Self-Petitioning for Permanent Residence / Green Card

Knowledgeable Green Card Lawyers in Washington, D.C.

Certain foreign nationals can apply themselves for legal permanent residence ("green card") without an employer/sponsor, and avoid the time-consuming labor certification process of testing the labor market for U.S. workers if they have truly exceptional qualifications or can show their work will be in the national interest.

People who may self-petition for permanent residence are:

• Individuals of extraordinary ability who are at the top of their field are considered top priority or given first preference. This is an extremely rare designation, reserved for internationally respected individuals.
• Individuals who may have restrictions waived due to a National Interest Waiver and are considered 2nd preference workers, one notch below extraordinary ability. We help prove that their work has intrinsic merit and seek to avoid the labor certification process.

Individuals of Extraordinary Ability

Foreign nationals of “extraordinary ability” are considered “priority workers” of the 1st preference employment category, and do not need an employer/sponsor or labor certification. To qualify, the foreign national must show they are part of the “small percentage” of individuals who have “risen to the very top of the field of endeavor”, and will continue to work in the U.S. in their chosen area of expertise. The extraordinary ability standard is very difficult to meet by definition, and the foreign national must have either won a major, internationally respected award (the prime example being the Nobel Prize) or present extensive evidence of certain types showing extraordinary achievement in their field.

National Interest Waiver

Even if the foreign national is does not meet the restrictive “extraordinary ability” standard, they may still avoid labor certification and self-petition if they are in the 2nd preference employment category and show eligibility for a national interest waiver. 2nd preference workers must either have advanced degrees (Ph.D., Master’s, or in some cases a Bachelor’s with experience), or be of “exceptional ability”. Generally speaking, “exceptional ability” is defined as expertise significantly above the average that will benefit the U.S. in particular, specified ways.

To show eligibility for a national interest waiver, the 2nd preference worker must meet three additional criteria: their employment must be in an “area of substantial intrinsic merit”, their work must be “national in scope”, and this employment will present a “national benefit so great as to outweigh the national interest inherent in the labor certification process”. In other words, the foreign national must show that his or her work is so beneficial to the United States that it is worth risking replacing qualified and willing U.S. citizens workers in this field by skipping the labor certification process, and extensive documentation must be submitted.