dismissed EB-2 NIW Case: Architecture

U.S. Citizenship 
and Immigration 
Services 
In Re: 11105896 
Appeal of Texas Service Center Decision 
Non-Precedent Decision of the 
Administrative Appeals Office 
Date: AUG. 11 , 2021 
Form 1-140, Immigrant Petition for Alien Worker (Advanced Degree, Exceptional Ability, National 
Interest Waiver) 
The Petitioner 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). 
The Director of the Texas Service Center denied the petition, concluding that the Petitioner qualified 
for classification as a member of the professions holding an advanced degree, but that he 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 submits a brief asserting that he is eligible for a national interest waiver. 
In these proceedings, it is the petitioner's burden to establish eligibility for the immigration benefit 
sought. Section 291 of the Act, 8 U.S.C. § 1361. Upon de nova 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: 
(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 ofjob 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 Matter of 
Dhanasar, 26 I&N Dec. 884 (AAO 2016). 1 Dhanasar states that after a petitioner has established 
eligibility for EB-2 classification, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) may, as matter 
of discretion,2 grant a national interest waiver if the petitioner demonstrates: (1) 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. 
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, USCIS may evaluate factors such as: whether, in light of the nature of the 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 national interest in the foreign national's contributions is 
1 In announcing this new framework, we vacated our prior precedent decision, Matter of New York State Department of 
Transportation, 22 l&N Dec. 215 (Act. Assoc. Comm'r 1998) (NYSDOT). 
2 See also Poursina v. USC1S, No. 17-16579, 2019 WL 4051593 (Aug. 28, 2019) (finding USCIS' decision to grant or 
deny a national interest waiver to be discretionary in nature). 
2 
sufficiently urgent to warrant forgoing the labor certification process. In each 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. 3 
II. ANALYSIS 
The Director found that the Petitioner qualifies as a member of the professions holding an advanced 
degree. The remaining 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. For the 
reasons discussed below, we agree with the Director that the Petitioner has not sufficiently 
demonstrated the national importance of his proposed endeavor under the first prong of the Dhanasar 
analytical framework. 4 
Regarding his claim of eligibility under Dhanasar' s first prong, the Petitioner asserts that he intends to 
continue working in the field of architecture in the United States. The Petitioner is currently employed 
as a designer with C-, an architectural design firm, where he "has been supporting the company's projects 
to expand and build three healthcare facilities in [Maryland]." He further discusses his proposed 
endeavor, as follows:5 
Ideally, with the approval of this petition, I will grow into a Senior Designer role at my 
company and contribute to the improvement of American land-building construction 
techniques. My work will bring economic growth and will attract local professionals to 
join my projects. Through my projects, I will establish business activities which will open 
doors and new business between the U.S. and Brazil, and the U.S. and Portugal.6 This 
will help the economy, locally, and nationally. 
I can use my expertise to work on any architectural project phase, local, national, and 
international; attract new business to my company [C-] using my professional network 
and knowledge; [ and], deliver high quality projects to clients of my company. 
The record includes information about the job outlook for architectural drafters and architects, the 
demand for architects in the United States, the impact of hospitals as economic drivers within their 
communities, the importance of high performing healthcare infrastructure to the United States, as well 
as the need to build hospitals that are resilient to natural or human-induced disasters. In addition, the 
Petitioner provides articles discussing guidance for becoming an architectural drafter or architect. The 
record therefore shows that the Petitioner's proposed work as an architectural drafter has substantial 
merit. 
3 See Dhanasar, 26 T&N Dec. at 888-91, for elaboration on these three prongs. 
4 The Petitioner submitted evidence to establish his eligibility for the benefit sought in the petition. While we may not 
discuss every document submitted, we have reviewed and considered each one. 
5 We note that, while information about the nature of the Petitioner's proposed endeavor is necessary for us to determine 
whether he satisfies the Dhanasar framework, he need not have a job offer from a specific employer as he is applying for 
a waiver of the job offer requirement. 
