dismissed EB-2 NIW Case: Accounting

U.S. Citizenship 
and Immigration 
Services 
Non-Precedent Decision of the
Administrative Appeals Office 
Date: AUG. 27, 2024 In Re: 31285563 
Appeal of Texas Service Center Decision 
Form 1-140, Immigrant Petition for Alien Workers (National Interest Waiver) 
The Petitioner, an accountant, seeks employment-based second preference (EB-2) immigrant 
classification as an individual of exceptional ability, as well as a national interest waiver of the job 
offer requirement attached to this classification. See section 203(b)(2) of the Immigration and 
Nationality Act (the Act), 8 U.S.C. § 1153(b)(2). 
The Director of the Texas Service Center denied the Form 1-140, Immigrant Petition for Alien 
Workers, concluding the Petitioner had not established eligibility for the underlying EB-2 immigrant 
classification and that a waiver of the required job offer, and thus of the labor certification, would be 
in the national interest. The matter is now before us on appeal pursuant to 8 C.F.R. § 103.3. 
The Petitioner bears the burden of proof to demonstrate eligibility by apreponderance of the evidence. 
Matter of Chawathe, 25 l&N Dec. 369, 375-76 (AAO 2010). We review the questions in this matter 
de nova. Matter a/Christa 's, Inc., 26 l&N Dec. 537, 537 n.2 (AAO 2015). Upon de nova review, 
we will dismiss the appeal. 
I. LAW 
To qualify for the underlying EB-2 visa classification, a petitioner must establish they are an advanced 
degree professional or an individual of exceptional ability in the sciences, arts, or business. Section 
203(b)(2)(A) of the Act. 
Exceptional ability means a degree of expertise significantly above that ordinarily encountered in the 
sciences, arts, or business. 8 C.F.R. § 204.5(k)(2). A petitioner must initially submit documentation 
that satisfies at least three of six categories of evidence. 8 C.F.R. § 204.5(k)(3)(ii)(A)-(F).1 Meeting 
at least three criteria, however, does not, in and of itself, establish eligibility for this classification.2 If 
a petitioner does so, we will then conduct a final merits determination to decide whether the evidence 
in its totality shows that they are recognized as having the requisite degree of expertise and will 
1 If these types of evidence do not readily apply to the individual 's occupation, a petitioner may submit comparable 
evidence to establish their eligibility. 8 C.F.R. § 204.5(k}(3}(iii). 
2 USCIS has previously confirmed the applicability of this two-part adjudicative approach in the context of individuals of 
exceptional ability. 6 USCIS Policy Manual F.5(B)(2), https://www.uscis.gov/policy-manual/volume-6-part-f-chapter-5. 
substantially benefit the national economy, cultural or educational interests, or welfare of the United 
States. Section 203(b)(2)(A) of the Act. 
If a petitioner establishes eligibility for the underlying EB-2 classification, they must then demonstrate 
that they merit a discretionary waiver of the job offer requirement "in the national interest." 
Section 203(b)(2)(B)(i) of the Act. Matter of Dhanasar, 26 l&N Dec. 884, 889 {AAO 2016), provides 
the framework for adjudicating national interest waiver petitions. Dhanasar states that U.S. 
Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) may, as matter of discretion,3 grant a national interest 
waiver if the petitioner demonstrates that: 
• The proposed endeavor has both substantial merit and national importance; 
• The individual is well-positioned to advance their proposed endeavor; and 
• On balance, waiving the job offer requirement would benefit the United States. 
Id. 
II. EB-2 CLASSIFICATION 
The Petitioner asserts in the record below that she is a professional who has attained the equivalent of 
an advanced degree and possesses exceptional ability in her field of accounting. Other than claiming 
to be an advanced degree professional, the Petitioner does not discuss this eligibility ground for EB-2 
visa classification and the Director does not analyze this issue. As the Petitioner does not claim on 
appeal that she is an advanced degree professional or that the Director erred by not analyzing whether 
she is an advanced degree professional, we consider the issue to be waived. See, e.g., Matter of 
O-R-E-, 428 l&N Dec. 330, 336 n.5 {BIA 2021) (citing Matter of R-A-M-, 25 l&N Dec. 657, 658 n.2 
(BIA 2012)). 
The Director determined that the Petitioner submitted documentation satisfying at least three of six 
categories of evidence under 8 C.F.R. § 204.5(k)(3)(ii) for demonstrating exceptional ability. 
However, in conducting a final merits determination, the Director found the Petitioner's evidence in 
its totality did not show that she is recognized as having the requisite degree of expertise in the field 
of accounting, as claimed, and will substantially benefit the national economy, cultural or educational 
interests, or welfare of the United States as required under section 203(b)(2)(A) of the Act to establish 
her eligibility for EB-2 classification as an individual of exceptional ability. 
