The endeavour is not your job title and not your occupation. USCIS says it is more specific than either, and the statement that describes it carries the first prong of the whole petition.
- Name the endeavour, not the occupation
- Describe projects and goals, not duties
- Reach past your employer, since employer benefit alone is not national importance
- Carry documentary evidence, not assertion
- Connect to you, since prong two asks whether you can advance it
If you have not read the framework, start with the NIW three prongs. This piece is about the document that prong one turns on.
Occupation is not endeavour
"The term 'endeavor' is more specific than the general occupation; a petitioner should offer details not only as to what the occupation normally involves, but what types of work the person proposes to undertake specifically within that occupation." USCIS Policy Manual, Volume 6, Part F, Chapter 5
The guidance gives the canonical illustration from the decision that created the framework: in Matter of Dhanasar the occupation was engineer while the endeavour was research and development relating to air and space propulsion systems.
And on what the description should contain:
"For example, while engineer is an occupation, the explanation of the proposed endeavor should describe the specific projects and goals, and the area of engineering in which the person will work, rather than simply listing the duties and responsibilities of an engineer." USCIS Policy Manual, Volume 6, Part F, Chapter 5
Projects and goals. Not a job description, and not a field.
The two failure modes
USCIS names them, and they sit at opposite ends of the same problem.
Too broad. An endeavour described at the level of a field or an industry cannot be assessed for national importance, because the assessment is of your endeavour rather than of the sector. The guidance rejects arguments built on "the importance of the relevant industry overall, such as the car dealership industry", and says assertions about "the general importance of business owners or entrepreneurs for job creation or other economic benefits would not alone be sufficient".
Too narrow to reach past your employer. The other failure is an endeavour that is really a job:
"Benefits to a specific employer alone, even an employer with a national footprint, are not sufficiently relevant to the question of whether a person's endeavor has national importance. At issue is whether the petitioner can demonstrate that the person's own individual endeavor stands to have broader implications, such as for a field, a region, or the public at large." USCIS Policy Manual, Volume 6, Part F, Chapter 5
The worked examples are worth reading as a warning list. A software engineer "adapting their employer's code for various clients will have difficulty demonstrating the national importance of that endeavor, absent additional broader impacts supported by specific evidence". Classroom teaching "without broader implications for a field or region" generally does not reach national importance. And a person developing a technology for one company's use may need to show "widespread interest in adoption or licensing of the technology, a novel and important manufacturing or operational process, or how the technology stands to impact the development of similar technology by other companies".
The shape that works
This is practical guidance rather than a prescribed format. Nothing in the regulations specifies a structure.
- A one-sentence statement of the endeavour, specific enough that someone outside your field could repeat it
- The concrete projects you propose, with what each aims to achieve
- Where and how the work will happen, including the entity if there is one
- The mechanism of broader impact: who beyond your employer is affected, and how
- Evidence for each impact claim, from sources you did not write
- The link to your record, since prong two asks whether you can advance this
- What has already begun, because progress evidences intent better than description
That last pair matters more than people expect. USCIS says strong petitions "discuss how the person's record of success would translate to a proposed plan or forecast for continued success, and steps they have taken toward those proposed activities, and plans that tie into the person's background and expertise." The statement is not a separate document from your record; it is the bridge between what you have done and what you propose.
Evidence, not adjectives
The guidance asks for "a detailed description explaining the proposed endeavor and supporting documentary evidence to establish that the endeavor is of national importance". Two halves, and the second is where most statements are thin.
For a technology endeavour, that means adoption or licensing interest, or evidence about how the field would be affected. For a health endeavour, prospective public health benefits rather than projected profits. For an entrepreneurial one, USCIS says it "would also welcome probative evidence to support how the person has anticipated relevant metrics such as market size and share, job creation, and revenue growth", which is an invitation to show your reasoning rather than to assert a number.
For STEM endeavours specifically, there is extra guidance on critical and emerging technologies and a named combination of facts USCIS treats as a strong positive factor. The NIW guidance for STEM workers and founders covers it.
Where the statement is used again
The endeavour you describe governs the rest of the petition. Prong two asks whether you are well positioned to advance that endeavour, so a mismatch between your record and your stated endeavour weakens both prongs at once. Prong three asks whether waiving the job offer for that endeavour benefits the United States on balance.
It also has to be consistent with the classification underneath. USCIS notes that for exceptional ability petitioners the claimed area of exceptional ability "must also be directly related to the person's proposed endeavor", and for advanced degree professionals it states: "The occupation underlying the endeavor is determinative." EB-2 exceptional ability covers that threshold.
One thing an article cannot do is draft this for you. What the endeavour should be, given your record and your plans, is a strategic and legal judgement to make with your attorney.
Sources
All accessed 26 August 2026.
- USCIS Policy Manual, Volume 6, Part F, Chapter 5. The endeavour definition, the specificity guidance, the worked examples, and the entrepreneur guidance, source of every quotation above.
- Matter of Dhanasar, 26 I&N Dec. 884 (AAO 2016), the decision the framework comes from.
- 8 CFR 204.5(k), eCFR. The EB-2 classification underneath the waiver.
- USCIS, Employment-Based Immigration: Second Preference EB-2.
The structure suggested above is practical guidance. No format for the statement is prescribed in the regulations or the Policy Manual.
This article describes the requirement in general terms. It is not a substitute for advice from your attorney about your own case.
Frequently asked questions
What is a proposed endeavour?
USCIS says the term endeavour is more specific than the general occupation, and that a petitioner should offer details not only as to what the occupation normally involves but what types of work the person proposes to undertake specifically within that occupation.
How specific does it need to be?
Specific enough to assess impact. The guidance says the explanation should describe the specific projects and goals and the area of work, rather than simply listing the duties and responsibilities of the occupation.
Can the endeavour just be my job?
Benefits to a specific employer alone, even an employer with a national footprint, are not sufficiently relevant to national importance. The question is whether your own individual endeavour stands to have broader implications for a field, a region, or the public.
Does the endeavour have to be new?
Nothing in the guidance requires novelty. It requires substantial merit and national importance, and evidence that you are well positioned to advance it, which is a different test from originality.
Does the statement replace evidence?
No. USCIS requires supporting documentary evidence to establish that the endeavour is of national importance, and warns that unsubstantiated claims do not meet the burden of proof.
Green Card Guide AI is not a law firm and this article is not legal advice. It describes evidence-building strategy in general terms; your attorney determines what belongs in your petition and how it's argued.