How to assemble the I-140 petition for EB2 NIW

In this blog post, we will cover how to assemble the I-140 petition for EB2 NIW. This can be especially interesting for those of you thinking about a do-it-yourself petition. It includes what documents comprise the petition, how to organize them, how to physically bind the application together, and the process of mailing it to the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS).

Document list

Below is a list of documents that I included with my I-140 petition. Section A (Forms and Fee) constitute the part dictated by USCIS guidelines – see their current I-140 instructions at the time you prepare your application. Section B is the cover letter, which we went over in a different blog post. Then, what is left is all the Exhibits enclosed to the petition as supportive evidence

 

List of Documents for I-140 EB2 NIW

Forms and Fee

Find the forms in the official source, to make sure they are current and that you follow the official instructions. Form I-140 can be found in the USCIS website and Form ETA-9089 is in the Department of Labor website (but needs to be included in the I-140 petition), and NOT sent to the Department of Labor.

You can check the amount needed for the Fee and the method of payment in the I-140 website. When I filed the cost was $700 and they accepted check or money orders, but not cash or card payments.

Cover Letter

The Cover letter was already discussed in a separate blog post.

Exhibits

The type of Exhibits you include will depend on your case. You can check out the exact Exhibits I had in my I-140 petition by downloading my package or joining my EB2 NIW online course for DIY applicants. Everything you discuss in your cover letter has to be included as Exhibit!

Examples of documents to establish education

Examples of documents to demonstrate achievements

  • Curriculum Vitae, updated and complete
  • Proof of awards, grants, prizes, or scholarships
  • Evidence of membership in professional organizations, especially if they have requirements for accepting members, such as achievements in the field
  • Proof of having reviewed the work of others, for example e-mails confirming participation as a judge in a professional competition, or e-mails confirming having reviewed peer-reviewed papers.
  • Evidence of being invited to give professional talks at events or conferences
  • List of publications and citations. This is especially important for researchers. They can include a screenshot of webs like Google Scholar
  • List of patents or patent applications
  • Copies of mentions of your work in any type of regional or national media (newspapers, TV, websites…)
  • Recommendation letters from experts in your field

Examples of documents to substantiate national importance

  • Government press releases discussing the topic
  • Copies of laws, bills, or acts focusing on the problem you can help solving
  • Copies of scientific literature discussing the issues you work on
  • Copies of news highlighting the importance of the topic of your work

Examples of documents concerning your employment status

  • Offer letter from your company
  • Promotion letters
  • W-2 forms
  • Recent 3 paychecks

Examples of documents regarding your nonimmigrant status (and of your dependents)

  • Copy of passport(s)
  • Copy of any present and past visa pages
  • Copy of any present and past documents related to visas (such as I-797 for H-1B visas or I-20 for F-1 visa)
  • Copy of any present or past EAD cards (for example a student on OPT)
  • Copy of current and previous I-94 – get it in the official source
  • US Travel History – get it in the official source

Translations and Credential Evaluations

Some documents that you may want to include as Exhibits may be in languages other than English. You need to provide a copy of the document along with a certified translation.

In addition, if your university degrees are from abroad, you will need to obtain a credential evaluation report. This report informs the USCIS officer of what is the US equivalent degree, and sometimes has information about the university, department, requirements for the degree, etc.

Use of cover pages to organize the document

The I-140 petition can be very lengthy when we add all the sections together. Mine, for example, was over 200 pages! My recommendation is that you introduce each section with a cover page. Each cover page may contain:

  • Petitioner/Beneficiary name
  • “Petition I-140, EB-2 National Interest Waiver – INA §203(b)(2)(B)
  • Contents placed below the cover page, for example: “Forms and Fee”, or “Exhibit 1: Letters of Recommendation”.

Remember that the purpose of everything we do is to have a strong case but also a case that is easy to go over and understand. The cover pages can help the USCIS officer to navigate the document easily.

You can decide how many cover pages you need. In my case I even used cover pages to organize sub-sections. For example, in the Letters of Recommendation section I had one overall cover page and then one more for each of the six reference letters I included. However, I did not have a separate cover page for the letter and the CV from the recommender. It is up to you to determine what makes sense.

In addition, you can have a footer on each cover page with your name and the green card category (EB-2 NIW).

You can see all this in detail if you decide to download my I-140 petition available in this website or join my online EB2 NIW course, which also includes my petition and detailed lectures on how to build yours.  In the meantime, to give you an example here, I reproduced one of my cover pages from the I-140 petition I submitted to USCIS:

 

Screenshot of cover page from I-140 EB2 NIW petition

Assemble the physical copy of the I-140 petition

Once you are done proofreading everything, it is time to print all the documents. Lay all the sections on the floor and start organizing the petition by placing the documents of each section beneath the appropriate cover page.

Scan the final hard copy for your records

Once you have double checked that everything is in order, it is important that you scan the whole petition as is. This will be your electronic copy for your records. Remember that USCIS will not return the petition to you. It is a good idea to retain an exact replica of what you mailed them so you can have it handy in case there is an RFE (Request for Evidence) or to take with you to the interview once you obtain your approval.

