dismissed EB-2 NIW Case: Aviation

U.S. Citizenship 
and Immigration 
Services 
Non-Precedent Decision of the
Administrative Appeals Office 
Date: AUG. 1, 2024 In Re: 31641642 
Appeal of Texas Service Center Decision 
Form 1-140, Immigrant Petition for Alien Workers (National Interest Waiver) 
The Petitioner, a pilot, seeks employment-based second preference (EB-2) 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 classification. See Immigration and Nationality Act (the Act) 
section 203(b )(2), 8 U.S.C. § 1 l 53(b )(2). 
The Director of the Texas Service Center denied the petition, concluding that the record did not 
establish that the Petitioner is eligible for or otherwise merits a national interest waiver as a matter of 
discretion. The matter is now before us on appeal. 8 C.F.R. § 103.3. 
The Petitioner bears the burden of proof to demonstrate eligibility by a preponderance of the evidence. 
Matter ofChawathe, 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. 
An advanced degree is any U.S. academic or professional degree or a foreign equivalent degree above 
that of baccalaureate. 8 C.F.R. § 204.5(k)(2). A U.S. baccalaureate degree or a foreign equivalent 
degree followed by five years of progressive experience in the specialty shall be considered the 
equivalent of a master's degree. Id. 
Profession is defined as one of the occupations listed in section 101(a)(32) of the Act, 8 U.S.C. 
§ 110l(a)(32), 1 as well as any occupation for which a U .S. baccalaureate degree or its foreign 
equivalent is the minimum requirement for entry into the occupation. 8 C.F.R. § 204.5(k)(2). 
1 Profession shall include, but not be limited to, architects, engineers, lawyers, physicians, surgeons, and teachers in 
elementary or secondary schools, colleges, academics, or seminaries. Section 10l(a)(32) of the Act. 
Once a petitioner demonstrates eligibility as either a member of the professions holding an advanced 
degree or an individual of exceptional ability, they must then establish that they merit a discretionary 
waiver of the job offer requirement "in the national interest." Section 203(b)(2)(B)(i) of the Act. 
While neither the statute nor the pertinent regulations define the term "national interest," Matter of 
Dhanasar, 26 I&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 2, 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. 
The first prong, substantial merit and national importance, focuses on the specific endeavor that the 
individual 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. 
Id. 
The second prong shifts the focus from the proposed endeavor to the individual. To determine whether 
they are well positioned to advance the proposed endeavor, we consider factors including, but not 
limited to: their 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. Id. at 890. 
The third prong requires a 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, we may evaluate factors such as: whether, in light of the nature of the individual's 
qualifications or the proposed endeavor, it would be impractical either for them to secure a job offer 
or to obtain a labor certification; whether, even assuming that other qualified U.S. workers are 
available, the United States would still benefit from their contributions; and whether the national 
interest in their contributions is sufficiently urgent to warrant forgoing the labor certification process. 
In each case, the factor(s) considered must, taken together, establish 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. 
Id. at 890-91. 
II. ANALYSIS 
The Petitioner proposed to work in the United States as a pilot, a flight simulator instructor, a flight 
standards specialist, and an extended twin-engine operations (ETOPS) expert in the field of aviation. 
2 See Flores v. Garland. 72 F.4th 85. 88 (5th Cir. 2023) (joining the Ninth, Eleventh, District of Columbia, and Third 
Circuit Courts in concluding that USCIS' decision to grant or deny a national interest waiver is discretionary in nature). 
2 
The 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. The Director determined that the Petitioner qualifies for 
EB-2 visa classification as an individual holding an advanced degree based on his bachelor's degree 
in business administration from ________________ and letters from his 
employers showing that he has at least five years of progressive post-baccalaureate experience in the 
specialty, and we agree. The remaining issue on appeal is whether the Petitioner is eligible or 
otherwise merits a waiver of that classification's job offer requirement. 
The Director determined that the Petitioner's proposed endeavor to work as a pilot in the field of 
aviation has both substantial merit and national importance, but the Petitioner has not established that 
he is well positioned to advance the proposed endeavor and 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. 
On appeal, the Petitioner contends that the Director did not consider all the evidence submitted and 
maintains that he is well positioned to advance his proposed endeavor and 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. Upon de novo review, we conclude that the Petitioner has not established national 
importance of his proposed endeavor. 
