I volunteered at a US hospital. Can I use that experience in the EB-2 NIW?

Yes. The experience of volunteering at a US hospital can be part of your EB-2 NIW (National Interest Waiver) dossier, as long as you can tie it to your field and to the benefit it brings to the United States. What matters is not the volunteer label, but the relevance you demonstrate.

This activity gains value when it helped develop specific skills in your field or when it evidences a commitment to areas of national interest, such as health or medical research. The connection to your trajectory must be clear.

• Gather letters, certificates, and statements from where you served.
• Detail your contributions and the real impact of the work.
• Show how the experience fits into your professional history.

Since each case is reviewed individually, it is worth checking the current requirements with the official source (USCIS) and assessing with a specialist how much this experience weighs in your case before petitioning.

About the author

Victoria Harper

Editor-in-Chief

Meet the author

As a journalist and lead editor at Visto n’ Visa, Victoria helps ensure that immigration topics are covered in a clear, trustworthy, and easy-to-understand way. Her focus is on delivering useful, human, and relevant content for people exploring new paths abroad.