Follow David’s journey from Nairobi to a U.S. green card through the EB-2 NIW. A step-by-step account of how a Kenyan entrepreneur built his national interest case, what evidence worked, and how long the process took.
David had one question that none of the immigration websites could answer cleanly: if I have never worked in the United States, never had a U.S. employer, and never held a U.S. visa of any kind, can I still get a green card?
The answer, it turned out, was yes. The EB-2 National Interest Waiver is one of the few U.S. immigration pathways that does not require an employer to sponsor you, a labour market test, or any prior U.S. work history. What it requires is a compelling argument that your professional work serves the national interest of the United States and that you are the right person to advance it.
This is David’s story. He is a Nairobi-based entrepreneur who built and scaled an agricultural technology company serving smallholder farmers across East Africa. He had no U.S. connections, no publications in American journals, and no prior immigration history with the United States. What he had was a track record of work that could be argued, credibly and specifically, to serve US national interests. That argument, properly constructed and documented, got his I-140 petition approved.
This is an illustrative case study based on a composite of real EB-2 NIW profiles from Kenyan professionals. It is for informational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice.
David’s background: building agricultural technology in East Africa
David grew up in Kisumu and studied agricultural engineering at the University of Nairobi. After graduating, he spent four years working for an international development organisation on irrigation and soil management projects across Kenya and Uganda before founding his own company at 31. The company he built developed a mobile platform connecting smallholder farmers to real-time soil data, weather analytics, and market pricing, helping them make better planting, input, and selling decisions.
By the time he started thinking about the EB-2 NIW at age 36, his company had reached the following:
• Over 180,000 registered smallholder farmers across Kenya, Uganda, and Tanzania using the platform actively
• A partnership with the Kenya Agricultural and Livestock Research Organisation (KALRO) to incorporate soil health data into the platform’s recommendations
• Grant funding from the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) for a pilot programme expanding the platform’s reach into two additional East African countries
• A master’s degree in agricultural economics from the University of Nairobi and a second postgraduate certificate in data science from a Kenyan technology institute
• Two co-authored research papers on digital agriculture adoption in sub-Saharan Africa, one published in an internationally indexed journal and one presented at an international food security conference
• Recognition as a finalist in the Seedstars Africa competition and a recipient of the African Development Bank’s Youth Entrepreneurship and Innovation programme grant
• An invitation to speak at a USAID-hosted food security symposium in Washington, DC, which was what first prompted him to explore whether a US immigration pathway might exist
Why the EB-2 NIW and not the EB-1A
David’s case assessment considered both pathways. The EB-1A requires demonstrating extraordinary ability by satisfying at least three of eight specific criteria, typically through a combination of major awards, peer review activity, published work with strong citation records, and critical roles at distinguished organisations. While David had elements of several criteria, his evidence was strongest in the area of impact and practical contribution rather than in the academic recognition and formal distinction markers that make EB-1A cases most compelling.
The EB-2 NIW, by contrast, is built around three questions derived from the Dhanasar framework: does your proposed work have substantial merit and national importance; are you well-positioned to advance it; and would it benefit the United States to waive the job offer requirement for you? David’s profile answered all three questions directly. His work addressed global food security, a stated US foreign policy and development priority. His track record demonstrated he was already advancing it at scale. And the USAID funding relationship gave the national interest argument a concrete institutional anchor.
Kenya currently has no meaningful EB-2 backlog. For David, this meant that once his I-140 was approved, he could move directly to consular processing without waiting years for a visa number. That structural advantage made the EB-2 NIW the faster and more natural fit for his profile.
Building the national interest argument: the core of the petition
The NIW argument is where most EB-2 petitions succeed or fail. A generic statement that your work is important to your country or your field is not sufficient. The cover letter must construct a specific, documented argument that connects your work to US national interests and demonstrates why you personally are well-positioned to advance it. David’s case required a three-layered argument.
Layer 1: establishing substantial merit and national importance
The petition argued that global food security is a matter of direct and documented US national interest, supported by reference to the US Global Food Security Act, USAID’s Feed the Future initiative, and multiple US National Security Strategy documents identifying food insecurity as a destabilising geopolitical risk. David’s work was framed not as a Kenyan agricultural company but as a concrete contribution to a stated US foreign policy objective that Congress had legislated and funded. The USAID grant his company had received served as direct institutional validation of this framing.
Layer 2: demonstrating David is well-positioned to advance the work
This section documented David’s specific track record: the 180,000 farmers reached, the KALRO partnership, the expansion funding, and his academic and professional qualifications in agricultural engineering and data science. The argument was structured around demonstrated outcomes rather than credentials alone. USCIS adjudicators respond to evidence of things already accomplished, not plans for what someone intends to do. David’s petition showed a professional who had already moved the needle at meaningful scale.
