EB-2 NIW Case Study: Approval for an Economist from South Africa South Africa EconomistColombo & Hurd secured approval of an EB-2 National Interest Waiver (NIW) petition for an economist from South Africa whose work focuses on opening doors to employment for people who face barriers to accessing workforce participation. The petition was approved after the legal team responded to a Request for Evidence (RFE) from USCIS. Across the United States, many people struggle to enter or stay in the workforce. Economically disadvantaged individuals, underrepresented groups, and survivors of domestic abuse often meet obstacles that keep them from steady work and financial stability. When more people can take part in the workforce, the benefits reach past any single family and strengthen the broader U.S. economy. The client’s endeavor turns years of economic and financial expertise toward that problem, building practical ways to connect overlooked workers to jobs. Senior Attorney Jason Qiu led the initial petition, and Senior Attorney Nizar Kafrouni led the RFE response that secured approval. Evaluate My Profile Client ProfileTwo Decades Turning Economic Insight Into OpportunityEB-2 NIW VisaThe client holds a bachelor’s degree in economics and has more than 20 years of experience across financial management, business analysis, and private-sector operations. Throughout his career, he has worked at the intersection of business, finance, and economic decision-making. His proposed work builds on that experience by focusing on the link between steady employment and financial stability. In particular, he plans to address barriers that can make it harder for economically disadvantaged individuals, underrepresented groups, and survivors of domestic abuse to enter and remain in the workforce. In the United States, the client plans to build supportive-employment frameworks that connect underserved workers with jobs, training, and other resources that can help them achieve greater financial stability. His proposed work draws on more than two decades of experience in economics, finance, business analysis, and private-sector operations. The Challenge Establishing National Importance for a Focused Endeavor While the client’s work carries a clear social benefit, the petition focused on demonstrating that its effects reach beyond the individuals directly served by the client’s work, all the way to the broader U.S. workforce and economy as a whole. That meant tying the endeavor to concrete national priorities, such as expanding workforce participation, strengthening economic security, and supporting underserved populations, and making the economic case unmistakable. When USCIS issued an RFE, it requested more details on the national importance of the endeavor, specifically on how its impact would reach beyond the client’s immediate work and produce broader economic effects across the country. Strategic Response Connecting the Endeavor to National Economic Priorities To meet that challenge, the response tied the client’s work to established federal efforts to bring underserved workers into the labor market, such as the Department of Labor’s YouthBuild program and the Adult and Dislocated Worker Program under the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA). The client’s frameworks reinforce those same national goals across industries important to the U.S. economy. The response also made the economic case concrete. It showed how the client’s work targets costly, nationwide problems: high employee turnover, hiring mismatches, and the reliance on public assistance that follows when people cannot find or keep steady work. Reducing those inefficiencies benefits employers, workers, and the broader economy at once. A more detailed implementation plan and letters of support from the business community, including one from a chamber of commerce, showed how the frameworks would work in practice and why businesses see a need for them. The Result EB-2 NIW Petition Approved After a Successful RFE Response Following a successful response to the RFE, USCIS approved the client’s EB-2 NIW petition. The approval allows him to move forward in the green card process and in his plans to apply his economic experience to expanding employment opportunities in the United States. Case Overview Category Details Visa Classification EB-2 National Interest Waiver (NIW) Nationality South Africa Professional Field Economics Education Bachelor’s Degree in Economics Request for Evidence (RFE) Yes Attorneys Senior Attorney Jason Qiu and Senior Attorney Nizar Kafrouni Outcome I-140 petition approved Date of Approval July 22, 2026 Attorney Perspective Jason QiuSenior AttorneyRead More “This case is a good example that a successful proposed endeavor doesn’t have to create thousands of jobs to have national importance. EB-2 NIW petitioners can be successful by demonstrating how their prospective work has a real potential to lead to the employment of U.S. workers and clearly connects to existing national priorities.” Evaluate My Profile This case was handled by Senior Attorney Jason Qiu (Initial Filing) and Senior Attorney Nizar Kafrouni (RFE Response) of Colombo & Hurd, a U.S. immigration law firm specializing in employment-based visas including EB-2 NIW and EB-1A petitions. The firm has secured over 10,000 successful visa and green card approvals for clients from more than 100 countries, including more than 2,500 approvals in EB-2 NIW and EB-1A categories since 2023.