I have a master’s degree in the US in Computer Science (CS) and one year of experience in healthcare. I want to apply for the NIW (National Interest Waiver), to show that I work in an in-demand profession and in a sector important to the US, and I plan to continue developing in this direction. I’m considering filing an EB-2 NIW on my own without an attorney. I don’t fully understand what they might request in an RFE (Request for Evidence) — who has gone through this, what did they ask for?
Filing on your own is doable, but after a year of experience an RFE is almost inevitable — they usually target the second prong of Dhanasar (well positioned to advance). The officer will want specifics: metrics of your impact, recommendations from senior people in the field, a multi-year plan with numbers. They also often request evidence of the national importance of your specific endeavor, not just healthcare as an industry — those are different things and many people stumble here.
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To add to the recommendations — the NIW (National Interest Waiver) officer looks at where the letters are coming from. Letters from your own research supervisor or colleagues at your company carry less weight than those from independent experts at other institutions. A colleague had 8 letters, but 6 of them were from their own people — that’s exactly what triggered the RFE (Request for Evidence); they asked for additional independent letters
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