EB-2 NIW: Requirements, Dhanasar Test, Fees and 2026 Wait Times

The EB-2 National Interest Waiver (NIW) is a way to file for an employment-based second preference green card without a job offer. Because the job offer is waived, so is the PERM labor certification, and the applicant can file the petition on their own behalf.

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) reviews an NIW in two stages. First, the applicant must qualify for EB-2 itself, through an advanced degree or exceptional ability. Only then does USCIS apply the three-prong test from Matter of Dhanasar to decide whether waiving the job offer is in the national interest.

Timing has two parts. The I-140 decision can be sped up with premium processing (45 business days for an NIW). The green card itself depends on when a visa number is available, which turns on your country of chargeability and the State Department's monthly Visa Bulletin. In the October 2026 bulletin, the EB-2 date for the rest of the world moved back 20 months, and India and China remain years behind.

What is the EB-2 NIW?

EB-2 is for members of the professions holding an advanced degree and for people of exceptional ability in the sciences, arts or business. It receives 28.6% of the worldwide employment-based preference level, plus any numbers not used by EB-1. In a standard EB-2 case, a U.S. employer sponsors the worker and first obtains a labor certification from the Department of Labor. That process, PERM, requires the employer to test the U.S. labor market for willing, able and qualified U.S. workers. You can track current labor certification timelines on our PERM processing time tracker (DOL).

The national interest waiver removes the job offer requirement and, with it, the labor certification. The applicant can file Form I-140 on their own behalf, and the case rests on a proposed endeavor rather than on a specific job with a specific employer.

Who qualifies: advanced degree or exceptional ability

Before USCIS looks at the waiver, the applicant must show they qualify for EB-2 through an advanced degree or exceptional ability.

An advanced degree is any U.S. academic or professional degree above a bachelor's, or a foreign equivalent. A U.S. bachelor's degree (or foreign equivalent) followed by at least five years of progressive experience in the specialty counts as the equivalent of a master's. The intended occupation must also be a profession: one listed in INA 101(a)(32) or one that requires at least a bachelor's degree for entry.

On January 15, 2025, USCIS issued Policy Alert PA-2025-03 on NIW petitions. Because there is no labor certification describing the job, the update explains how officers decide whether experience is "in the specialty" and whether the occupation is a profession, says that exceptional ability must relate to the proposed endeavor, and confirms that the petitioner must first qualify for EB-2 before eligibility for the waiver is considered.

If the applicant does not have an advanced degree, they must prove exceptional ability. Exceptional ability means expertise significantly above that ordinarily encountered in the sciences, arts or business. It requires at least three of these six criteria (USCIS also accepts comparable evidence):

• An official academic record showing a degree, diploma, certificate, or similar award from a college, university, school, or other institution of learning relating to the area of exceptional ability.
• Letters documenting at least 10 years of full-time experience in the occupation.
• A license to practice the profession or certification for a particular profession or occupation.
• Evidence that the applicant has commanded a salary or other remuneration for services that demonstrates exceptional ability.
• Membership in professional associations.
• Recognition for achievements and significant contributions to the industry or field by peers, government entities, or professional or business organizations.

The Dhanasar test: three prongs explained

Qualifying for EB-2 does not mean the waiver will be granted. Matter of Dhanasar, 26 I&N Dec. 884 (AAO 2016), a precedent decision issued December 27, 2016, set the three-prong test USCIS uses today. USCIS may grant the waiver as a matter of discretion if the petitioner proves all three prongs by a preponderance of the evidence.

Prong 1: The proposed endeavor has both substantial merit and national importance. The applicant must clearly define what they intend to do in the United States. Merit can be shown in many areas, including business, entrepreneurship, science, technology, culture, health and education. For national importance, officers look at the endeavor's potential prospective impact and its nature rather than only its geographic reach: for example, national or even global implications within a field, significant potential to employ U.S. workers, or other substantial positive economic effects.

Prong 2: The applicant is well positioned to advance the proposed endeavor. This prong focuses on the person. USCIS considers factors such as education, skills, knowledge and record of success in similar efforts; a detailed plan for future work; progress already made; and interest from potential customers, users, investors or other relevant parties.

