I have just got the following letter from NSC for my NIW application. I feel this is a common letter to every NIW applicant. I'm posting it for your infomation. I thought I had prepared solid evidence for my application. I don't know how to address each question. Suggestions and Comments are welcome.
Matter of New York State Dept. of Transportation, 22 I&N Dec.215 (Comm.1998) ahs set forth several factors which must be considered when evaluating a request for a national interest waiver. Fist, it must be shown that the alien seeks employment in an area of substantial intrinsic merit. Next, it must be shown that the proposed benefic will be national in scope. Finally, the petitioner seeking the waiver must establish that the alien will serve the national interest to a substantially greater degree that would an available U.S. worker having the same minimum qualifications.
1. Submit Form ETA-750 A & B “Application for Alien Employment Certification” certified by the Department of Labor. The ETA-750 must have been certified by the Department of Labor before the filing date of the petition.
2. You must provide evidence which addresses your eligibility under each of the following:
a. Provide evidence the benefits of your proposed employment will be national in scope. Your employment may be limited to a particular geographic area. However, you must establish benefit to more than a particular region of the country. Moreover, there should be little or no adverse impact on the interests of other regions of the country.
b. Submit evidence you seek employment in an area of substantial intrinsic merit. You employment must be important to the national interests of the United States. Additionally, the benefits of your employment should be immediately apparent to the national interests of the United States.
c. Submit evidence related to your ability to perform the duties of the proposed employment position, To be considered in the national interest you must make a showing significantly above the necessary to prove the “prospective national benefit” required to all aliens seeking to qualify as “exceptional”. Exceptional is defined under Service regulations as …”a degree of expertise significantly above that ordinarily encountered in the sciences, arts, or business.”
3. You must persuasively demonstrate that the national interest would be adversely affected if a labor certification were required. You must demonstrate that if would be contrary to the national interest to potentially deprive the prospective employer of your services by making available to U.S. workers the position you seek. If self-employed, you must also establish the national interest would be adversely affected if a labor certification were required.
a. You must establish you are not seeking a national interest waiver based on a shortage of qualified workers in a given field, regardless of the nature of the occupation. The national interest waiver is not warranted solely for the purpose of ameliorating a local labor shortage.
b. If you demonstrate that you hold a patent or are responsible for an innovation, then you must demonstrate that the specific innovation serves the national interest.
c. You must establish you have a past record of specific prior achievement, which justifies projections of future benefit to the national interest. You must establish, in some capacity, your ability to serve the national interest to a substantially greater extent than the majority of your colleagues. You must demonstrate to some degree your influence on your field of employment as a whole.
PLEASE NOTE: the evidence initially submitted with this petition does not satisfactorily demonstrate the alien’s eligibility for the benefit requested. A great degree of discretion resides within a national interest waiver determination. With the evidence request below, the Service is not attempting to indicate that the items below are regulatory requirements, but rather, are evidentiary suggestions that would clearly demonstrate to the examining official the alien’s qualification for classification requested. Counsel and /or the alien may respond to any or all of the items identified, or, present comparable evidence that adheres to regulatory intent.
Please do not submit duplication copies of the evidence that has been previously submitted.
4. You have not adequately demonstrated that an employer’s pursuit of a labor certification on your behalf would adversely impact the United States. The Service is aware of the numerous hurdles presented by the labor certification process. However, the national interest waiver was not designed to rectify the shortcomings of the labor certification process.
a. Provide documentation that any of your work or other initiatives have become accepted as an industry standard and that you have been credited for the development.
b. Other than research grants, travel grants, scholarships, and/or fellowships, provide evidence of significant awards that you have received as a result of your individual efforts, i.e., Nobel, Burger, etc. Awards should be accompanied by evidence that establishes the reputation of the organization granting the award, the significance of the award, and the criteria used to select the recipient.
The criteria presented should include statistical information regarding how many awards of a similar type were presented at the same time/same year the alien received his award(s), and identify the total number of individuals against whom the alien competed as an award recipient.
c. Provide additional evidence, from individuals outside your prior and immediate circle of colleagues and acquaintances, which validates your individual contributions and/or professional ability as being original and EXCEPTIONAL.
The Service is especially interested in seeing articles from professional journals that specifically talk about you and the significance of your career discoveries. Again, articles that simply reference your research within a footnote or bibliography are not acceptable. Again, the Service would like to see article that are specifically written about you and the value /quality of your work.
d. Submit evidence which clearly demonstrates that you are one of the foremost leading authorities within your field and that your personal performance has/will SUBSTANTIALLY influence, above and beyond that of any other researcher.
Or identify and describe the specific breakthroughs for which you have been individually recognized and which have positively impacted U.S. health care, the environment, economy and/or other initiatives.
e. If applicable, present evidence that any of your associated patents have been broadly commercialized or have at least reached the testing stage. If applicable, identify the scope/size of the associated surveys and present the statistical and economical results of the studies conducted.
f. You might specify what consequences would occur if you were able to continue your participation in the activity. (Substantiate all claims with supportive documentation)
g. What have you individually accomplished in the field that can be considered significant from a production or implementation standpoint, as opposed to just research associated with grants or a doctoral thesis?
h. How would/has your participation in the program or activity have/had a greater impact than others in the field?
i. Would your absence bring research, testing, and /or development efforts to a standstill or negatively impact U.S. health care and the environment? Again, claims should be substantiated with supportive documentation.
5. Submit a letter that specifies how you intend to continue to serve and work in the area that is claimed to be in the national interest.
In closing, the record does not persuasively demonstrate that the national interest would be adversely affected if a labor certification were required. You must establish that you have a past record of specific prior achievement, which justifies projections of future benefit to the national interest. You must establish, in some capacity, your ability to serve the national interest to a substantially greater extent that the majority of your colleagues, you must demonstrate to some degree your influence on the field of endeavor as a whole.