National Interest Waiver Document Checklist 2018-04-13T11:45:14+00:00

Here at The Law Office of Rachel Casseus, we value good organization of documents.  Below, we have provided you with the document checklist that we use in preparing our National Interest Waiver petition packages that we send to  United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS). Email rachel@casseuslaw.com to send us your resume now for a free credentials review to determine if you are qualified for a National Interest Waiver.

  1. General cover letter: A one-page synopsis of the documents that the reviewing officer will find in the package.
  2. I-140 fee:  The current filing fee for the I-140 petition is $580.  Make the check payable to: “U.S. Department of Homeland Security”. Do not abbreviate. We like to include the fee in an envelope in the front pocket of the binder, marked clearly, “I-140 fee.”
  3. Table of contents: We include a clear table of contents detailing at what tab the information can be found.
  4. Form I-140: Type your form! We suggest using a computer to fill in your form, so that your information is clear and legible. Also, the benefit of filling the form out using a computer is that you can save a copy for your files! Ensure that you are using the most current version of the form.  Refer to uscis.gov. Make sure to sign your form and send in an original wet signature, not a copy!
  5.  ETA-750B – We always include this form with our NIW petitions. You can download the form at the Department of Labor website.  There is no need to send the form to the Department of Labor for certification.  Type the form out using a computer and sign the form.
  6. I-140 NIW Petition Letter: At The Law Office of Rachel Casseus, this is our favorite part of the application process!  In your letter,  we will include all of your accomplishments that show how you meet all of the National Interest Waiver requirements.  One of our lawyers will sign your letter and will provide you with a detailed list of exhibits.
  7. Exhibits– At The Law Office of Rachel Casseus, we always say that more is better.  We work with you to provide more information than USCIS requests.  By including a plethora of exhibits and evidence that you have exceeded the NIW requirements, we leave the reviewing officers with no choice, but to approve your petition.  This is the secret sauce behind our 100% NIW success rate.
  8. Strong letters of support or recommendation letters: At our office we pride ourselves in writing strong letters of recommendation.  We will write you up to eight letters of recommendation free of charge.  Everything is included in our one low price. We recommend that you submit between 6 to 8 letters of recommendation from experienced people in your field, 50% of the letter coming from independent experts.  Independent experts are influential individuals with impressive track records in your field who do not know you personally, but who are familiar with your work. Independent letters are more valuable and are treated with greater importance and weight by USCIS.
  9. Advanced Degrees:  We include a photocopy of all of your degrees.  Including all Bachelor’s, Master’s, and PhD university degree diplomas.  We will include a credential evaluation report if you have received a foreign degree.
  10. Curriculum vitae: At Casseus Law, we work with you to revise your resume to ensure that you are including the most accurate an updated version of your CV.
  11. Beneficiary work plans– We work with you to draft a brief letter explaining your past track record of achievements and impact on your field field and your current success.  This letter is the opportunity to show USCIS that you are a rock star in your field.
  12. Media reports and press releases: documenting the importance of your work.
  13. Awards and Scholarships: We will supply information about the organizations and institutions that gave you the award.  We will highlight how prestigious the organizations are and how applicants are selected and how many applicants are selected.
  14. Memberships in noteworthy organizations: We advise our clients to include only those top-name organizations where members are accepted based notable achievements.
  15. Peer review work of others: We assist our clients in providing evidence that shows that they have been invited and have reviewed the work of their peers; highlighting the importance of the work.
  16. Publications: Many clients are concerned that they have too few publications.  Do not worry about your number of publications and citations.  If your work has had past influence that is national in scope and you have made major developments in your field, your lack of publications is not going to automatically disqualify you from receiving the National Interest Waiver.
  17.  List of Talks at Conferences, Invited Talks, Symposia, etc.: we will include information about the conferences.
  18. Patents: We always provide further evidence to show that your patented technology has been used, licensed, or commercialized by others in the field or industry.  Unfortunately it is not enough to just have a patent.  For USCIS to see your work at within the national scope, someone else needs to know about and use your technology
  19. Citations – we work with you to create a Google Scholar account so that you can generate a citation report to submit with your I-140 package.
  20. Government reports: Discussing the importance of your field.
  21. Copy of paychecks: This is helpful for individuals going from H-1B status to EB-2 NIW.  Paychecks can show that you were receiving the appropriate salary.
  22. Copy of Passport information page showing expiration date
  23. Copy of current and all previous visa stickers
  24. Copy of current and all previous I-94s
  25. J-1 Visa waiver: only required if you were on J-1 status
  26. Copy of I-120s documenting that you were a valid F-1 student: We include any OPT and OPT extension documents