In support of his claims of national importance, the Petitioner claims that he will work as a pilot in 
executive, commercial, and cargo American aviation, will carry passengers and cargo safely, fulfilling 
schedules, and avoiding flight delays, and will contribute to clients' satisfaction and enhance tourism 
and business trade. The Petitioner also asserts that he will serve as a special cargo and dangerous 
goods pilot for airlines and transportation companies and will export American products worldwide, 
helping the U.S. economic growth. The record contains expert opinion letters, recommendation 
letters, various articles and reports, and other evidence in support of his claim. While we may not 
address each piece of evidence individually, we have reviewed and considered each one. 
The record includes an expert opinion letter from I I an aviation coordinator and a 
lecturer at I I which describes the Petitioner's proposed endeavor in detail. 
Professor I I asserts that the Petitioner's proposed endeavor has both substantial merit and 
national importance because aviation plays a critical role in the U.S. economy and is an important 
contributor to the country's gross domestic product, is essential for facilitating global trade as it 
enables the transportation of goods and products across the world, and has a significant social impact, 
connecting people and cultures across the country and the world, promoting tourism, and contributing 
to local and national economies. The Petitioner provided statistics on air traffic. He also submitted 
various articles about air cargo traffic, the economic impact of commercial aviation, the importance 
of air cargo to the global economy, the economic and social benefits of air transport, shipping 
perishable goods and live animals, and shipping dangerous goods. 
The expert opinion letter and articles discuss the economic and social benefits of aviation and the 
importance of air cargo to the global economy. 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 noncitizen proposes to undertake. See 
Dhanasar, 26 I&N Dec. at 889. As such, the Petitioner must demonstrate by a preponderance of the 
3 
evidence that his proposed endeavor - to work as a pilot, a flight simulator instructor, a flight standards 
specialist, and an ETOPS expert in the field of aviation - is of national importance. 
The articles and reports do not directly address the Petitioner's specific proposed undertaking and do 
not adequately explain how his proposed endeavor offers benefits that extend beyond his employer 
and their customers to impact the field of aviation, the trade industry, the shipping industry, the tourism 
industry, or the U.S. economy more broadly. The expert opinion letter discusses about the field of 
aviation but not the Petitioner's specific proposed endeavor. In Dhanasar, we indicated that we look 
for broader implications of the proposed endeavor and that an undertaking may have national 
importance, for example, because it has national or even global implications within a particular field. 
See id. at 889. While the Petitioner's statements reflect his intention to provide services as a pilot for 
airlines and transportation companies and their customers, the expert opinion letter, articles, and 
reports do not address the Petitioner's specific proposed endeavor to demonstrate that the prospective 
impact of his proposed endeavor rises to the level of national importance. Without sufficient 
documentary evidence of its broader impact, the Petitioner has not established by a preponderance of 
the evidence that his proposed endeavor meets the national importance element of the first prong of 
the Dhanasar framework. 
In addition, the Petitioner claims that he will work in the United States in an area of substantial merit 
and national importance. Professor I I also states that the Petitioner's proposed endeavor has 
both substantial merit and national importance because the proposed endeavor impacts a matter that a 
government entity has described as having national importance or is the subject of national initiatives. 
Professor I I adds that in 2020, the U.S. government launched the Aviation Jobs Protection 
Program to support aviation industry workers who were affected by the COVID-19 pandemic and that 
in 2022, several U.S. Senators introduced the Let Experienced Pilots Fly Act to address flight 
cancellations that have been caused by the ongoing pilot shortage. 
The Petitioner also submitted evidence of some U.S. government initiatives demonstrating the 
importance of pilots in the aviation industry. For example, he presented National Aviation Safety Plan 
published by the Federal A via ti on Administration (FAA) in 2022 to pursue the highest level of safety 
in the national airspace system and improve aviation safety. He also presented a document published 
in the Federal Register in 2020 about the FAA's aircraft pilot workforce development grant program. 
He provided an article about the Forces to Flyers Research Initiatives, an initiative launched by the 
U.S. Department of Transportation in 2017 to train non-pilot veterans to become commercial pilots. 
He submitted a press release published in the FAA website, which shows that in 2023, the FAA 
awarded about $1 billion from President Biden's Bipartisan Infrastructure Law to 99 airports across 
the country to help meet the growing demand for air travel and improve airports infrastructure and the 
passenger expenence. 
