dismissed EB-2 NIW Case: Business Administration

U.S. Citizenship 
and Immigration 
Services 
Non-Precedent Decision of the
Administrative Appeals Office 
Date: SEPT. 13, 2023 In Re: 28184957 
Appeal of Texas Service Center Decision 
Form 1-140, Immigrant Petition for Alien Workers (National Interest Waiver) 
The Petitioner, a business administrator, 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 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 she had not 
established 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. 1 
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 Christo 's, Inc., 26 l&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. If a 
petitioner demonstrates eligibility for the underlying EB-2 classification, 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 
1 The Petitioner indicated on the Form I-290B , Notice of Appeal or Motion , that her brief and/or additional evidence would 
be submitted to the AAO within 30 calendar days of filing the appeal. To date, we have not received her brief or additional 
evidence . 
and Immigration Services (USCIS) may, as matter of discretion2, 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. 
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 conclude that the Petitioner has not sufficiently demonstrated the national 
importance of her proposed endeavor under the first prong of the Dhanasar analytical framework. 
With respect to her proposed endeavor, the Petitioner indicated that she intends "to help small and 
medium-sized companies in the United States to become growing companies, improve their profitability 
and become companies with a stable organizational structure." The Petitioner asserted that "all this is 
achieved through my advice and being a guide for these small companies and strategic issues, financial 
control, and organizational structure." In response to the Director's request for evidence (RFE), the 
Petitioner reiterated that her proposed endeavor involves providing business consulting services to small 
and medium-sized U.S. companies. She further stated: 
I have established a company that . . . has helped businesses and entrepreneurs to 
overcome economic crises in their companies by avoiding the closure or liquidation of 
companies, and on the contrary, contributing to development, profitability, sustainability, 
and employment increase in companies. I have a methodology that will help consolidate 
Latino companies which are trying to start or develop a business in the United States. 
The Petitioner explained that her company's "target clients are American Latino entrepreneurs who are 
aspiring to have a company, who are in the process of starting up, or whose businesses are already 
established and who are looking for tools to address economic challenges in their organizations." She 
also indicated that her company offers administration services, mentor consulting services, a platform of 
mini consultations, and assistance in obtaining state or federal resources and economic support. In 
addition, the Petitioner provided company formation documents for ~---------~ 
~----------'' including its Florida corporation registration and Internal Revenue Service 
Employer Identification Number. 
The record includes a report from the White House discussing the increase in small businesses under 
the Biden-Harris Administration. The Petitioner also submitted a "National Report on Early- Stage 
Entrepreneurship in the United States." The record therefore supports the Director's determination 
that the Petitioner's proposed endeavor has substantial merit. 
2 See also Poursina v. USC1S, 936 F.3d 868 (9th Cir. 2019) (finding USCIS' decision to grant or deny a national interest 
waiver to be discretionary in nature). 
2 
In the decision denying the petition , the Director determined that the Petitioner had not established the 
national importance of her proposed endeavor. The Director stated that the Petitioner had not shown 
that her specific undertaking "has national or even global implications; will broadly enhance societal 
welfare or cultural or artistic enrichment; or that any area where [ s ]he will pursue the proposed endeavor 
is economically depressed, that the specific proposed endeavor would somehow lead to the employment 
of a significant population of workers in the area, or that it would somehow offer the region or its 
population a substantial positive economic benefit as contemplated by Dhanasar." 
On appeal, the Petitioner argues that the reports she submitted discussing the increase in small businesses 
under the Biden-Harris Administration and early-stage entrepreneurship in the United States both 
show the national importance of her proposed endeavor. 
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 understood to have national importance ." Id. 
at 890. 
To evaluate whether the Petitioner's proposed endeavor satisfies the national importance requirement 
we look to evidence documenting the "potential prospective impact" of her work. While the 
Petitioner's statements reflect her intention to provide valuable consulting services to her company ' s 
clients, she has not offered sufficient information and evidence to demonstrate that the prospective 
impact of her proposed 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 Petitioner has not 
shown that her proposed endeavor stands to sufficiently extend beyond her company and its clientele 
to impact her field or the U.S . economy more broadly at a level commensurate with national 
importance. 
Furthermore , while the Petitioner contends on appeal that her proposed endeavor "would generate 
employment options," she has not demonstrated that her undertaking 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 her future work, the record does not show that benefits to the regional or national economy 
resulting from the Petitioner's business consulting projects would reach the level of "substantial positive 
economic effects" contemplated by Dhanasar. Id. at 890. Accordingly, the Petitioner' s proposed work 
does not meet the fust prong of the Dhanasar framework. 
Because the documentation in the record does not establish the national importance of her proposed 
endeavor as required by the first prong of the Dhanasar precedent decision, the Petitioner has not 
demonstrated eligibility for a national interest waiver. Since this issue is dispositive of the Petitioner 's 
appeal, we decline to reach and hereby reserve the appellate arguments regarding her eligibility under 
3 
the second and third prongs outlined in Dhanasar. 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 ofL-A-C-, 26 I&N Dec. 516,526 n.7 (BIA 2015) (declining 
to reach alternative issues on appeal where an applicant is otherwise ineligible). 
III. 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 reasons, with each considered as an 
independent and alternate basis for the decision. 
ORDER: The appeal is dismissed. 
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