Plain-language guides to U.S. visa categories, each grounded in primary authority — what it is, whether you can self-petition, the criteria, an honest cost and timeline, and where a licensed attorney adds value. Informational only, not legal advice.
EB-1A is the U.S. employment-based green card for people of extraordinary ability. It can be self-petitioned — no employer or job offer required — which makes it one of the few immigrant categories a qualified applicant can pursue independently.
The EB-2 National Interest Waiver lets an advanced-degree professional or person of exceptional ability self-petition for a green card — waiving the employer and labor certification — if their work is in the national interest, judged under the three-prong Dhanasar test.
Universities, university-affiliated nonprofits, and nonprofit or government research organizations are exempt from the annual H-1B cap. Their H-1B petitions are filed outside the lottery, any time of year — the main path to an H-1B without winning the random selection.
The N-400 is the application for U.S. citizenship. Most green-card holders qualify after five years as a permanent resident (three if married to a U.S. citizen), and it is one of the most commonly self-filed immigration applications.
O-1A is the U.S. temporary work visa for individuals with extraordinary ability in the sciences, education, business, or athletics. Unlike the EB-1A green card, it cannot be self-petitioned — a U.S. employer or agent must file — and it turns on meeting at least three of eight regulatory criteria.
Some U.S. immigration paths let you file for yourself, with no employer and no job offer. EB-1A and EB-2 NIW are the two self-petition green cards; O-1A cannot be self-filed but is reachable through your own company or an agent. Here is how they compare.