The Director further determined that while the submitted evidence established that the Petitioner is 
well positioned to advance her proposed endeavor, the Petitioner has not demonstrated her proposed 
endeavor is of substantial merit and national importance and that it would be beneficial to the United 
States to waive the job offer and labor certification requirements. 
On appeal, the Petitioner submits a brief. As the Petitioner has not demonstrated the national 
impmiance of the proposed endeavor, as outlined below, we reserve the Petitioner's arguments 
3 See Flores v. Garland, 72 F.4th 85, 88 (5th Cir. 2023) Uoining the Ninth, Eleventh, and D.C. Circuit Courts (and Third 
in an unpublished decision) in concluding that USCIS' decision to grant or deny a national interest waiver is discretionary 
in nature). 
2 
regarding whether she qualifies for EB-2 visa classification as an individual of exceptional ability and 
whether the Petitioner has demonstrated the third Dhanasar prong. See INS v. Bagamasbad, 429 U.S. 
24, 25 (1976) (stating that agencies are not required to make "purely advisory findings" on issues that 
are unnecessary to the ultimate decision); see also Matter of L-A-C-, 26 l&N Dec. 516, 526 n.7 (BIA 
2015) (declining to reach alternative issues on appeal where an applicant is otherwise ineligible). 
Ill. NATIONAL INTEREST WAIVER 
Regarding the national interest waiver, the first prong of the Dhanasar framework for national interest 
waivers relates to substantial merit and national importance of the specific proposed endeavor. Matter 
of Dhanasar, 26 l&N Dec. at 889. To support her assertion that her proposed endeavor has substantial 
merit and national importance, the Petitioner submitted evidence including an executive summary 
statement requesting that we allow her attorney's brief to serve as her statement, a proposed endeavor 
statement, a professional plan, an updated professional plan, two expert letters, and recommendation 
letters. 
According to the Petitioner, her proposed endeavor is to offer her vast experience to implement the 
most modern accounting strategies and techniques, evaluate financial operations, recommend best 
practices, identify problems and create strategies and solutions, help organizations run efficiently, 
provide guidance on reducing costs, increasing revenue, and maximizing profits, and provide risk 
analysis to drive exponential growth for U.S. organizations. 
The professional plans submitted by the Petitioner describe the role of accounting in businesses, the 
Petitioner's accounting experience and clarify that she proposes to use her experience to advise U.S. 
companies on how to maximize or increase their profit, to protect their market value, enhance 
profitability, thereby affecting other sectors of the U.S. economy and life. The expert letter dated 
October 2022, is authored by an associate professor of accounting from 
who stated the Petitioner will work in an area of substantial merit and national importance and offer 
diversified accounting and consulting services to allow U.S. companies to increase their efficiency 
and productivity, thereby stimulating the U.S. economy. The author describes the Petitioner's capacity 
to develop strong relationships and her ability to teach financial concepts to impart information and 
publicize her services. Another expert letter, dated June 2023, and authored by an assistant professor 
of accounting at I I who, in addressing the national importance of the Petitioner's 
endeavor, discussed the Petitioner's background, the importance of accounting industry, and asserted 
that the Petitioner's endeavor would contribute to optimizing and advancing U.S. financial institutions, 
and meet the demand for accounting officials. The Petitioner's recommendation letters, authored by 
her work colleagues, discussed the impact of her work for the authors' respective employers. 
The Director determined that the Petitioner did not establish her proposed endeavor is of substantial 
merit and that she did not submit sufficient independent objective evidence to establish that her 
proposed endeavor will have a broader impact outside the organizations that will employ her or that 
the benefits to the regional or national economy resulting from her proposed endeavor would reach 
the level of "substantial positive economic effects" commensurate with national importance as 
contemplated by the first prong of Dhanasar. 
3 
The first prong, substantial merit and national importance, focuses on the specific endeavor that the 
individual proposes to undertake. Id. The endeavor's merit may be demonstrated in arange of areas 
such as business, entrepreneurial ism, science, technology, culture, health, or education. Id. On appeal, 
the Petitioner asserts that her proposed endeavor will generate positive impacts in all of these 
segments, but most specifically business and entrepreneurialism. Although the Director found the 
proposed endeavor did not possess substantial merit, the Petitioner's proposed plans and expert letters 
reflect her endeavor falls within one or more of the areas contemplated by Dhanasar. The Petitioner 
has therefore sufficiently established the substantial merit of her endeavor, and we withdraw the 
Director's determination to the contrary. 
In determining whether the proposed endeavor has national importance, we consider its potential 
prospective impact. Id. The Petitioner's brief submitted below addressed the national importance of 
her endeavor, explaining how accounting is the backbone of any and all businesses, how providing 
specialized accounting services allows a business to run efficiently, effectively, and accurately, how 
minor accounting errors can generate financial losses, unhappy customers, and legal action, and how 
estimated revenue from accounting services is a significant economic contributor. However, in 
determining national importance, the relevant question is not the importance of the industry or 
profession in which the individual will work; instead, we focus on "the specific endeavor that the 
foreign national proposes to undertake." Id. 
