What to Expect After EB2 National Interest Waiver Visa Approval?

By Ergul Celiksoy, Immigration Attorney at CK Law Firm

In this article, we continue to look at the details of the EB2 National Interest Waiver visa. You can find our detailed article on the conditions of the EB2 NIW visa, who can apply and what is the application process here. You can find our article on the application process of the EU2 NIW visa and how long it takes for the application to be approved here.

In this article, I will explain what kind of process awaits you after your EB2 National Interest Waiver visa application is approved.

As I explained in detail in our previous articles, you need to submit your EB2 NIW visa application to the Immigration Office in the US. You must submit this application by mail and your application package should include your application, the relevant forms and the application fees. If you use Premium Processing, your application will be processed within 45 days. If you do not use Premium Processing but submit a standard application, your application will be processed within 3 to 9 months.

What Happens After Your EB2 NIW Application is Approved?

Let’s say that at the end of this process, the Immigration Bureau has reviewed your application and determined that you meet the EB2 NIW visa criteria, thus approving your application. Congratulations, the doors to America are now open for you. With your EB2 NIW visa approved, you are very close to realizing your American dream. While the process from here is somewhat longer, it will be much less arduous. Let’s see what awaits you after approval.

Approval Notice

Once your initial application is received and processed by the Immigration Bureau, you will receive a Receipt Notice. This Receipt Notice has a Receipt Number, which you can use to check the status of your application on the USCIS Case Status website. When your application is approved, it will state “Case Approved,” and this approval will be recorded in the system by the Immigration Bureau.

Following this, the Immigration Bureau will send you an Approval Notice. This Approval Notice will also include the dates when your application was first submitted and approved, along with your Priority Date. This Priority Date is crucial for understanding how the process will proceed from here.

What is the Priority Date and What Does It Mean?

First, you should check the Priority Date on your Approval Notice. Then, you need to check the Visa Bulletin published each month. You can access the latest Visa Bulletin on the State Department’s website.

The Visa Bulletin categorically lists when the earliest Green Card applications can be made for different visa types. This means that for some visa types, if there are more Green Card approvals than the number allocated for that year, the surplus is carried over to the next year. In this way, for some visa types, there may be a backlog due to the current number of available Green Cards being exceeded by the number of visa approvals. Therefore, Green Card applications are made considering the Priority Date I mentioned earlier.

What you need to do: First, check your Priority Date. Your Priority Date is listed in the Approval Notice sent to you after your visa is approved. Then, go to the latest Visa Bulletin to check when you can apply for a Green Card for the EB2 NIW visa. For this, go to the Employment-Based Preferences chart in the Visa Bulletin and look at the second row. This row shows the earliest date when those with a Priority Date for the EB2 NIW visa can apply for a Green Card.

According to the August 2024 Visa Bulletin, it says March 15, 2023. Here’s what this date means: If your Priority Date is before this date, you can apply for a Green Card immediately without waiting. If your Priority Date is later, say November 2023, you need to check the Visa Bulletin every month and wait for the date in the Visa Bulletin to be after your Priority Date.

This part is often confusing, so I will try to explain with an example. Let’s say your EB2 NIW visa application was received and processed by the Immigration Bureau on September 1, 2023. This date is your Receipt Date. This is the date your file was processed. The Immigration Bureau usually sets the date your application was processed as your Priority Date. However, you should always check the Receipt Notice sent to you and consider the Priority Date stated there. Let’s say the Priority Date on the Receipt Notice sent to you is September 1, 2023. Later, the Immigration Bureau reviewed your application and approved it on January 1, 2024. Now, to apply for a Green Card based on your EB2 NIW visa approval, you should consider your Priority Date, which in this case is September 1, 2023, not your approval date of January 1, 2024.

Next, you need to look at the Visa Bulletin and compare the date in the Visa Bulletin for the EB2 NIW visa with your Priority Date. According to the latest Visa Bulletin for August 2024, the date for the EB2 NIW visa is March 15, 2023. Your Priority Date is September 1, 2023. Since your Priority Date is after the date in the Visa Bulletin, you cannot apply for a Green Card right now. However, when the date in the Visa Bulletin is later than your Priority Date, you can apply for a Green Card. For example, if the date in the Visa Bulletin were November 15, 2023, instead of March 15, 2023, you could apply for a Green Card without waiting because November 15, 2023, is later than your Priority Date of September 1, 2023.

Situation for Those Following the EB2 NIW Process from the US

If your Priority Date is earlier than the date in the Visa Bulletin, you can now start your Green Card process. How will the process work? It depends on whether you are following the process from the US or Turkey.

