dismissed EB-2 NIW Case: Aviation

U.S. Citizenship 
and Immigration 
Services 
In Re: 26399878 
Appeal of Texas Service Center Decision 
Non-Precedent Decision of the 
Administrative Appeals Office 
Date: Apr. 1 7, 2023 
Form 1-140, Immigrant Petition for Alien Workers (National Interest Waiver) 
The Petitioner, a pilot, seeks second preference immigrant classification as an individual of 
exceptional ability, as well as a national interest waiver of the job offer requirement attached to this 
EB-2 classification . 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 the Petitioner had not 
established 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. 8 C.F.R. § 103.3. 1 
The Petitioner bears the burden of proof to demonstrate eligibility by a preponderance of the evidence. 
Matter of Chawathe, 25 I&N Dec. 369, 375-76 (AAO 2010). We review the questions in this matter 
de novo. Matter of Christa's, Inc., 26 I&N Dec. 537,537 n.2 (AAO 2015). 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. Section 203(b )(2)(B)(i) of the Act. Next, a 
petitioner must then demonstrate 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 I&N Dec. 884, 889 
(AAO 2016) provides that U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) may, as matter of 
discretion 2, grant a national interest waiver if the petitioner shows: 
• The proposed endeavor has both substantial merit and national importance; 
1 The Director erroneously informed the Petitioner that he had no appeal rights. See 8 C.F.R. § 103.3(a)(l)(ii) ; AAO 
Practice Manual, Ch. l .4(a), https://www.uscis.gov /aao-practice -manual ; and https://www.uscis.gov /archive/appeals-of­
denied-petitions-under-the-jurisdiction-of-the-administrative-appeals-office-aao-by. Because the Petitioner filed a timely 
appeal, the Director made a harmless error and has no negative impact in the adjudication of this appeal. 
2 See also Poursina v. USCIS, 936 F.3d 868 (9th Cir. 2019) (finding USCIS' decision to grant or deny a national interest 
waiver to be discretionary in nature) . 
• The individual is well-positioned to advance the proposed endeavor; and 
• On balance, waiving the job offer requirement would benefit the United States. 
II. ANALYSIS 
The Director concluded the Petitioner qualifies for second preference immigrant classification as an 
individual of exceptional ability. Accordingly, the remaining issue to be determined on appeal is 
whether the Petitioner has established a waiver of the requirement of a job offer, and thus a labor 
certification, would be in the national interest. 
The first prong relates to substantial merit and national importance of the specific proposed endeavor. 
Dhanasar, 26 I&N Dec. at 889. The Petitioner initially provided a statement indicating: 
I intend to continue working as a commercial/private Aircraft Pilot, 
Captain/Commander, and extend my trainings and skills to also develop my career and 
become a trainer and examiner capable to support new pilots and/or the professional 
development of my peers. 
In that sense, I plan to perform this using my long experience in the airline industry, which 
have allowed me to achieve expressive results, hold important positions, help in the 
preparation of several new pilots for their career in major airlines, and support the 
development of my peers, throughout the world, especially in America. I also intend to 
help the airline industry in the United States to fulfill its pilots' shortage by sharing my 
experience with new professionals and allowing them to develop crucial tasks in airline 
compames. 
Through my vast experience in the aviation field, I plan on sharing my abilities with the 
new professionals in the American market, in order to help them to advance in their career. 
I am well qualified to evaluate the performance of my peers, specially [sic] the pilots who 
will fly as my First Officers. My experience as an [sic] Captain is critical for the 
preparation of new pilots. Also, an experienced pilot plays an essential role in the 
evaluation of professionals for an airline. Therefore, with the use of these skills, combined 
with my flight experience that now exceeds 10,000 hours, I expect to help with the 
development of major airlines in the American market and help them to find the 
professional that fits their needs. 
Also, I firmly believe that my continued presence in the United States will allow me to 
quickly further advance in my field of endeavor, as the United States has the largest 
aviation market in the world. I have vast experience as a commercial pilot who has 
worked for the most significant fleet in the market. My extensive experience combined 
with the skills I have acquired by all the specialization that I made, places me as an unique 
professional with the stature to provide essential services in qualifying other pilots. 
Because of this background, I will serve the American aviation market not only as a pilot, 
but also, in a near future, as a professional that can work with airline companies to future 
development of new training and examination systems. 
2 
In response to the Director's request for evidence, the Petitioner claimed: 
. . . I intend to work as a Commercial and Airline Pilot, flying planes, as First Officer or 
Captain, to transport passengers and cargo, contributing not only to the aviation industry, 
but to several industries that need the aviation to continue growing and developing, such 
as tourism, business, and logistics. Furthermore, I plan to become Instructor and 
Examiner, so I will train, qualify, and prepare new pilots, consequently helping the 
demand and shortage for new pilots that plagues the U.S. aviation industry. 
It is important to emphasize how important the aviation industry is to the United States of 
America. Air transport is a major contributor to global economic prosperity. Aviation 
provides the only rapid worldwide transportation network, which makes it essential for 
global business and tourism in addition to playing a vital role in facilitating economic 
growth, in every country .... 
. . . I expect to use my skills as a pilot to continue my work in the aviation field, providing 
services for Airlines in America, a country that has the major airlines in the world. My 
work as a pilot is essential to any business in the industry once without pilots, airlines 
cannot operate. Through my work as an Airline Pilot, I will contribute to the development 
and maintenance of the national logistics industry, transporting people and goods over 
scheduled or non-scheduled flights. Also, I intend to become an instructor and examiner, 
to support the development of the aviation industry by training new pilots and supporting 
the development of my peers . 