While the U.S. government initiatives show the government's support for aviation industry workers 
and airports infrastructure, address the shortage of commercial pilots, emphasize aviation safety, and 
recognize the importance of pilots and the airline industry to the U.S. economy and national security, 
they do not indicate that the government has a particular interest in the Petitioner's planned 
employment activities. The record does not sufficiently demonstrate how his planned employment 
activities will make an impact on a matter that a government entity has described as having national 
importance or is the subject of national initiatives. 
4 
The Petitioner also claims that his proposed endeavor to work as a flight instructor and train and 
multiply the U.S. workforce to act in the aviation industry is of national importance because he will 
contribute to mitigating the shortage of professionals in the area. He explained that U.S. airlines hope 
to add 13,000 pilots this year, but America produces only 5,000 and 7,000 pilots annually and that the 
pilot shortage for the industry is real and grave. To support this claim, the Petitioner submitted articles 
about an airline pilot shortage. 
In this case, the Petitioner has not established that his proposed endeavor to work as a flight instructor 
stands to impact or significantly reduce the claimed national shortage. Moreover, the U.S. Department 
of Labor addresses worker shortages through the labor certification process. See 20 C.F.R. § 656, 
8 U.S.C. § l 182(a)(5)(A), 1182(p)(l). Therefore, a shortage of qualified professionals alone is not 
sufficient to demonstrate eligibility for the national interest waiver. 
As for the economic value and job creation that the Petitioner will offer, the record contains an 
economic impact analysis from _____ a business and technology consultant at I I 
I I Mr. I I claims that the Petitioner's proposed endeavor has the potential of 
generating important economic impact in the United States, including increase in economic activity, 
creation of hundreds ofjobs, increase in wages and salaries, and increase in tax revenue for the federal, 
state, and local governments. Mr. I I further asserts that considering an average of 3 hours per 
flight, a maximum of 1,000 hours per year that a pilot can fly, a capacity of 166 passengers per flight 
on a Boeing 737-800/ Airbus A321, and an average airfare of $327, the Petitioner has the potential of 
generating $18,101,747 in yearly revenue and $90,508,733 in total revenue for five years for airline 
companies in the United States. Mr.I I also asserts that the total estimated impact in the U.S. 
economy will be $156,000,000 in a period of 5 years with the potential of creating 559 new jobs. 
However, the record does not contain sufficient evidence supporting the income projections or job 
creation. The preponderance of the evidence standard requires the evidence demonstrate that the 
petitioner's claim is probably true, where the determination of truth is made based on the factual 
circumstances of each individual case. Matter of Chawathe, 25 I&N Dec. at 376. In evaluating the 
evidence, truth is to be determined not by the quantity of evidence alone but by its quality. See id. 
Here, lack of supporting details detracts from the credibility and probative value of the economic 
impact analysis. 
Furthermore, even if all the projections in the economic impact analysis were realized, the record lacks 
sufficient evidence demonstrating that the Petitioner will have an impact on the field of aviation at a 
level commensurate with national importance. In Dhanasar, we stated that an endeavor that has a 
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. See Dhanasar, 26 I&N Dec. at 890. Here, the Petitioner has not offered sufficient 
evidence that he will employ a significant population of workers in an economically depressed area or 
that his endeavor would offer a particular U.S. region or its population a substantial economic benefit 
through employment levels or business activity. Therefore, the record does not sufficiently 
demonstrate that the Petitioner's proposed endeavor is of national importance. 
5 
Additionally, the Petitioner states that he will work as a flight simulator instructor in flight schools for 
initial pilots, preparing them to get their licenses. He also states that he can work as an airline 
instructor, training co-pilots to become captains and helping them with exams. The Petitioner 
contends that he will transmit his knowledge of 12 years of aviation to ensure new pilots are committed 
to safety procedures and standard approaches and that his services will benefit the aviation sector and 
societal welfare. 