Use a 2-prong fastener to secure the petition

The I-140 petition is long and may be difficult to handle unless properly secured. You cannot just use paper clips or the like, because you can’t risk the petition falling apart during shipment or during review by the officer.

A simple solution is to use a 2-hole punch on the top portion of the pages, and the secure them all using a prong fastener. These can be found on Amazon or in your local office supply store.

When deciding what hole punch to buy consider how many pages at a time they can handle, so you do not have to do too many rounds of punching. Similarly, when deciding on fasteners, take a look at how many inches of document thickness they can hold.

Use sticky notes to mark the beginning of each section

At the bottom of the document, mark each section using sticky tabs. This is to facilitate the work of the USCIS officer. Of course, you have a List of Documents and Table of Contents at the beginning of the petition, but this is just extra help, so they do not have a hard time moving back and forth through the document.

The picture below shows my application with the sticky tabs at the bottom, and an AAA battery for reference to show how thick the petition was.

EB2 NIW cover letter picture

Protect the petition from damage during shipping

Before you mail the petition, be sure to add a couple of layers of protection.

If you want, you could add a plastic sheet on top of the main cover page, to add some more protection. I did not do this, but it is an option to consider.

I did put the whole petition inside a filing folder (as shown in the picture above).

Then, when I put the petition inside a mailing box, I made sure it could not bounce around. Be sure to use the right size for your box, and if needed, add some packing peanuts or some other type of material that fills the space. This may be a bit annoying for the USCIS staff when they open the box, so it is better to just make sure the size of the shipping box is right.

Mailing and proof of delivery

Mail the petition to the appropriate USCIS address (the address will vary depending on a few factors; as usual make sure to check the official USCIS instructions).

When I mail an important document such as this one, I make sure I request tracking information to get proof of delivery. That way I am absolutely sure the petition made it to the right address and was received.

A few days later you should receive a letter from USCIS confirming receipt and providing a case number. This will be useful to track the status of your petition in the USCIS website.

 

Screenshot USCIS Case Status website

Next steps

After submitting the petition and receiving the case number, all you have to do is wait.

USCIS could send you a Request for Evidence (RFE) if they feel they need more information about a certain aspect of your petition. Make sure your address is always up to date and you inform USCIS if you move, to avoid missing any important notification such as an RFE. In a separate blog post I discussed how to respond to an RFE, in case you want to be proactive and have a general understanding of what it would take.

If you applied from the US the next step after approval will be an Adjustment of Status. This is out of the scope of this post, but there will be separate materials covering this portion of the process.

If you applied from abroad, you will not use an Adjustment of Status, but Consular Processing. You would have specified that option in your I-140 form and selected the appropriate consulate in your country of residence (as of July 2022 this is Part 4 of the form I-140). You will be notified when it is your turn to attend an interview in the US Consulate.

Official links from USCIS that I recommend:

Read this content in Spanish

Click here to access this post in Spanish language

 

The I-140 petition package in video

26 thoughts on “How to assemble the I-140 petition for EB2 NIW”

  1. Hi, thank you for sharing your experience, I am exploring this too. May I ask a question for help? Do you know wheter USCIS has
    any list of valid entities to accept the equivalence professional title and transcripts?

    Thanks for your feedback

    1. Hi Erika, I did not need to do this because my degree was from the US but I heard many people have used either WES or IEE. A full course by course analysis is not necessary, you should only need a general equivalence evaluation, stating what US degree is equivalent to yours. Only your highest degree should be needed. Thanks,

      Oscar

  2. Carolina Saldarriaga

    Thank you very much for your great contribution with this information, could you confirm which annexes should be translated by an official translator in this request?

    1. Hi Carolina. Sorry for the delay, I am traveling. The foreign degrees should be evaluated for equivalence to US degrees. That is a MUST. Use one of the reputed institutions recognized by USCIS such as WES or IEE. Then, as for translations, in general you want to translate anything that is not in Enlish, but it does not need to be done by an official translator. You can do it or ask someone in your circle, as long as they sign a document declaring that they are competent in both English and X language and that the translation provided is accurate. This applies to documents such as reference letters if they are not in English.

  3. Fernando Valenzuela

    HI Oscar i recently bought the packaged it has been very helpful, im filling without a lawyer (by myself), i am currently filling out the I-140 but in part 3 information about the person for whom you are filing , i dont know if its better tu put my address since a live in Mexico, or my cousins address who lives in california, what do you recommend me? Thank you

    1. Hi Fernando, if you have the option of using your family address in the US that will make your life easier and you will get the letters faster. They can also help you with the check for the payment of the fee. Good luck!

  4. Consult in points 5 and 6 of the I-140 form, ask for the current work and for the proposed one, if I am as tourists, that part should be filled?

    1. Hi Doriane,
      I checked this a while ago and it doesn’t appear to be required anymore. However, since it is almost no effort to print it twice and sign both copies… if it were me I would submit it in duplicate (it won’t hurt!).