If you are following the process from the US, it is a bit simpler. You need to file for Adjustment of Status (Form I-485). In other words, you are applying for a Green Card. For this, you need to carefully and completely fill out Form I-485. Additionally, you need to include some documents with this application, such as copies of your passport, visa, I-94, etc. You also need to include the Approval Notice showing that your EB2 NIW visa has been approved. You should also include other documents that will support your Green Card application.

When filing for Adjustment of Status with Form I-485, you can also submit two additional application forms. The first is Form I-765. With Form I-765, you are applying for a work permit in the US while waiting for your Green Card application to be approved. It is not mandatory, but if you do not have another work permit, I recommend submitting Form I-765 along with Form I-485.

You can also include Form I-131 with your I-485 application. Again, it is not mandatory, but with Form I-131, you are applying for a Travel Document. If your Green Card approval is significantly delayed and you need to travel outside the US during this time, this Travel Document will allow you to travel.

The EB2 NIW Process for Those Following from Turkey

What awaits you after approval if you are following the process from Turkey? For those following the process from Turkey, the process is slightly different. First, those who are not physically and legally present in the US cannot file for Adjustment of Status with Form I-485.

If you are following the process from Turkey, once your EB2 NIW visa is approved, your file is transferred to an institution called the National Visa Center. After your file is approved, the Immigration Office (USCIS) automatically sends your file to the National Visa Center. You do not need to do anything for this.

After your file reaches the National Visa Center, you will wait for the National Visa Center to contact you via email. Usually, within 1.5 to 2 months, the National Visa Center will send you an email. This email will include a document. This document informs you that the National Visa Center now has your file and explains what you need to do next.

The document from the National Visa Center will also give you a Case Number. From now on, your application will be tracked using this Case Number provided by the National Visa Center.

Additionally, the National Visa Center expects you to do three things at this stage. The first is to pay the immigration visa processing fee. The current fee is $345 per person. If you have your spouse and children included in your application, you will need to pay $345 for each person.

The second thing the National Visa Center expects from you is to mail the requested documents to the National Visa Center. The requested documents usually include your passport, visa, birth certificates, marriage and divorce certificates, if any, court files, criminal records, military documents, documents proving your income source, and deeds and licenses related to your assets, etc. You need to send these documents to the National Visa Center after paying the $345 fee.

After sending your documents, the National Visa Center will review them. If any documents are missing, they will contact you again. If your documents are complete or once they are complete, the National Visa Center will send you an email to inform you that your documents have been approved. Reviewing and approving these documents usually takes about 2 months.

Once your documents are approved by the National Visa Center, the only thing left to do is to schedule a visa appointment with the consulate. Once you are given an appointment date, this visa date will be communicated to you and your attorney. All that is left is to wait for this visa date and attend the visa interview.

Conclusion

The EB2 NIW process is quite complex and involves many details and procedures that need to be followed. Although it is a long process, the process after the EB2 NIW visa is approved is relatively easy.

If you are curious about whether you meet the necessary requirements for the EB2 NIW visa, you can send us an up-to-date and detailed CV. We will conduct a free evaluation for this visa as soon as possible and get back to you via email. If our initial review indicates that you are suitable for this visa, we will conduct a free 30-minute Zoom interview with you to make a more detailed assessment.

Who is Attorney Dr. Ergül Çeliksoy?

Attorney Dr. Ergül Çeliksoy is the co-founder of CK Law Firm. Dr. Çeliksoy has extensive experience in US immigration law. He completed his master’s degree in international law and human rights law at the University of Nottingham in 2017 and began his doctoral studies at the same university. Dr. Çeliksoy crowned his academic career by completing his Ph.D. in law at the University of Nottingham School of Law in 2022. Dr. Çeliksoy has published in leading academic journals and is internationally recognized for his expertise in modern slavery, criminal justice, and criminal law. Dr. Çeliksoy, a registered member of the California Bar, provides superior service to his clients with his deep knowledge and experience in US immigration law cases. His knowledge and experience in immigration law add valuable contributions to CK Law Firm’s work in this field.

Dr. Çeliksoy offers comprehensive and strategic solutions to his clients in immigration law cases, helping them secure their legal status in the United States. His studies on human rights and immigration processes, and his deep knowledge of modern slavery and criminal law allow Dr. Çeliksoy to effectively solve the complex legal problems faced by immigrants. Dr. Çeliksoy strengthens CK Law Firm’s leadership in immigration law by providing reliable and effective legal advice, helping his clients build their new lives in the United States.