Читать книгу U.S. Citizenship For Dummies - Jennifer Gagliardi - Страница 81

If you’re a qualified physician who is willing to work in an underserved area of the United States or at a Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) facility, you may be able to skip the labor certification process. In some instances, you’ll be allowed to self-petition for second preference classification, although a qualified employer may also file a national interest waiver on your behalf. In order to fulfill the obligations of obtaining this waiver, you’ll be required to complete an aggregate (accumulated) five years of qualifying full-time clinical practice during the six-year period that begins when you receive the necessary employment authorization documents. You can find information on how to apply by visiting the USCIS Green Card Through a Physician National Interest Waiver (NIW) at www.uscis.gov/green-card/green-card-eligibility/green-card-through-a-physician-national-interest-waiver-niw. If you need more detailed information or have questions not answered on the website, consulting qualified legal counsel is a good idea — they can best help you prepare the documentation needed for your unique case and circumstances.

Another, very restrictive and therefore rarely used, national interest waiver is available on a case-by-case determination of whether foregoing labor certification is in the national interest. This type of waiver is available to nonphysicians also. Unlike the physician national interest waiver, however, approval of this type of national interest waiver waives only the requirement of labor certification, which means it also waives the requirement for a job offer. Therefore, in addition to proving all the elements needed for the national interest waiver, you (or the petitioning employer) also must prove that you hold an advanced degree or are an alien of exceptional ability, as described earlier in this chapter.