Answer
The legal standards for NIW adjudication were set by an AAU (The Administrative Appeals Unit) case law In re New York State Dept. of Transportation EAC 96 063 51031, (AAU, Aug. 7, 1998). This case set a three prong test: first, whether petitioner seeks employment in an area of substantial intrinsic merit; second, whether the proposed benefit of petitioner’s work is national in scope; and third, whether the national interest would be adversely affected if a labor certification were required. USCIS rarely denies an NIW case for failing to satisfy the first or second prong, but often raises questions based on the third prong.