Prong 3: On balance, it would be beneficial to the United States to waive the job offer and thus the labor certification requirements. The national interest in the person's work must outweigh the protection that labor certification gives U.S. workers. Dhanasar lists factors such as whether a labor certification would be impractical, whether the United States would benefit even if qualified U.S. workers were available, and whether the national interest is urgent enough to forgo the process. Because this is a legal argument, many applicants work with an immigration attorney.

Evidence and documents to file

The USCIS Policy Manual stresses corroboration: claims about an endeavor that lack supporting evidence do not meet the petitioner's burden of proof, and USCIS weighs all the evidence in the aggregate.

A typical NIW filing includes the Form I-140; a completed Form ETA-9089 Appendix A and a signed Form ETA-9089 Final Determination, which USCIS requires with NIW petitions; degrees and transcripts or credential evaluations; employer letters documenting experience; and, for exceptional ability, licenses, salary records or memberships. For the Dhanasar prongs, applicants commonly submit a statement of the proposed endeavor, publications and citation records, patents, business plans, grants or investment, and letters from experts in the field.

How to apply: I-140 without PERM, fees and premium processing

Because the NIW skips PERM, the applicant files Form I-140, Immigrant Petition for Alien Workers, directly with USCIS. Under the USCIS fee schedule (Form G-1055, edition 10/07/26), the I-140 filing fee is $715 on paper or $665 online. Petitioners also pay an Asylum Program Fee: $300 for self-petitioners and small employers (25 or fewer full-time equivalent employees), $600 for other employers and $0 for nonprofits. A self-petitioner filing on paper therefore pays $1,015 before any premium processing.

Regular processing times vary by category and office and are posted on the USCIS processing times page; USCIS historical data put the fiscal 2026 median for all non-premium I-140 petitions at 3.6 months (data through August 30, 2026), and individual NIW cases can take longer. Premium processing through Form I-907 costs $2,965 for requests postmarked on or after March 1, 2026. For NIW petitions (classification E21), USCIS commits to take action within 45 business days: an approval, a denial, a request for evidence (RFE) or a notice of intent to deny (NOID). If it misses that window, it refunds the premium fee.

EB-2 priority dates and real wait times by country (our data)

An approved I-140 is not a green card. NIW applicants must wait until their priority date (for an NIW, the date USCIS received the I-140) is earlier than the final action date for their category and country in the Visa Bulletin. Those waits come from annual visa limits and the per-country cap. The figures below are 77.today's own tracking of State Department Visa Bulletins.

According to the 77.today Visa Bulletin tracker, the October 2026 bulletin, the first of fiscal year 2027, moved 19 lines forward and 7 back compared with September 2026; 5 categories are current for all countries (EB-1, EB-5 Unreserved, EB-5 Rural, EB-5 High Unemployment and EB-5 Infrastructure).

The State Department noted: "With the availability of FY 2027 immigrant visa numbers, dates for filing and final action dates have advanced across various immigrant visa categories. However, some employment-based visa categories for 'Rest of World' countries have retrogressed, and these retrogressions are necessary to keep visa issuances within FY 2027 quarterly and annual limits."

In October 2026, the EB-2 final action date for the Rest of the World, Mexico, and the Philippines retrogressed by 20.0 months to January 1, 2025. Applicants charged to those areas with priority dates on or after January 1, 2025 cannot receive a green card until the date moves past theirs, however fast USCIS decides the I-140.

EB-2 India wait times and historical data

Applicants born in India face the longest EB-2 backlog. In the October 2026 bulletin, the EB-2 India final action date is November 1, 2013, with no change this month. The date for filing is January 15, 2015. The wait at the front of the line (the bulletin month minus the cut-off date) is 12.9 years. Over the past five years, the EB-2 India line has moved at a speed of 5.2 months of dates per year.

Our EB-2 India page tracks the real wait times for every filing year. An applicant with a priority date of January 2006 waited 1.5 years to become current in July 2007. An applicant from January 2008 waited 3.9 years until December 2011. An applicant from January 2011 waited 10.5 years for their date to become current in July 2021. An applicant from January 2014 waited 8.4 years until June 2022.

