EB-2 NIW

My EB-2 NIW experience — sharing since this community covers more than just EB-1A

Noticed most posts here lean EB-1A, so wanted to add a genuine NIW account, since the two categories share this community but ask different questions. My own case, not a template. The biggest mental shift for me, coming from reading a lot of EB-1A-focused advice first: NIW isn't a checklist of criteria to meet, it's an argument about a specific, forward-looking endeavor — substantial merit and national importance, being well-positioned to advance it, and the balance favoring a waiver. I spent real time early on trying to force my case into an EB-1A-style "criteria" framing before realizing NIW genuinely asks a different question, and reframing around Dhanasar's actual three prongs changed my whole approach. What surprised me: prong two (being well-positioned) required more forward-looking, plan-oriented material than I expected — not just my past track record, but a genuine, specific articulation of what I intend to do and why I'm positioned to do it. That's a different kind of writing than describing past achievements, and it took me longer to get right than I anticipated.