caseload
We take on fewer matters than a high-volume firm, by design. Your case receives focused, senior-level attention, not a place in a queue of hundreds.
We take on fewer matters than a high-volume firm, by design. Your case receives focused, senior-level attention, not a place in a queue of hundreds.
Every filing reviewed, then reviewed again
Every filing reviewed, then reviewed again
Before anything reaches the government, it passes through a careful, multi-step review. The small errors and inconsistencies that trigger Requests for Evidence, delays, and denials are precisely what that process is built to catch.
Before anything reaches the government, it passes through a careful, multi-step review. The small errors and inconsistencies that trigger Requests for Evidence, delays, and denials are precisely what that process is built to catch.
Direct access to your attorney
Direct access to your attorney
You work with the attorney handling your case from start to finish, clear answers, proactive updates, one point of accountability, not a rotating cast of assistants.
You work with the attorney handling your case from start to finish, clear answers, proactive updates, one point of accountability, not a rotating cast of assistants.
The content on this website is for informational purposes only, does not constitute legal advice, and does not establish an attorney-client relationship until a formal engagement agreement is signed. Past results do not guarantee future outcomes.
© 2016-2026 Mamdani Law. All Rights Reserved.
The content on this website is for informational purposes only, does not constitute legal advice, and does not establish an attorney-client relationship until a formal engagement agreement is signed. Past results do not guarantee future outcomes.
© 2016-2026 Mamdani Law. All Rights Reserved.
The content on this website is for informational purposes only, does not constitute legal advice, and does not establish an attorney-client relationship until a formal engagement agreement is signed. Past results do not guarantee future outcomes.
© 2016-2026 Mamdani Law. All Rights Reserved.