  5. Hi Oscar,
    My name is Hamada omar and I’m 40 years old . I have been worked as an agronomist (plant protection adviser) for approx 15 years now,
    I have a master degree of science in plant protection since 2018( scientific search).
    Four years ago, I established a start up company for Import Agrochemicals , The company also caters consultations to a huge number of farmers .
    I’m off—shore now in Egypt .
    With the above-mentioned data , could I be eligible with this subclass Visa EB2 ?
    Thanks for taking time to read my inquiry.

    1. Hi Hamada,
      Probably yes, based on the advanced degree and the field. But it all depends on how you put together your case to meet the 3 prongs of the Matter of Dhanasar. Good luck

  6. Hello,
    Do you think, is it ok to mention the following in the cover letter and annex the evidence in the exhibits?
    1. bank account (whether in the US or in the country where I serve) and
    2. Wealth statement or assets (submitted to the Tax department)
    3. Achievements of spouse or kids (below the age of 21).

    1. 1 and 2 are irrelevant unless they are supporting info for a proposed business. Number 3 is completely irrelevant for this type of petition

  7. Hi Oscar,
    Was just wondering, on the form filing tips page on uscis website, it says to not use fasteners or sticky tabs if filing to a uscis service center. How do you know if the address is a service center vs. a lockbox, and are they saying to just put all the pages together with no attachment if filing to a service center? Here is the link to the page I was reading: https://www.uscis.gov/forms/filing-guidance/tips-for-filing-forms-by-mail

    Thanks so much.

  8. Hi Oscar,
    As a EB2 NIW Exceptional Ability category petitioner, do I need to submit Form EAT 9089, and aside form I-140 which other forms are considered necessary to include in my petition?
    Thanks

  9. Hi Oscar, I would like clarity as someone who is self petitioning and seeking a job offer and labor certification waiver. do i have to fill in J, K, L, and M of Form ETA 9089. I am getting conflicting information.

    Thank you
    stevens

    E-21 Person Who Holds an Advanced Degree or has Exceptional Ability and Seeks a Labor Certification Waiver in the National Interest, Commonly Called a National Interest Waiver (NIW)

    Did you provide the following?

    If the person for whom the benefit is sought holds an advanced degree:

    An official academic record showing they have a U.S. advanced degree or a foreign equivalent degree; or

    An official academic record showing they have a U.S. baccalaureate degree or a foreign equivalent degree and letters from current or former employers showing they have at least five years of progressive post-baccalaureate experience in the specialty.

    If the person is seeking to qualify as having exceptional ability in the sciences, arts, or business, at least three of the following:

    An official academic record showing they have a degree, diploma, certificate, or similar award from a college, university, school, or other institution of learning relating to the area of exceptional ability;

    A letter from a current or former employer showing the person has at least 10 years of full-time experience in the occupation;

    A license to practice the profession or certification for a particular profession or occupation;

    Evidence the person has commanded a salary or other pay for services that demonstrates exceptional ability;

    Evidence of membership in professional associations; or

    Evidence of recognition for achievements and significant contributions to the industry or field by peers, governmental entities, or professional or business organizations.

    If the above standards do not readily apply to the person’s occupation, you may submit comparable evidence to establish the person’s exceptional ability.

    If you are seeking a waiver of the job offer/labor certification requirement:

    Either Parts J, K, L, and M of Form ETA 9089, Application for Permanent Employment Certification (PDF), or Part B of Form ETA 750, Application for Alien Employment Certification; and

    Evidence showing the waiver would be in the national interest, including:

    How the person’s proposed endeavor has both substantial merit and national importance;

    How the person is well-positioned to advance the proposed endeavor; and

    How it would be beneficial to the United States to waive the job offer, and thus the labor certifications requirements.

    https://www.uscis.gov/forms/filing-guidance/checklist-of-required-initial-evidence-for-form-i-140-for-informational-purposes-only

  10. Hi Oscar,

    I have a Bachelor degree in manufacturing engineering and a Master degree in solar energy engineering & commercialization. After I graduated, I’ve worked for solar energy field for 2 years and medical device field for 4 years. I am just wondering if I can use both work fields for I-140 application since I have achievements in both fields. It’s kind of confusing because I-140 form only let me to fill in one single “job title“, which is not easy for me to choose. Does it matter if my master degree (solar energy) is not related to my current job title as ” medical device regulatory affairs” ? Looking forward to hear from you.

    Thanks,
    Jarvis

  11. Hi Oscar,

    Another question: my petition cover letter (with advanced degree) without exhibits is 33 pages. I read from another site that it should be 10 to 20 pages max. Is this accurate? what are your thoughts.

    Thanks again

  12. Hi Oscar,

    I am self-petitioning and completing my own forms. Do i complete the authorized signatory section and sign on petitioner’s or authorized signatory section of form i-140 page 6 of 9 or the preparers section page 7 of 9?

    I am confused because i am both the petitioner and preparer?

    Thanks

    1. If you are sending from outside the US you want to use the addresses marked for UPS/FedEx since you cannot use USPS for mailing (it’s the US postal service). Other than that, there is no difference between being abroad or in the US when it comes to decide where to submit. Check the I-140 website from USCIS very carefully as all the informantion is there

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