PRACTICE AREA
Green cards where your record is the case
The EB-1A and the EB-2 national interest waiver let researchers, artists, athletes, coaches, and founders petition for permanent residence on their own achievements — no employer sponsor, no labor certification. We handle these self-petitions from assessment to approval, and we tell you honestly at the start whether your record is ready.
These two categories exist for people whose work speaks for itself — and the entire case turns on how well the petition makes it speak. The law does not ask whether you are good at what you do. It asks whether the evidence, organized and argued in the government’s own framework, compels that conclusion. That translation — from a career into a case — is the work.
The two routes
EB-1A: extraordinary ability
The EB-1A is for people at the top of their field — science, arts, business, athletics, education. The regulations list criteria such as major awards, published material about you, judging the work of others, original contributions of major significance, scholarly articles, leading roles in distinguished organizations, and high remuneration; a petition generally needs to satisfy several of them, and then survive a final weighing of whether the record as a whole shows sustained acclaim. It is the fastest employment-based category for many applicants, and the most demanding.
EB-2 NIW: the national interest waiver
The national interest waiver is for advanced-degree professionals and people of exceptional ability whose work matters to the United States. Instead of an employer and a labor certification, you show three things: that your work has substantial merit and national importance, that you are well positioned to advance it, and that on balance it would benefit the country to waive the usual requirements. The bar is lower than EB-1A, the reach is broader, and for many researchers, engineers, and founders it is the honest first choice rather than the fallback.
The question is never whether you are impressive. It is whether the file in front of an officer, read cold, proves the specific things the regulation asks — one exhibit at a time.
How we build the petition
We start with a frank assessment of your record against the criteria. If you are ready, we say so and plan the filing. If you are close, we tell you exactly what is missing and how people in your field typically close the gap: publications, judging invitations, letters from independent experts, documented impact. If the case is not there, we say that too, because a weak petition costs you money, a year, and a denial on your record. When we file, we build the case as an argued brief: recommendation letters drafted around the legal standard rather than generic praise, evidence indexed to the specific criterion it proves, and your contributions explained so that a non-specialist officer understands why they matter. Requests for evidence are common in these categories; a petition constructed this way is built to answer them — or avoid them.
What we do not handle
We handle self-petitions only. Employer-sponsored categories — EB-1B outstanding researchers, EB-1C multinational managers, and PERM labor certification cases — need counsel who represents the employer, and we will tell you so at the first conversation rather than take a case built for a different kind of practice. If your situation genuinely calls for an employer route, you will hear that from us honestly, along with what the self-petition alternative would require.
After approval — and along the way
A petition approval is the heart of the case, but not the end of it. Depending on your situation and where you are, the green card itself comes through adjustment of status or consular processing, with its own filings and timing questions — including when your family can be included. We plan the whole sequence with you at the start, so the petition strategy and the green card strategy work as one strategy from day one.
QUESTIONS
Frequently asked
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No — that is the point of both categories. The EB-1A and EB-2 National Interest Waiver are self-petitions, filed on your own record. You can be employed, self-employed, or between positions; what matters is the evidence of your work and your plans to continue it in the United States.
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You send us your CV and the highlights — publications, awards, press, roles, impact — and we assess it against the actual criteria before you spend anything on a filing. We will tell you plainly: ready now, close with specific gaps, or not a realistic case. That answer costs you a consultation, and it is the cheapest step in the entire process.
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It depends on the strength of the record and your country of birth, because visa queue times differ by category and country and change monthly. Sometimes the right answer is one; sometimes it is both, filed strategically. This is exactly what the assessment is for — the honest comparison, with current numbers, before you choose.
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Not general praise. Letters carry weight when they come from recognized, independent experts and speak to the specific legal standard — what you contributed, why it was significant, how it has been used or adopted. We draft the letters with the case’s legal framework in mind and work with your recommenders, because a strong career described weakly is the most common way these petitions fail.
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Processing times vary by category and service center and change frequently — and for some filings premium processing may be available for an additional government fee. We check the current published times and options at your assessment.
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Yes — these are federal filings, and most of our EB-1 and EB-2 NIW clients are elsewhere in the country or abroad. Consultations are held by video in English or Russian, and the entire case can be handled remotely.
EB-1 & EB-2 NIW · SELF-PETITIONS
Find out where your record actually stands
Send your CV with your booking. You will leave the consultation with an honest read: ready now, what is missing, or not a realistic case — before you spend anything on a filing.