In EB-2 NIW, the proposed professional endeavor or project describes what a person intends to do in the United States, how they intend to advance that work, and the impact they project. A résumé can help demonstrate capacity, but it does not replace that definition—and the concept does not require starting a business.
In EB-2 NIW, the proposed professional endeavor or project is the specific work a person intends to carry out in the United States. It is not merely the name of the profession, the desired position, a list of duties, or a résumé summary. The description needs to show what will be done, by what means, with what objectives, and what prospective impact is asserted.
The English term used by USCIS and by Matter of Dhanasar is proposed endeavor. It is sometimes rendered in Portuguese as “empreendimento proposto,” but that expression does not mean every person must start a business. For that reason, “proposed professional endeavor or project” can make the concept clearer.
This definition is decisive because the three NIW prongs connect to it. The first examines the endeavor’s substantial merit and national importance. The second asks whether the person is well positioned to advance it. The third evaluates whether, on balance, it would benefit the United States to waive the job offer and labor certification. The Linhares Law guide to the EB-2 NIW structure explores those two layers of analysis.
A profession identifies the general field of work. “Engineer,” “physician,” “researcher,” “executive,” or “technology specialist” still says little about what a person will specifically do in the United States.
A résumé organizes the past. It can document education, experience, skills, projects, publications, results, and recognition. Those elements may be relevant, especially to show that the person can carry out what they propose.
The proposed endeavor looks to future activity. It should enable the reader to understand:
what problem, need, or opportunity will be addressed
what specific work the person intends to perform
which projects, methods, services, products, or activities are part of that endeavor
why that endeavor has the asserted impact
how the person intends to develop it in the United States
The three dimensions must relate to one another, but they are not interchangeable. A strong résumé does not define the project by itself. A detailed proposal, in turn, does not automatically prove that the person can carry it out.
USCIS Policy Alert PA-2025-03 states that an endeavor is more specific than a general occupation. Its guidance uses an engineer as an example: rather than simply listing typical engineering duties, the explanation should identify the area, projects, and objectives that make up the proposed work.
This does not impose a single model of writing. The description is useful because it makes the petition’s assertions verifiable. If a proposal mentions an impact in a sector, for example, it must be possible to identify what activity would generate that impact and by what path. If it projects economic, social, scientific, cultural, or educational benefits, the relationship between the work and those effects needs to be explained.
A broad statement such as “use my experience to contribute to the U.S. economy” does not make that relationship clear. It announces a conclusion but does not identify the work to be analyzed.
A proposed endeavor and a business are different concepts. A person may intend to advance their work:
as an employee of one or more organizations
in research or development within a university, laboratory, or company
through professional practice subject to applicable licenses
in collaboration with institutions, clients, or partners
as a self-employed professional, founder, or entrepreneur
through a coherent combination of these forms
Employment or a business can be the means through which a project is developed. It is not, by itself, the project’s complete definition. Saying only “work as a manager at an American company” or “open a consulting firm” still leaves open which activities will be performed, which objectives will be pursued, and what impact is intended to be shown.
The NIW permits a request to waive the job offer and labor certification when the legal standard is met. That possibility does not make starting a business a requirement, nor does it mean every self-employed person or entrepreneur qualifies.
In the official precedent *Matter of Dhanasar*, the petitioner was an engineer. The record, however, was not analyzed only under that professional label. The decision examined specific research and development activities in air and space propulsion systems and, separately, aerospace-engineering teaching activities.
The research showed substantial merit and national importance in that record. The decision connected the work to scientific advances, national security, and competitiveness in the space sector. The teaching activities, although meritorious, were not accompanied by sufficient evidence of broader impact in STEM education.
The contrast does not mean research always meets the standard or teaching can never meet it. It shows that two activities carried out by the same person may receive different analyses according to the description and the evidence of prospective impact.
Once the endeavor is identified, the person’s background helps answer a different question: why is this person well positioned to advance it?
Education, skills, knowledge, a record of related work, plans, progress, and interest from third parties are among the factors cited by Dhanasar and by USCIS PA-2025-03, which incorporated that guidance into the Policy Manual in 2025. Relevance comes not only from an item’s prestige, but from its connection to future work.
A degree may demonstrate technical training. A prior project may show experience carrying out similar work. A publication may document knowledge or contribution. A contract, funding, or expression of interest may support that third parties see value in the initiative. None of these examples works automatically in every case.
That connection also avoids two opposite errors: submitting many exhibits without explaining what each proves, and describing an ambitious proposal without evidence that the person has resources, experience, support, or progress consistent with carrying it out.
Defining the proposed endeavor is not an exercise in creating the broadest possible narrative. The farther the description is from the actual work, the harder it becomes to support it with relevant and consistent documents.
A coherent formulation usually allows evidence to be organized around concrete questions:
What is the specific activity, and what value does it offer?
What prospective impact can it achieve, and why does that impact have broader implications?
What shows that the person can advance the activity?
Why do the evidence, viewed together, support the requested waiver?
These questions help structure the analysis, but they do not create an approval formula. NIW still depends on the EB-2 basis, the three Dhanasar prongs, the quality of the evidentiary record, and USCIS’s exercise of discretion.
Some descriptions may provide context but are not sufficient by themselves:
the job title or profession
the sector’s general importance
a list of duties common to the occupation
the full résumé without an explanation of future work
the name of a business to be opened or an employer
broad objectives without projects, means, or explained impact
a statement of national benefit without a link to the specific activity
The point is not to make a proposal artificially complex. It is to make clear what work will be evaluated and allow each conclusion to find support in pertinent evidence.
A well-described endeavor must still be examined under all three prongs. It may have substantial merit and still lack demonstrated national importance. A person may have excellent training but not show a sufficient connection between their record and the project. The first two prongs may be supported while the waiver balance still requires its own analysis.
It is also necessary first to establish eligibility in the EB-2 classification, either as a professional with an advanced degree or equivalent, or as a person of exceptional ability in the sciences, arts, or business. NIW does not replace that step.
For that reason, defining a proposed endeavor has a precise function: it delineates the object of analysis. It does not turn a résumé into eligibility, make a profession a priority, or guarantee a favorable decision.
U.S. immigration attorney with 15+ years representing international professionals, executives and investors.
Ser médico não garante o EB-2 NIW. A análise precisa conectar a base EB-2, a atuação ou o projeto profissional específico nos Estados Unidos, os três critérios do NIW e evidências coerentes. Entenda também por que o NIW geral e a modalidade estatutária para certos médicos não são a mesma coisa.
Seven common statements about EB-2 NIW sound simple but confuse the I-140 petition with work authorization, permanent residence, or entry into the United States. See the indispensable condition behind each answer.
EB-2 NIW has no general English test listed among the category’s requirements. That does not eliminate the need for complete document translations or possible requirements from a profession, license, job, or school—and language may matter when showing that the proposed endeavor is feasible.
