dismissed EB-2 NIW Case: Architecture

U.S. Citizenship 
and Immigration 
Services 
MATTER OF K-0-A-A-
APPEAL OF TEXAS SERVICE CENTER DECISION 
Non-Precedent Decision of the 
Administrative Appeals Office 
DATE: JUNE 21, 2018 
PETITION: FORM I-140, IMMIGRANT PETITION FOR ALIEN WORKER 
The Petitioner, an architect, seeks second preference immigrant classification as a member of the 
professions holding an advanced degree, as well as a national interest waiver of the job offer 
requirement attached to this EB-2 classification. See Immigration and Nationality Act (the Act) 
section 203(b)(2), 8 U.S.C. § 1153(b)(2). After a petitioner has established eligibility for EB-2 
classification, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) may, as matter of discretion, 
grant a national interest waiver if the petitioner demonstrates: ( l) that the foreign national's 
proposed endeavor has both substantial merit and national importance; (2) that the foreign national is 
well positioned to advance the proposed endeavor; and (3) that, on balance, it would be beneficial to 
the United States to waive the requirements of a job offer and thus of a labor certification. Mauer of 
Dhanasar, 26 I&N Dec. 884 (AAO 2016). 
The Director of the Texas Service Center denied the Form I-140, Immigrant Petition for Alien 
Worker, finding that the Petitioner qualified for classification as a member of the professions 
holding an advanced degree, but that she had not established that a waiver of the required job offer, 
and thus of the labor certification, would be in the national interest. 
On appeal, the Petitioner contends that she is eligible for a national interest wmver under the 
Dhanasar framework. 
Upon de novo review, we will dismiss the appeal. 
I. LAW 
To establish eligibility for a national interest waiver, a petitioner must first demonstrate qualification 
for the underlying EB-2 visa classification, as either an· advanced degree professional or an 
individual of exceptional ability in the sciences, arts, or business. Because this classification 
requires that the individual's services be sought by a U.S. employer, a separate showing is required 
to establish that a waiver of the job offer requirement is in the national interest. 
Section 203(b) of the Act sets out this sequential framework: 
Matter of K-0-A-A-
(2) Aliens who are members of the professions holding advanced degrees or aliens of 
exceptional ability.-
(A) In general. - Visas shall be made available ... to qualified immigrants who 
are members of the professions holding advanced degrees or their equivalent 
or who because of their exceptional ability in the sciences, arts, or business, 
will substantially benefit prospectively the national economy, cultural or 
educational interests, or welfare of the United States, and whose services in 
the sciences, arts, professions, or business are sought by an employer in the 
United States. 
(B) Waiver of job offer-
(i) National interest waiver. ... [T]he Attorney General may, when the 
Attorney General deems it to be in the national interest, waive the 
requirements of subparagraph (A) that an alien's services in the sciences, arts, 
professions, or business be sought by an employer in the United States. 
While neither the statute nor the pertinent regulations define the term "national interest," we set forth 
a framework for adjudicating national interest waiver petitions in the precedent decision Mauer of 
Dhanasar, 26 I&N Dec. 884. 1 Dhanasar states that after EB-2 eligibility has been established, 
users may, as a matter of discretion, grant a national interest waiver when the below prongs are 
met. 
The first prong, substantial merit and national importance, focuses on the specific endeavor that the 
foreign national proposes to undertake. The endeavor's merit may be demonstrated in a range of 
areas such as business, entrepreneurialism, science, technology, culture, health, or education. In 
determining whether the proposed endeavor has national importance, we consider its potential 
prospective impact. 
The second prong shifts the focus from the proposed endeavor to the foreign national. To determine 
whether he or she is well positioned to advance the proposed endeavor, we consider factors 
including, but not limited to: the individual's education, skills, knowledge and record of success in 
related or similar efforts; a model or plan for future activities; any progress towards achieving the 
proposed endeavor; and the interest of potential customers, users, investors, or other relevant entities 
or individuals. 
