So, here, I wanted to talk about one of our favorite national interest waiver cases,
which is specifically for motivational speakers/athletes.
And the reason this case is interesting is because it involves the national interest waiver,
one of the few opportunities for entrepreneurs to apply for a green card without an employer.
In this case, the motivational speaker was a national of Ghana, and he came to the United
States multiple times as a visitor to compete. He was a disabled athlete. So he was a cycler,
He was a runner, and he came here multiple times as a visitor back and forth. And one of those
times he decided that it is a good opportunity for him to stay in the United States to be able
to build his career, build his dream. And when he came to consult with me, I realized that because
he had no formal education, he had no education in terms of a degree or any certificates.
All he had was his achievements in his field as an athlete. So you want to words, he was not known as
an athlete all over the world. He competed in minor competitions in Ghana. So it wasn't good
enough for him to get a visa as an athlete. What he did was impact the world of disabled
athletes. He would travel the world, he would speak before athletes, even veterans. He came,
he spoke before veterans in the United States to inspire people that have disabilities,
to let them know that they can do more with their life, even if they're missing a leg. In his case,
he was missing two legs. And so I tried to find a way to be able to get him a green card because
I knew I couldn't get him a work visa. He didn't qualify for any work visas, but for a green card
under the national interest waiver. That was his opportunity. Normally to qualify for a national
interest waiver, you need to hold an advanced degree or an equivalent in years of experience or
exceptional ability. In his case, we focus on the exceptional ability, the fact that he, you know,
traveled the world, he spoke before presidents and prime ministers, and his biggest thing was that
in his case, Oprah Winfrey actually helped produce a documentary about his life. And so
I took all these elements, the publications, the letter of reference, he was able to get us letters
of reference from very high-level individuals. We package all this into the national interest
waiver. And again, we have to prove that his work has substantial merit and national importance
and that he is well-positioned to advance his work. And of course, you know, we're able to show
his impact on Veterans, on disabled individuals, people that are fighting with depression. Again,
why he didn't have the degree that normally I use for national interest waiver, he had other
things. He was able to show a lot of exceptional things, especially like his documentary letters
from people like Oprah and other individuals in that space. And we packaged all this together. And
we submitted that case with a UCS with integration for his I 140 petition, petition to the immigrant
petition. And since he was a visitor, I was able to change the status from a visitor, adjusting
his status, filing his Adjustment of Status. So this case took about 14 months to adjudicate,
we received that request for evidence. The problem is that when we find a national interest waiver
without a degree, the UCS and the immigration service are confused, like, Well, yes, he may
have exceptional ability, but he doesn't meet any of the other criteria that we normally see.
So we knew that's going to happen. So we prepared a very strong request reference. We showed that,
yes, he doesn't have the degree, but he definitely meets the requirements of exceptional ability.
We added more documents. By that time he won an award, for he was speaking before
a National Association of disabled athletes in San Diego. And his speech was so inspiring
that he had a book deal that came out during the same time that he had that commencement.
So we were able to show all that, and show that all that happened while his case was
pending. So he continued to advance his work. And we literally were able to meet all the standards.
And within two months after responding to the request for evidence, he got approval
and that was amazing because I remember he came to my office, and I called him I said,
“We got approval for your green card and the first thing”. he said, “You know what, now you have to
help me bring my daughters here” because he hasn't seen his daughters for over a year while he was
working on his case. And he had two children. He’s a single dad, can you imagine and then I said “No
problem once you get your green card”. We worked on his kid’s case as well, because that case
was processed at the US Embassy in Ghana. So, it took longer and I said, “Don't worry we are
working on your kid’s case. Now that you have approval, your case has been processed”. And
it was just an amazing story. And so, the point is that you can file for a national interest waiver,
even without a degree. You know, I wanted to show people that if you really meet the requirements of
being exceptional, then you can also meet the eligibility of filing for a national interest
waiver. And again, the benefit of filing for a national interest waiver is that it's a
self-petition, and this case study shows that even somebody without a degree can qualify for this and
get it in his case, we didn't qualify him as an athlete, qualified him as a motivational
speaker. Somebody has an impact on many, many people. In this case, disabled veterans,
disabled athletes, people with disabilities. They can see that even if you are disabled, you can
still achieve a lot in your life. And he clearly proved that. And so, that was an amazing story,
which I wanted to share, to inspire more people, to try to apply for a national interest waiver.
If they feel that either they have the exceptional ability, or they have an advanced degree and
they're working on something amazing. It's a great opportunity to file for a green card
without an employer. If you enjoyed this video. If you got any inspiration from these stories,
let me know in the comments, let me know what you think because I read all the comments.
And I also get inspired from your comments, from your stories, to make more videos like that, and
to share the success stories of our clients with you to give you hope, to give you the motivation
to start your American dream as well. If you want to consult with me if you want to start
your consultation to get help with your case, feel free to text me at 619-483-4549. I'm here for you.