6 Notably, the Petitioner does not further explain or document how his work within the field of architecture in the United 
States will "establish business activities which will open doors and new business between the U.S. and Brazil, and the U.S. 
and Portugal." 
3 
In determining national importance , the relevant question is not the importance of the field, industry , 
or profession in which the individual will work; instead we focus on the "the specific endeavor that 
the foreign national proposes to undertake. " See Dhanasar , 26 I&N Dec. at 889. In Dhanasar, we 
further noted that "we look for broader implications " of the proposed endeavor and that "[a]n 
undertaking may have national importance for example, because it has national or even global 
implication s within a particular field." Id. We also stated that "[a]n endeavor that has significant 
potential to employ U.S. workers or has other substantial positive economic effects , particularly in an 
economically depressed area, for instance , may well be under stood to have national importance ." Id. 
at 890. 
On appeal, the Petitioner highlights that he has "over ten ( 10) years of progressive experience in the field 
of real estate, healthcare, construction and architecture, among others," and references the knowledge that 
he gained through his academic degrees within the field of architecture. The Petitioner's experience 
acquired through his years of employment and his academic pursuits in the field relate to the second prong 
of the Dhanasar framework, which "shifts the focus from the proposed endeavor to the foreign national." 
Id. at 890. The issue here is whether the specific endeavor that he proposes to undertake has national 
importance under Dhanasa r's first prong. 
Additionally , the Petitioner asserts that his "field of endeavor includes the design and construction of 
healthcare facilities, which are vital to the nation, both on a societal and economic level." He also 
contends that his undertaking "will produce substantially positive social and economic opportunities 
for the nation , due to the ripple effects of his professional activities." The Petitioner further states that 
through his work in the field he "will generate social and economic opportunities , which when 
implemented by other companies in the industry, will maximize business revenue , and ultimately will 
increase the flow of money in the U.S. on a national level, thus contributing to U.S. gross domestic 
product (GDP)." 
To evaluate whether the Petitioner 's propo sed endeavor satisfie s the national importance requirement 
we look to evidence documenting the "potential prospective impact" of his work. The Petitioner's 
statements reflect his intention to be employed as an architectural drafter who seeks to ultimately 
become a senior designer with an architectural firm, but he has not offered sufficient infonnation and 
evidence to demon strate that the prospective impact of his propos ed endeavor rises to the level of 
national importance. In Dhanasar we determined that the petitioner's teaching activities did not rise 
to the level of having national importance because they would not impact his field more broadly. Id. 
at 893. Here , we conclude the record does not show that the Petitioner's proposed endeavor stands to 
sufficiently extend beyond his employers and their clientele to impact his field or the U.S. healthcare 
industry more broadly at a level commensurate with national importance. 
Furthermore, the Petitioner has not demonstrated that the specific endeavor he proposes to undertake 
has significant potential to employ U.S . workers or otherwise offers substantial positive economic 
effects for our nation. Without sufficient information or evidence regarding any projected U.S. economic 
impact or job creation attributable to his future work, the record does not show that benefits to the U.S. 
regional or national economy resulting from the Petitioner's participation in architectural design projects 
would reach the level of "substantial positive economic effects" contemplated by Dhanasar. Id. at 890. 
Accordingly, the Petition er's propo sed work does not meet the first prong of the Dhanasar framework. 
4 
Because the documentation in the record does not establish the national importance of his proposed 
endeavor as required by the first prong of the Dhanasar precedent decision, the Petitioner has not 
demonstrated eligibility for a national interest waiver. Further analysis of his eligibility under the second 
and third prongs outlined in Dhanasar, therefore, would serve no meaningful purpose. 
III. CONCLUSION 
As the Petitioner has not met the requisite first prong of the Dhanasar analytical framework, we conclude 
that he has not established he is eligible for or otherwise merits a national interest waiver as a matter 
of discretion. 
ORDER: The appeal is dismissed. 
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