The third prong requires the petitioner to demonstrate that, on balance, it would be beneficial to the 
United States to waive the requirements of a job offer and thus of a labor certification. In 
performing this analysis, users may evaluate factors such as: whether, in light of the nature of the 
1 In announcing this new framework, We vacated our prior precedent decision, Matter of New York State Department of 
Transportation, 22 I&N Dec. 215 (Act. Assoc. Comm'r 1998) (NYSD01). 
2 
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Matter o[K-0-A-A-
foreign national ' s qualifications or the proposed endeavor, it would be impractical either for the 
foreign national to secure a job offer or for the petitioner to obtain a labor certification; whether, 
even assuming that other qualified U.S. workers are available, the United States would still benefit 
from the foreign national's contributions; and whether the natio nal interest in the foreign national's 
contributions is sufficiently urgent to warrant forgoing the labor certification process. ln eac h case , 
the factor(s) considered must, taken together, indicate that on balance, it would be beneficial to the 
United States to waive the requirements of a job offer and thus of a labor certification. 
2 
II. ANALYSIS 
The Director found that the Petitoner qualifies as a member of the professions holding an advanced 
degree. 3 The sole issue to be determined is whether the Petitioner has established that a waiver of the 
requirement of a job offer, and thus a labor certification, would be in the national interest. 
With respect to her proposed endeavor, the Petitioner plans to design, produce , and market a multi­
functional bag, called for retail customers, non-profits, non-governm ental organizations, 
and humanitarian purposes (homeless and refugee populations) . She indicate s that she intends to 
introduce a «product that offers its users a multi-functional bag that can be available to all sectors of the 
market. From the homeless person to the family that is leaving on a family vacation and wants an 
effortless way to carry necessities." 4 In addition, the Petitioner states that she will partner " with 
organizations like the to supply them with bags and form a "wo rker's 
cooperative" enlisting "the homeless who want to work ... for this endeavor." 
The Petitioner provides her 
and a non-disclosure agreement with 
bag manufacturer). She identifies her role for the project as 
duties involve managing "financial and human resource roles. " The 
(a 
and states that her 
lists four other project team members, all under the direction of the 
Petitioner. In addition, she submits a Jetter from the s~nior pastor of her church pledging money for 
project funding, a letter from endorsing her product, and a letter from 
(a charitable organization with offices in Minnesota and Ghan a) offe ring to 
manufacture " sleeping bag component" at vocational school in Ghana. 
The record includes an article from the American Psychological Association discussing the eff~cts of 
poverty, hunger, and homelessne ss on children and youth. In addition , the Petiti oner presents webpages 
describing the causes of homelessness , its effects, and potential solutions to the problem. She also 
2 See Dhwwsar, 26 I&N Dec. at 888-91, for elaboration on these three prongs. 
~ The record reflects that the Petitioner received a master of architecture degree (2015) from the 
At the time of filing, the Petitioner was working as an intern architect with 
designing and preparing "production drawings tor multi-family residences.'' 
4 
The Petitioner's describes her product as "a practical bag that can be used by campers, children 
on overnight stays, athletes as well as anyone who is in transit and may or may not have a room to sleep. This bag ... can 
transform how people think about sleeping bags, overnight bags, and camping supplies." 
3 
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Matter of K-0-A-A-
offers a research article that emphasizes the importance of employment in preventing or ending 
homelessness. We find that the Petitioner 's proposed work, which aims to advance her entrepreneurial 
project, create jobs for the homeless, and assist them through her product, has substantial merit. 
Although the Director stated that the Petitioner established the national importance of her proposed 
endeavor of "designing and innovating for the homeless, elderly , and neglected communitie s in the 
United States," we will withdraw the .Director's finding on this issue. To evaluate whether the 
Petitioner's work satisfies the national importance requirement we look to evidence documenting the. 
