uires a job offer from a sponsoring employer who must undertake the Labor Certification/PERM process in order to test the market for any able, willing, qualified and available U.S. workers.The purpose of this requirement is to protect U.S. workers by requiring employers to first test the market for available qualified workers. The statutory subsection addressing the NIW category allows the government to “waive” the job offer and Labor Certification/PERM requirements, if it would be in the national interest to do so.Therefore, even individuals could “self-petition” for permanent residence, making this category highly desirable for entrepreneurs, self-employed individuals, individuals with multiple employers, and individuals whose employers are not willing undertake Labor Certification/PERM process.The Previous NIW Standard Under Matter of NYSDOT In 1998, the legacy Immigration and Naturalization Service issued a precedent decision establishing a framework for evaluating NIW petitions: Matter of New York State Dep’t of Transp. (“NYSDOT”), 22 I&N Dec. 215 (Acting Assoc. Comm’r 1998).The NYSDOT framework first required the petitioner to show that the area of employment is of “substantial intrinsic merit.”