Layer 3: why waiving the job offer requirement benefits the United States
The third Dhanasar prong is often the most overlooked. The petition argued that requiring David to secure a US employer and undergo labour certification would actually undermine the national interest argument: his work is entrepreneurial and impact-driven, not suited to a conventional employer-employee relationship. Waiving the job offer requirement allows him to continue building and scaling work that directly advances a US strategic priority. The petition cited the USAID partnership as evidence that a US government agency had already determined his work merits public investment.
Assembling the evidence package
The NIW argument was only as strong as the documentation behind it. Over seven weeks, David and AgoraVisa assembled the following:
• USAID grant documentation: The original grant award letter, the project scope, the reporting requirements, and correspondence confirming active status. This single document was the most powerful piece of evidence in the petition because it showed that a US government agency had independently determined David’s work merited funding.
• KALRO partnership agreement: The formal partnership agreement between David’s company and Kenya’s national agricultural research authority, contextualised with background on KALRO’s role, funding, and standing in the regional agricultural sector.
• Platform impact data: User registration records, activity data showing active monthly usage across three countries, and a third-party impact assessment commissioned by one of David’s development organisation partners that independently verified the farmer reach figures.
• Academic credentials: University of Nairobi degree certificates, transcripts, and the postgraduate data science certificate, with an explanation of how the combination of agricultural engineering and data science underpins the platform’s methodology.
• Published research: Both papers with full citation records, journal indexing documentation for the internationally indexed publication, and the conference programme confirming the second paper’s presentation at an international event.
• Expert opinion letters: Three letters from independent experts, including a professor of agricultural development economics at a US land-grant university who had cited David’s published work, a senior USAID programme officer familiar with his grant, and a director at an East Africa-focused international development organisation. Each letter established the writer’s credentials, described their independent knowledge of David’s work, and addressed the NIW standard specifically.
• US policy documentation: Excerpts from the US Global Food Security Act, USAID Feed the Future strategic documents, and the relevant National Security Strategy section, submitted as exhibits to anchor the national importance argument in documented US policy.
Filing the petition and the wait
David filed without premium processing. He had no immediate deadline and the $2,805 premium processing fee was a meaningful sum. Seven months after filing, USCIS issued a Request for Evidence. It asked for additional documentation on two points: the scope and credibility of the Seedstars Africa recognition, and further evidence that the work David proposed to do in the United States specifically, rather than in Kenya, would advance US national interests.
The RFE response addressed both points directly. For the Seedstars recognition, the team submitted documentation of the competition’s scale, its African-wide applicant pool, its judging criteria, and press coverage from regional business media. For the US nexus question, the response added a detailed statement of intent describing the US-based activities David planned to pursue: a technology partnership with a US agricultural data company, participation in USAID programme evaluation as a consultant, and speaking engagements at US food security forums. It also submitted a letter from the USAID programme officer confirming that David’s presence and continued involvement in the US context would advance the programme’s objectives.
Four months after the RFE response was submitted, David received his I-140 approval notice. No further requests. No denial.
Consular processing in Nairobi
With his I-140 approved and Kenya’s EB-2 priority date current, David’s case transferred to the National Visa Center. NVC processing took three and a half months. His civil documents, including his Kenyan birth certificate, marriage certificate, and police clearance certificate, were consistent and required no corrections. His affidavit of support was provided by a cousin who had been a US citizen for twelve years.
His immigrant visa interview at the US Embassy in Nairobi lasted approximately twenty minutes. The consular officer focused on his proposed US activities and his USAID relationship. David had prepared a clear, concise description of both and had brought supporting documentation. The visa was approved. His passport was returned five days later with the immigrant visa stamped inside.
He made his first entry to the United States eight weeks after the visa stamp. His green card arrived by mail eleven weeks after entry.
Full timeline and cost
• Case assessment and engagement: 2 weeks
• Evidence preparation and petition building: 7 weeks
• USCIS adjudication (standard processing): 7 months
• RFE response preparation: 5 weeks
• USCIS decision after RFE: 4 months
• NVC processing: 3.5 months
• Consular interview and visa stamp: 6 weeks from NVC completion
• First US entry and green card receipt: approximately 3 months after visa stamp
• Total time from engagement to green card: approximately 22 months
• AgoraVisa service fee: $2,700
• I-140 filing fee: $715
• DS-260 immigrant visa fee: $325
• Medical examination in Nairobi: $310
• USCIS Immigrant Fee: $235
• Document translations (3 certificates): $210
• Total: approximately $4,495
The RFE added approximately five months to David’s timeline. Had he filed with premium processing, the initial adjudication would have taken 15 business days rather than seven months, and the RFE would have arrived much earlier in the process. In retrospect, David says premium processing would have been worth it given the total timeline, but the decision is situational.