"potential prospective impact" of her work. The relevant question is not the importance of the fields, 
industries, or causes for which the individual will work; instead we focus on the " the specific 
endeavor that the foreign national proposes to undertake." See Dhanasar, 26 l&N Dec. at 889. In 
Dhanasar, we noted that " [a]n undertaking may have national importance for example, because it 
has national or even global implications within a particular field." We also stated that "[a ]n 
endeavor that has · significant potential to employ U.S. workers or has othe r s ubstantial positive 
economic effects, particularly in an economically depressed area, for ins tance, ma y well be 
understood to have national importance." !d. at 890. Here, the record does not sufficiently explain or 
document the potential prospective impact of the specific proposed endeavor to support a finding that it 
has national importance . 
The includes financial information 
relating to the development and marketing of the bag. According to this document , the 
Petitioner 's project has start-up ·costs of $250,000 , and projected sales of $250 ,000 in year one, 
$500,000 in year two, and $2,500,000 in year three . The document further states: "To keep the cost 
of production down and to preserve unique identity, its components would be 
manufactured in various countries e.g. Ghana and Far East Asia. Assembly would be in the United 
States for quality control and to produce a singular!y made-in-America piece of merchand ise." 
The documentation submitted, however, does not explain how these metrics demonstrat e that the 
Petitioner's endeavor will offer substantial economic benefits to the region in the United States 
where her product will be assembled or to the nation. First, the Petitioner has not identified the 
location of business and assembly operations, nor has she provided information regarding 
any projected job creation through its assembly operation in the United States.5 While the financial 
forecasts for indicate that the Petitioner's project has growth potential , they do not show that 
benefits to the regional or national economy wotild reach the level of "subst antial positive economic 
effects" contemplated by Dhanasar.6 In addition , although the Petitioner claims that the com pany "will 
provide a source of income for the homeless who want to work" on her project, she has not offered 
sufficient evidence that the area where will be located is economic ally depressed, that she 
5 For example, the non-disclosure agreement with lists t he Petitioner's residential 
apartment address. The Petitioner's documentation does not:indicate where operations will be housed, where its 
U.S. employees will work. · 
6 Furthermore, we note that the Petitioner does not adequately explain how these financial forecasts were calculated. 
4 
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Matter of K-0-A-A-
would employ a significant population of homeless individual s in that area/ or that her project 
would offer the region or its population a substantial economic benefit through either its employmen t 
levels or product sales. 
In addition, while she states that her "vision is to create a multi-functional bag that will become known 
globally tor revolutionizing how many people think of the tote bag of today," she does not sufficiently 
explain or demonstrate how her future work stands to affect a field or industry , s uch as the tote bag 
industry or architectural design field. Finally, although the Pe titioner asserts that the product itself 
will offer benefit s to vulnerable populati ons such as the homel ess and refug ees , she ha s not shown 
that her endeavor stands to impact those populations at a level consistent with havin g national 
importance. While she asserts that the functionality offered by the bag would signi ficantly benefit those 
populations, the Petitioner has not described or documented plans for this product to be widely 
distributed or made available to them. The record does not include sufficient information or evidence 
rega rding the number of individuals her product stan<;ls to impact , nor has the Petitioner adequatel y 
shown the prospective broader implications of her endeavor for the populations she propose s to help. 
As the record lacks sufficient information and evidence to esta blish the natio nal importanc e of her 
proposed endeavor(s) as required by the first prong of the Dhwzasar prece dent dec ision, the 
Petitioner has not demonstrated eligibility for a national inte rest waiver. Further anal ysis of her 
eligibility under the second and third prongs outlined in Dhanasar, therefore, would se rve no 
meaningful purpose. 
Ill. CONCLUSION 
As the Petitioner has not met the requisite three prongs set forth in the Dhanasar analytical framework, 
we find that she has not established she is eligible for or otherwise me rits a national interest waiver 
as a matter of discretion. 
ORDER: The appeal is dismissed. 
Cite as Matter of K-0-A-A- , 10# 1392402 (AAO Jun e 21, 2018) 
7 The Petitioner does not specify the number of homeless people she is proposing, to employ, nor has she explained the 
capacity in which they would work considering she has indicated that will he 
assembling the products. 
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