. . . I intend to continue working as an Aircraft Pilot, who will not only support companies 
in the field but also the whole industry to sustain it supremacy in the world. I plan to 
perform this job using my long experience in the airline industry, as a Commercial 
Aviation or Airline pilot. It is important to highlight that not all pilots can work as 
Commercial and Airline Pilots, like I can. Only a small number of pilots are qualified 
enough to work as airline pilots, which requires years of experience and at least 1,500 
hours of flight. In this sense, my main objective, if granted residency in the US, is to help 
the aviation market, which urgently needs qualified pilots to act. The absence of qualified 
professionals has already generated major consequences, such as the cancellation of 
flights, and as has been shown, the absence of flights harms several related markets, 
especially the logistics of people and cargo, and tourism. 
The Director determined the Petitioner demonstrated the proposed endeavor's substantial merit but not 
its national importance. On appeal, the Petitioner maintains: 
. . . [H]is plans are robust and beneficial, and among many duties, it is included to work 
as an Airline Pilot, flying planes, as First Officer or Captain, to transport passengers 
3 
and cargo, contributing not only to the aviation industry, but to several industries that 
depends on the aviation to continue growing and developing. His work will also 
support the social development of the nation when transporting people along the 
country and internationally. Furthermore, [the Petitioner] also intends to become 
licensed as a Flight and Type Rating Instructor and Examiner, training, qualifying, and 
preparing his peers and new pilots, consequently helping the development of the 
aviation industry, including the fight against the current pilot's shortage. 
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." See Dhanasar, 26 I&N Dec. at 889. Here, the Petitioner 
must demonstrate the national importance of his services as a pilot or instructor rather than the national 
importance of pilots, the aviation industry, or the wide range of business fields or industries impacted 
by aviation. In Dhanasar, we 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 implications 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 understood to have national 
importance." Id. at 890. 
In addition, while the Petitioner stresses his "trainings and skills," "long experience," "vast experience," 
and "extensive experience," the Petitioner's experience and abilities in his 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 Dhanasar's first prong. 
Moreover, to evaluate whether the Petitioner's proposed endeavor satisfies the national importance 
requirement, we look to evidence documenting the "potential prospective impact" of his work. Here, 
the Petitioner did not demonstrate that the prospective impact of continuing his work as a pilot or 
instructor 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. The record does not show how his individual pilot or 
teaching services stand to sufficiently extend beyond his potential or futuristic employers or students, 
to impact the industry or the U.S. economy more broadly at a level commensurate with national 
importance. 
Further, the Petitioner highlights the shortage of pilots in the U.S. workforce and contends that "[i]t is 
important to remember that Aviation, as Science, is part of the STEM [Science, Technology, 
Engineering, or Mathematics] professions," and the Federal Aviation Administration "is tracking the 
growing aviation employee shortage by ensuring a consistent pipeline of skilled Aerospace 
professional into the workforce, thereby securing a robust U.S. aviation industry in the future." With 
respect to the first prong, as in all cases, the evidence must demonstrate that a STEM endeavor has 
both substantial merit and national importance. 3 Many proposed endeavors that aim to advance STEM 
technologies and research, whether in academic or industry settings, not only have substantial merit 
3 See generally 6 USC1S Policy Manual F.5(D)(2), https://uscis.gov/policymanual. 
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in relation to U.S. science and technology interests, but also have sufficiently broad potential 
implications to demonstrate national importance. 4 On the other hand, while proposed classroom 
teaching activities in STEM, for example, may have substantial merit in relation to U.S. educational 
interests, such activities, by themselves, generally are not indicative of an impact in the field of STEM 
education more broadly, and therefore generally would not establish their national importance. 5 Thus, 
simply pursuing an endeavor in a STEM field does not automatically demonstrate eligibility for a 
national interest waiver. In this case, the Petitioner does not intend to advance STEM technologies 
and research. Rather, Petitioner seeks employment as a pilot or aviation instructor. Here, the 
Petitioner has not established how his individual employment would affect national aviation 
employment levels or the U.S. economy more broadly consistent with national importance. It is 
important to note that the shortage of pilots, as well as aviation instructors, does not render his 
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. 
Finally, the Petitioner did not establish that his proposed endeavor has significant potential to employ 
U.S. workers or otherwise offers substantial positive economic effects for our nation. Without relevant 
evidence regarding any projected U.S. economic impact or job creation attributable to his specific 
services as a pilot or aviation instructor, the record does not show any benefits to the U.S. regional or 
national economy resulting from the Petitioner's services would reach the level of "substantial positive 
economic effects" contemplated by Dhanasar. Id. at 890. 
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. 6 
III. CONCLUSION 
As the Petitioner has not met the requisite first prong of the Dhanasar analytical framework, we conclude 
that he has not demonstrated eligibility for or otherwise merits a national interest waiver as a matter 
of discretion. The appeal will be dismissed for the above stated reasons, with each considered as an 
independent and alternate basis for the decision. 
ORDER: 
4 Id. 
5 Id. 
The appeal is dismissed. 
6 See INS v. Bagamasbad, 429 U.S. 24, 25 (1976) (stating that ·'courts and agencies are not required to make findings on 
issues in the decision of which is unnecessary to the results they reach"); 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). 
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