What David would do differently
• Address the US nexus proactively: The RFE asked how his work would specifically advance US interests from within the United States. This is a predictable question for any applicant whose work is based outside the US. In retrospect, the initial petition should have included a more detailed statement of US-based plans and the USAID programme officer’s letter from the start, rather than introducing them at the RFE stage.
• Use premium processing: Seven months of standard processing followed by a four-month RFE response window stretched the timeline significantly. For a self-employed entrepreneur managing an active company, that uncertainty carried a real cost. Premium processing would have compressed Stage 2 to weeks.
• Start civil document preparation earlier: David’s civil documents were clean, but he did not begin gathering them until NVC requested them. Having them ready in advance would have shortened NVC processing by four to six weeks.
• Document impact continuously: The third-party impact assessment that proved most useful in the petition had been commissioned by a development partner for their own reporting purposes. David was fortunate it existed. He now keeps a running evidence file, updated quarterly, tracking platform metrics, partnerships, and media coverage as they happen rather than reconstructing them for a petition.
What Kenyan entrepreneurs and development professionals can take from David’s story
Kenya currently has no EB-2 per-country backlog, which means the timeline for Kenyan applicants is driven by USCIS processing efficiency rather than a queue. For entrepreneurs, researchers, engineers, and development professionals whose work connects to documented US policy priorities such as food security, climate resilience, public health, digital infrastructure, or economic development, the EB-2 NIW is a more accessible route than many assume.
The key insight from David’s case is that the national interest argument does not require you to be working in or for the United States. It requires you to be working on something that the United States has a documented, institutional interest in advancing, and to demonstrate that you are already advancing it effectively. USAID partnerships, World Bank or AfDB-funded projects, work cited in US government policy documents, and engagements with US universities or research institutions all provide anchors for that argument.
If you are a Kenyan professional whose work touches any of these areas and you have been building a track record of measurable impact, a case assessment may reveal that the EB-2 NIW is closer than you think.
Frequently asked questions
Do I need to have worked in the United States to apply for the EB-2 NIW?
No. The EB-2 NIW is a self-petition that does not require any prior US work history, a US employer, or a US job offer. You petition on the basis of your qualifications and the argument that your work serves US national interests. David had never set foot in the United States before his immigrant visa interview and his petition was approved on the strength of his record in Kenya.
What counts as US national interest for an EB-2 NIW petition?
USCIS has approved NIW petitions across a wide range of fields including medicine and public health, engineering and infrastructure, climate and environmental science, agricultural development, education, technology, and economic development. The key is connecting your specific work to documented US policy priorities through concrete evidence such as US government funding, partnerships with US institutions, citations in US policy documents, or endorsements from US government programme officers. A generic claim that your field is important is not sufficient; the argument must be specific and supported.
How does the EB-2 NIW compare to EB-1A for Kenyan professionals?
Both pathways are available to Kenyan nationals without a current backlog. The EB-2 NIW has a lower evidence threshold and suits professionals whose strength lies in demonstrated impact, national importance of their work, and institutional endorsements rather than the formal academic recognition markers the EB-1A weighs most heavily. The EB-1A requires meeting at least three of eight specific criteria and demonstrating extraordinary ability. A case assessment will help identify which pathway is more naturally suited to your profile.
What if I receive a Request for Evidence?
An RFE is not a denial. It means USCIS found your petition insufficient in specific areas and is giving you the opportunity to address them. A well-prepared RFE response that directly answers each question raised, with new primary documentation, has a strong chance of resulting in approval. David’s case went through an RFE and was approved. The most important thing is not to treat the RFE as a setback but as a clear signal of exactly what the adjudicator needs to see.
Is the EB-2 NIW the right route if I want to eventually start a business in the United States?
Yes, in many cases. Unlike work visas that tie you to a specific employer, the EB-2 NIW grants lawful permanent residence, which gives you the right to live and work in the United States in any capacity, including starting a company. For entrepreneurs whose US plans involve building or scaling a business rather than taking a conventional employment role, the EB-2 NIW is often more naturally suited than employment-based nonimmigrant visa categories.
Find out if your work qualifies for EB-2 NIW national interest
Like David, many Kenyan professionals working on impact-driven projects in agriculture, health, technology, climate, and development have a stronger EB-2 NIW case than they realise. A structured case assessment gives you a clear, honest read on whether your work supports a national interest argument and what evidence you would need to build around it.
Start your assessment at agoravisa.com
AgoraVisa is not a law firm and does not provide legal advice. This article presents an illustrative composite case study for informational purposes only.
Explore Our Immigration Services
O-1 Extraordinary Ability Visa →
For individuals with extraordinary ability in sciences, arts, education, business, or athletics.
EB-1A Green Card →
A permanent residency path for those with extraordinary ability — no employer sponsor needed.
