The National Interest Waiver (“NIW”) is a streamlined pathway to permanent residence for foreign nationals whose current or prospective work is in the national interest and therefore merits a waiver of the labor certification...more
The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) updated its policy guidance on Jan. 15, 2025, to clarify how it will evaluate candidates’ eligibility for second preference employment based (EB-2) immigrant visa with a...more
In an era of increasing global competition for highly skilled professionals, U.S. employers often face challenges in recruiting and retaining top talent. The National Interest Waiver (NIW) is a special provision under the...more
The Diversity Visa (DV) Lottery program, administered by the U.S. Department of State, allocates up to 55,000 immigrant visas annually through a random selection process from countries with low rates of immigration to the...more
In light of prolonged Department of Labor (DOL) processing times and recent regulatory settlements involving the DOL and Department of Justice, employers are reevaluating their approaches to securing permanent residence...more
In the pursuit of U.S. permanent residency, employers often turn to the PERM labor certification process to sponsor employees. However, there exist alternative pathways to obtaining a green card, one of which is the National...more
Employers looking to retain current foreign national employees or attract highly skilled talent should consider adding the National Interest Waiver to their immigration sponsorship toolset. Prior to the COVID-19 pandemic,...more
The U.S. immigration system poses significant hurdles for foreign nationals seeking employment within the United States. With few exceptions, employer sponsorship is generally required. For many, the sole avenue to obtain...more
On June 1, 2023, the Department of Labor (DOL) officially transitioned its online PERM labor certification filings from its legacy PERM portal to the FLAG System. In addition to announcing the PERM system transition, the DOL...more
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) updated last year its policy guidance about a specific type of employment-based, immigrant visa petition known as a National Interest Waiver (NIW), clarifying and possibly...more
In a recent precedent decision issued through its Administrative Appeals Office (AAO), U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has created a new and flexible analytical framework for determining whether a foreign...more