However, those who filed in January 2015 are still waiting, having accrued 11.7 years of wait time so far. Those who filed in January 2016 have waited 10.7 years. Those who filed in January 2020 have been waiting 6.7 years and remain in the backlog. Applicants who filed in January 2025 have waited 1.7 years so far.

Seasonality plays a role in when the EB-2 India line moves. Historically, the final action date advances 45% of the time in October (the start of the fiscal year) with a typical advance of 3.0 months. The highest likelihood of forward movement occurs in March (64% of the time, typical advance 2.0 months) and July (57% of the time, typical advance 3.0 months). The line retrogresses most frequently in October (20% of the time) and June (14% of the time). These are historical patterns, not forecasts.

Looking at the month-by-month data for EB-2 India, the final action date was unavailable in July, August, and September 2026. In June 2026, it retrogressed 10.4 months to September 1, 2013. In April 2026, it advanced 10.0 months to July 15, 2014. In March 2026, it advanced 2.0 months to September 15, 2013. In January 2026, it advanced 2.0 months to July 15, 2013. In December 2025, it advanced 44 days to May 15, 2013. In October 2025, it advanced 3.0 months to April 1, 2013.

EB-2 China wait times and historical data

Chinese applicants also face significant, though shorter, backlogs. In October 2026, the EB-2 China final action date advanced by 30 days to October 1, 2021. The date for filing is January 1, 2023. The wait at the front of the line is 5.0 years, and the line has moved at a speed of 7.8 months of dates per year over the last five years.

According to our EB-2 China page, an applicant with a January 2006 priority date waited 1.5 years to become current in July 2007. A January 2011 applicant waited 4.2 years to become current in April 2015. A January 2016 applicant waited 3.2 years until April 2019. A January 2019 applicant waited 3.0 years until January 2022. More recently, a January 2021 applicant waited 4.7 years until October 2025. Those who filed in January 2022 are still waiting, with 4.7 years accrued so far.

For EB-2 China, October is historically a strong month for movement, advancing 76% of the time with a typical advance of 2.2 months. January sees forward movement 81% of the time with a typical advance of 31 days. November advances 75% of the time (typical advance 44 days). September is the slowest month, advancing only 25% of the time and retrogressing 10% of the time.

Looking at the month-by-month data for EB-2 China, the final action date advanced 30 days in October 2026 to October 1, 2021. It remained at September 1, 2021, from June 2026 through September 2026.

Common reasons NIW petitions are denied

USCIS does not publish a list of denial reasons, but its Policy Manual shows where petitions fall short. Under the January 2025 guidance, the petitioner must first establish EB-2 eligibility. If the intended occupation is not a profession, or the claimed exceptional ability does not relate to the proposed endeavor, the waiver question is not reached.

Other weak points include an endeavor described too vaguely to judge, national importance asserted without showing broader prospective impact, claims that are not backed by corroborating evidence, and a record of past work that does not show the person is well positioned to carry out the plan. Each prong must be met; strength on one does not make up for another.

EB-2 NIW vs EB-1A

The EB-2 NIW is often compared with EB-1A (extraordinary ability). Both let applicants file their own I-140 without an employer and without PERM. The legal standards and the visa queues differ.

The EB-1A requires a much higher standard of proof, demanding evidence of "extraordinary ability" indicating the applicant is one of that small percentage who have risen to the very top of their field of endeavor. The EB-2 NIW requires only an advanced degree or "exceptional ability," followed by the Dhanasar national interest test.

In the October 2026 Visa Bulletin, the EB-1 category is current for the Rest of the World, Mexico, and the Philippines. For Indian nationals, the EB-1 final action date is February 1, 2023 (as tracked on our EB-1 India page), which is nearly a decade ahead of the November 2013 date for EB-2 India. For China, EB-1 is at July 1, 2023 versus October 1, 2021 for EB-2. The trade-off is a much higher evidentiary bar for EB-1A, and bulletin dates can move in either direction. Which route fits a particular record is a question for a qualified immigration attorney.