Regarding the Petitioner's plans to work as a flight simulator instructor and an airline instructor to 
train pilots, the record does not sufficiently establish that this undertaking has broader implications for 
the field of aviation, as opposed to being limited to those who participate in his classes or training 
sessions. While the Petitioner's plans to work as a flight simulator instructor and an airline instructor 
and disseminate his knowledge to other pilots in the field have merit, the record does not sufficiently 
demonstrate that his instructional or teaching activities offer benefits that extend beyond his students 
or trainees to impact the field of aviation more broadly. Likewise, 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 Petitioner asserts that he will conduct abnormal flights, such as in difficult weather conditions, in 
restricted areas, through China aerospace, or to large urban centers and airports of complex approaches 
and that his flying experience in different areas requiring specific approaches will improve airlines' 
safety and will allow airlines to expand their flights to other locations. The Petitioner also claims that 
he will command flights to regions that require extended twin-engine operations (ETOPS) and train 
pilots to fly in such distances and that this operation is vital to connecting the world and making flying 
safer. Lastly, the Petitioner claims that he will work as a flight standards specialist, will develop, 
deliver, and improve audit functions related to flight operations, will oversee the development of 
standard work for operational teams, and will provide exterior inspections to make flight operations 
more efficient, safer, and less costly. 
The record includes recommendation letters from his former colleagues describing the Petitioner's job 
responsibilities and his contributions to his former employers, aviation projects that the Petitioner had 
completed for his former employer, a flight operations manual, and a chart of aircraft emergency 
response drills, the Petitioner's flight rosters, pilot logbooks, flight plans, load sheets, and academic 
and training records. The Petitioner also submitted statistics on visitors on the Hawaiian Islands and 
various articles about volcanic ash impacts on aviation operations, volcano eruption in Hawaii, safe 
and efficient flight operations in regions of volcanic activity, pilot errors as the top cause of aviation 
accidents, flight operations in polar routes, shifting magnetic field, flight planning procedures for the 
North Atlantic, the world's dangerous airports, and China's reduced vertical separation minima. 
The record also includes an expert opinion letter from a pilot and the 
chief executive officer of I lin Brazil. Mr.I I recommends the Petitioner as a 
highly qualified and experienced professional with over 9,000 flight hours and 24 years of aviation 
experience. Mr. I I states that the Petitioner can help other pilots fly safely in adverse 
conditions and can contribute to expanding airlines' destinations due to his ETOPS knowledge and 
different approaches in countries worldwide. 
6 
While the submitted evidence establish that the Petitioner has extensive aviation experience and 
expertise in conducting abnormal flights, commanding flights to regions that require ETOPS, and 
developing and delivering flight standards to ensure safety, the record does not sufficiently explain 
how his proposed endeavor offers benefits that extend beyond the airline company he will serve, their 
customers, and other pilots within the airline company to impact the field of aviation more broadly. 
The Petitioner's statements and supporting documents reflect his intention to provide services as a 
pilot, a flight standards specialist, and an ETOPS expert and his qualifications for such positions. 
However, he has not provided sufficient information and evidence to demonstrate that the prospective 
impact of his proposed endeavor rises to the level of national importance. See Dhanasar, 26 I&N 
Dec. at 889. 
The record also contains the Petitioner's diploma, school transcript, resume, training certificates, pilot 
licenses, emails from his former employer regarding his zero absenteeism, an interview article on the 
Petitioner published in a company website, student reports issued by the Petitioner to his former 
students, employment verification letters from his former employers, pay slips from his current 
employer, recommendation letters from his former colleagues, and his investment account statements. 
The Petitioner's education, work experience, professional achievements, past contributions to his 
former employers, pilot licenses, and financial support are relevant under the second prong of 
Dhanasar to support the claim that that he is well positioned to advance the proposed endeavor. See 
id. at 890. The first prong, substantial merit and national importance, focuses on the specific endeavor 
that the individual proposes to undertake. See id. at 889. 
Because the record does not sufficiently demonstrate 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. Therefore, further analysis of his eligibility under the second and 
third prongs outlined in Dhanasar would serve no meaningful purpose, and we will reserve these issues 
for future consideration should the need arise. 3 
III. CONCLUSION 
Although the Petitioner has shown that he is a member of the professions holding an advanced degree 
and that his proposed endeavor has substantial merit, he has not established by a preponderance of the 
evidence that his proposed endeavor is of national importance. Accordingly, we conclude he has not 
demonstrated that he is eligible for or otherwise merits a national interest waiver as a matter of 
discretion. 
ORDER: The appeal is dismissed. 
3 See INS v. Bagamasbad. 429 U.S. 24. 25 (1976) ("courts and agencies are not required to make findings on issues 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 alternate issues on appeal where an applicant is otherwise ineligible). 
7