EB-2, National Interest Waiver (NIW) application criteria and requirements:

1- The alien proposed endeavor has both substantial merit and national importance;
2- It must be shown that the alien is well positioned to advance the proposed endeavor;

NIW reference letter

The reference letter should describe petitioner's unique skill, knowledge, experience, original
contributions or achievements which sets him / her apart from peers in the field. Petitioner should
use his / her specific field when comparing to other peers (e.g. pixel detector physics rather than
just physics).

In general, the reference letter contains two parts:

a- What are the author’s qualifications and how the author knows the alien’s work
b- Description, significance, and contribution of the alien’s work
➢ Content and Structure:
• Content: The letters should focus on concrete examples with details such as importance
of your work, how it is being used, what your specific contributions to the collaborative
research are, what impact your work has made or expected to make etc. A fairly detailed
examples (two to four paragraphs) with a total reference letter length of 1.5 to 2.5 pages
would be beneficial.
• Structure: A typical letter is structured as follows.
o Opening paragraph is used to tell the examiner that the referee plans to provide
support for your EB2-NIW application.
o Following this the referee would introduce himself/herself, by mentioning the
referee’s credentials and standing in the research field or career.
o The referee provides details of how the referee is acquainted with you or your work,
if and how he/she knows you, how long you are working/collaborating together or
if the referee knows you only through your work.
o Rest of the letter would focus on specifics of your work and why the referee thinks
you satisfy exceptional ability requirements and the national interest condition
(your work has substantial merit and is of US national interest etc). It is very
important for the letter to illustrate, with specific examples, how you meet the
USCIS requirements. Depending on your circumstances, different letters can focus
on one or more of the requirements.