In the underlying brief, the Petitioner claimed that her proposed endeavor has significant potential to 
employ U.S. workers, and to allow U.S. companies to achieve efficient and effective growth through 
accurate data-driven decisions. The Petitioner further asserted that her expertise in accounting taxation 
will assist small businesses advance, which will contribute to the finance industry and will impact the 
local economy and social welfare of the American people, and that her knowledge of Brazi Iian and 
U.S. markets and tax regulations will allow her to advise U.S. companies and facilitate the export of 
U.S. goods and services. However, as noted by the Director, the Petitioner did not present independent 
objective evidence in the record below to corroborate her assertions. Her professional plans provided, 
for example, statistics on small businesses stating they account for 44% of U.S. economic activity and 
the Petitioner deduced from this data, without explanation, that her endeavor, which includes helping 
a small business' accounting practice, will thereby affect the greater economy. The expert letters 
described, e.g., the Petitioner's skills such as her ability to develop strong relationships but did not 
similarly detail how her endeavor will allow U.S. companies to increase their efficiency and 
productivity to stimulate the U.S. economy. In addition, her recommendation letters did not describe 
the broader impact of the Petitioner's work on the national or global economy or the field of accounting 
in general. Moreover, the letters cover the Petitioner's prior work and accomplishments and relate 
more to the second prong pertaining to whether a petitioner is well-positioned to advance their 
proposed endeavor, rather than on the national importance of the endeavor itself under the first prong 
of the Dhanasar framework. Id. at 890.4 We therefore agree with the Director's finding that the 
Petitioner did not establish that her proposed endeavor will have a broader impact outside the 
organizations that will employ her or that the benefits to the regional or national economy resulting 
from her proposed endeavor would reach the level of "substantial positive economic effects" as 
4 In response to the Director's request for evidence, the Petitioner also described how her services are valued and discusses 
a few employers' intent to hire her. However, this information would also relate more to the second Dhanasar prong, 
which "shifts the focus from the proposed endeavor to the foreign national" rather than the national importance of her 
endeavor. 
4 
contemplated by the first prong of Dhanasar. Id. Moreover, although she asserts that she could 
broadly impact the field by single-handedly providing accounting services to affect the finance 
industry and the social welfare of the American people, the record does not show that her proposed 
endeavor has broader implications beyond her current and future customers. 
The Petitioner also explained in her underlying brief that there is a professional demand for 
accountants and a talent shortage, and her services will create better accounting departments, which 
will attract more candidates for accounting positions. However, the alleged shortage of occupations 
or occupational skills does not render her proposed endeavor nationally important under the Dhanasar 
framework. In fact, such shortages of qualified workers are directly addressed by the U.S. Department 
of Labor through the labor certification process. Moreover, as stated above, the Petitioner does not 
explain how her claims of improving accounting departments, even if substantiated by the record, 
effects and establish national importance." Id. at 890. 
On appeal, the Petitioner asserts that her evidence may not be tangible or quantifiable but is 
nonetheless significant. However, the Petitioner does not explain what evidence is significant or how 
the Director erred in determining that the record does not support the national importance of her 
endeavor. Rather, the Petitioner's appeal brief restates the assertions in the record below that her 
professional plans support the national importance of her endeavor, the accounting field is nationally 
important, her endeavor will address national shortages of accountants, and we should weigh her 
professional history, accomplishments, and professional demand in assessing the national importance 
of her endeavor. Our analysis above serves to address these assertions on appeal. 
The Petitioner also highlights that her services will be relevant to the small business sector, which 
plays a vital role in the United States economy and is a matter that a government entity has described 
as having national importance. She specifies on appeal that small businesses fail due to difficulties 
related to financial operations and specialized accounting services like what she can provide are 
necessary to the survival of small businesses. In evaluating national importance under the first prong 
of the Dhanasar framework, we will consider evidence demonstrating how a specific proposed 
endeavor impacts a matter that a government entity has described as having national importance or a 
matter that is the subject of national initiatives. However, the Petitioner must demonstrate the potential 
prospective impact of her specific proposed endeavor in that area, which she has not done. The 
Petitioner does not submit evidence or point to where in the record she establishes that any benefits to 
smal I businesses from her endeavor would reach the level of "substantial positive economic effects" 
contemplated by Dhanasar. Id. Accordingly, the Petitioner has not established the national 
importance of her proposed endeavor under prong one of Dhanasar. 
IV. CONCLUSION 
As the Petitioner has not met the requisite first prong of the Dhanasar analytical framework, we conclude 
that she has not established she is eligible for or otherwise merits a national interest waiver as a matter 
of discretion. The appeal will be dismissed for the above stated reason. 
ORDER: The appeal is dismissed. 
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