H-1B Compass

This is an information-only tool, not legal advice. You are responsible for your decisions. When in doubt, consult an immigration attorney.

EB-2 NIW · Matter of Dhanasar 3-prong test

Close the evidence gaps before filing

The free scorer tells you whether NIW is plausible at all. This tool tells you what specifically to build first: 18 evidence dimensions adjudicators look for, scored against your profile, ranked by which gap hurts most. Free preview gives your top 3 weakest categories. The paid plan unlocks all 18 with sample petition-letter language and concrete acquire steps.

Credentials & endeavor framing

Prong 1 + foundation for Prong 2

Highest degree

Field of endeavor

National-importance framing of your endeavor

Endeavor aligns with a named federal priorityCHIPS Act, AI EO 14110, BIL, IRA, NIH Strategic Plan, DOD Critical & Emerging Technologies, etc.

Publications & scholarship

Prong 2 — strongest single signal

Peer-reviewed publications (total)Peer-reviewed publications as first author

First-author counts carry materially more weight than co-author.

Publications at top-tier venues

Nature / Science / JAMA / NeurIPS / ICML / CVPR / ACL / IEEE Transactions (top band).

Total citations (Google Scholar)

Field-normalization matters — UI flags this in the result.

h-index

Patents & funding

Prong 2 — independent endorsement

Issued US patents (named inventor)Pending US patent applicationsPatents that have been licensed or commercialized

Document any license agreement, royalty stub, or product launch citing your patent.

You have served as PI or co-PI on a research grantTotal grant funding managed or secured (USD)

Sum across all grants you led or co-led. Federal (NIH/NSF/DOE/DOD) carries the most weight.

Recognition

Prong 2 — peer + public validation

Nationally or internationally recognized awards

Best Paper at top conferences, ACM/IEEE awards, national press awards. Employer-internal awards don’t count.

Selective-membership associations (IEEE Senior/Fellow, ACM Fellow, AAAS, etc.)Invited talks given

Invited = organizer asked you, not contributed (you submitted an abstract).

Keynote talks givenHighest press / media tier covering your work

Number of press articles about your work

Service, network & impact

Prong 2 — completes the picture

Manuscript peer reviews completedConference program-committee / area-chair rolesServed as grant reviewer for NIH / NSF / DOE / DOD / NASAIndependent expert letters planned for petition

Target: 5-7 total letters.

Letters already in handFraction of letters from truly independent experts

Independent = not your supervisor, co-author, or current/former employer. Target > 60%.

Leading or critical role at a distinguished organization

Documented downstream impact (industry adoption / standards / policy)

EB-2 NIW evidence score

0/100

Not viable yet

NIW is not a near-term option. Either (a) consider alternate pathways (EB-2 PERM, EB-3, O-1 if applicable), or (b) commit to a 18-24 month evidence-building plan before filing. Consult an attorney about whether NIW is realistic at all for your profile.

Prong-by-prong

Prong 1: Substantial merit + national importance0/100
Prong 2: Well-positioned to advance the endeavor0/100
Prong 3: On balance, beneficial to waive labor cert0/100

Top weakest categories

Free preview — the 3 dimensions where you have the most to gain.

Endeavor statement framing national importance
Prong 1 · weight 3/3 · ~1mo lead time
Alignment with documented federal R&D priority
Prong 1 · weight 3/3 · ~0.5mo lead time
Argument for why labor cert waiver benefits the US
Prong 3 · weight 3/3 · ~1mo lead time

Paid plan unlocks the full evidence plan

17 specific evidence items, ranked by impact

The free preview shows your top 3 weakest categories. The full evidence plan ranks every gap and gives you, for each one: (1) the sample evidence language adjudicators want to see, (2) a concrete acquire plan, and (3) the realistic lead time to close the gap. Paired with the personal timeline and attorney-vetted citations, the plan is designed to compress a 6–18 month evidence-build into a sequenced playbook.

All 18 evidence dimensions ranked
Sample petition-letter language for each
Concrete acquire steps + lead times
Linked to /timeline + attorney-consult playbook

Unlock the full evidence plan

How this scoring works

Matter of Dhanasar (AAO 2016) established the modern three-prong NIW test: (1) the proposed endeavor has substantial merit and national importance; (2) the petitioner is well-positioned to advance it; (3) on balance, it would be beneficial to the United States to waive the labor-certification requirement.

Most adjudicator denials cluster on Prong 1 (endeavor framed around an employer instead of the nation) or Prong 3 (no specific argument for why labor cert would harm the US). Prong 2 is where most evidence-building energy goes — publications, citations, patents, letters — but it’s also the most rebuildable over 6–18 months. This tool ranks your gaps so you spend evidence-building time where it actually moves adjudicator perception.

The 18 evidence dimensions are derived from Dhanasar, the USCIS Policy Manual (Volume 6, Part F, Chapter 5), and patterns visible in published AAO precedent decisions. The scoring rubric is a heuristic, not a legal opinion. Paired attorney review before filing is non-optional.

Related tools

· EB-1A / EB-2 NIW eligibility scorer — coarse 0/1/2 self-assessment, take this first if you haven’t already.
· Personal timeline — sequences NIW evidence-building against H-1B grace deadlines, severance, and other forced-clock events.
· Family cascade calculator — if you have an aging-out child, NIW timing intersects with CSPA filing windows.