Can a Postdoc get a green card?

If you are a PhD, PhD student, or a Postdoc, you can apply for a U.S. Green Card on your own, even without an U.S. employer sponsorship.

What are the advantages of NIW?

The national interest waiver has the following advantages over the traditional labor certification route to a green card:

• Does not require a labor certification.
• Does not require a permanent job offer in the United States.
• Faster than the labor certification process.
• More flexible than the labor certification process.

What is national interest waiver Uscis?

A national interest waiver is a method of obtaining U.S. lawful permanent residence (a green card) without an employer as sponsor, which can be used if you are engaged in work that benefits the United States economy, education system, health, or some other aspect of society.

Can I get green card with PhD?

You may apply for a green card during your studies or after you have received your PhD. Typically speaking, this type of green card is applied for when the student enrolls for higher studies – but you can also apply once you have gotten your PhD and want to remain in the US research field.

Can f1 student apply for NIW?

After an I-140 is filed, the F-1 holder may have difficulty obtaining OPT or STEM OPT because the filing of an I-140 still is a demonstration of immigrant intent to a certain degree. As such, if you plan to initiate your green card application based on EB-2 NIW (National Interest Waiver) while in your Ph.

Who qualifies for a national interest exemption?

If you are a non-citizen you can apply for the National Interest Exception. You must prove that your entry into the U.S. is of national interest. If your application is successful, you will be able to travel to the U.S. and the COVID-19 travel bans will not apply to you.

What do you need for national interest waiver?

What are the Criteria for NIW?

• The proposed endeavor has both substantial merit and national importance.
• You are well-positioned to advance the proposed endeavor.
• It would be beneficial to the United States to waive the requirements of a job offer, and thus the labor certification.

How long it takes for waiver to be approved?

In terms of processing times, USCIS and DOS are coordinating closely to make sure that the timing of the approval of a provisional unlawful presence waiver application is close to the time of the scheduled immigrant visa interview abroad. Generally, it takes 4 to 6 months to process an I-601A waiver application.