Showing existing ties to the U.S. for EB-2 NIW

Here’s a post by immigration lawyer Amber Davis on showing existing ties to the U.S. for EB-2 NIW:

If you’re applying for EB-2 NIW from abroad, you’ll want to show existing ties to the U.S.

If you’re thinking about starting a new venture and want to use the EB-2 NIW as a way to move to the U.S., one way to show existing ties is to show that you’ve been accepted into a formal program for new ventures run by a well-known organization in the U.S. (these are usually accelerator or incubator programs, but can also be fellowships).

You can also show that you’ve gotten a job offer from a U.S. company to work on something related to your field of expertise. That being said, it can be difficult to get a job offer from a U.S. company for a job that starts in a few years. A letter of intent or some kind of collaboration offer can be substituted here.

USCIS focuses a lot on whether you have strong existing ties to the U.S. if you are not already in the U.S., which is why applying for EB-2 NIW from abroad can be more difficult and will require a strong argument for how what you endeavor to do in the U.S. is in the national interest and is able to be accomplished.

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Interested in EB-1A, EB-2 NIW or O-1? Feel free to reach out to Amber at amber.davis@waypointimmigration.org or via LinkedIn messages.