dismissed EB-2 NIW Case: Business Management

U.S. Citizenship 
and Immigration 
Services 
In Re: 12210852 
Appeal of Texas Service Center Decision 
Non-Precedent Decision of the 
Administrative Appeals Office 
Date: JUN. 07, 2021 
Form 1-140, Immigrant Petition for Alien Worker (Advanced Degree, Exceptional Ability, National 
Interest Waiver) 
The Petitioner, a business manager , seeks second preference immigrant classification as a member of 
the professions holding an advanced degree and/or as an individual of exceptional ability, 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. § l 153(b )(2). 
The Director of the Texas Service Center denied the petition, concluding that the record did not 
establish that the Petitioner's proposed endeavor was of national importance , and that he was therefore 
not eligible for a national interest waiver. 
In these proceedings , it is the Petitioner's burden to establish eligibility for the requested benefit. 
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 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 Matter of 
Dhanasar, 26 T&N Dec. 884. 1 Dhanasar states that after EB-2 eligibility has been established, USCTS 
may, as a matter of discretion, 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 
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. 2 
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) (NYSDOT). 
2 See Dhanasar, 26 I&N Dec. at 888-91, for elaboration on these three prongs. 
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TI. ANALYSIS 
The Petitioner is a business professional with several years of experience in management in the 
banking industry. He earned a bachelor's degree in administration in 2009 froml I 
College inl I and an MBA in human resources from the same institution in 2011. The 
Director found that this evidence was sufficient to establish the Petitioner's eligibility as an advanced 
degree professional, and we agree. Accordingly, the sole issue on appeal is whether he is eligible for 
and otherwise merits a national interest waiver. 
A. Substantial Merit and National Importance of the Proposed Endeavor 
Regarding the Petitioner's proposed endeavor, the record shows that he is currently employed as a 
business consultant in the United States with .__ _______ _.3 In the "Professional Plan & 
Statement" document initially submitted, he indicated that he intends to continue using his expertise 
in business administration to work as a "Business Administrator and 
1
anagel in the Financial Service 
Sector." He added that U.S. companies planning to do business in would benefit from his 
experience working there, and that he would help U.S. businesses "improve their strategies and 
practices." 
In responding to the Director's request for evidence (RFE), the Petitioner submitted a second 
"Professional Plan & Statement" in which he states that he intends to continue his career in the United 
States as a "General and Operations Manager," but also provides detail regarding his duties fore=] 
I I These include obtaining licenses and registrations for client companies, developing 
business plans for them, advising them on how to reduce costs and improve efficiency, and providing 
tax advice. He also noted that the company has experienced an increase in clients during his 
employment, and that "more than 70 investors from my professional network have opened businesses 
of various types in the United States." 
The Petitioner also stated in this new statement that he intends to work for U.S. companies to "structure 
their business in a way that will allow for increased profits and growth," and also advise them on how 
to "grow to other markets, whether within the country or abroad." In addition, he provided a list of 
companies "in which I intend to pursue job placements." 
To satisfy the national importance requirement, the Petitioner must demonstrate the "potential 
prospective impact" of his work. In his decision, the Director noted that the record includes 
information regarding foreign investment, human resources, and operation management, but 
concluded that this evidence did not show how his proposed endeavor as a general and operations 
manager is of national importance. The Director also noted the Petitioner's employment as a "tax 
consultant," and concluded that this position was not in the proposed endeavor. 
On appeal, the Petitioner asserts that his work "mirrors national importance since his field of work is 
credited with leveraging business, and operational tendencies that prioritize the productivity and 
3 As the Petitioner is applying for a waiver of the job offer requirement, it is not necessary for him to have a job offer from 
a specific employer. However, we consider information about his position to illustrate the capacity in which he intends to 
work. 
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profitability of a wide number of market segments, and, in tum, the economy." But it is the Petitioner's 
specific proposed endeavor that is evaluated under the first prong of the Dhanasar framework, and 
broad assertions about his work in a general field which has national implications are insufficient to 
meet the requirements of this prong. As noted above, the Petitioner's description of his proposed 
endeavor identifies more than one path, which we will analyze separately. 
We first note that although the Petitioner identifies the broader area of his proposed endeavor 
alternatively as "business administration and management in the financial sector" and "general and 
operations management," his description of his current position with! I does not 
include the administration or management of a business, in the financial sector or elsewhere, but 
instead focuses on business and tax consulting for investors seeking to start businesses in the United 
States. Although the Petitioner does not indicate whether his proposed endeavor would involve 
remaining with this company, providing similar services in the employment of another company, or 
pursuing these activities through self-employment, the record does not establish that his continued 
activity as a business and tax consultant in any of these situations would be of national importance. 
Specifically, he submitted letters from several clients that he has worked with in his current position, 
which generally describe the services provided by him and indicate satisfaction with his work. They 
confirm that in his role with his current employer, he has helped several clients to open businesses in 
the United States, including advising them of tax consequences and obtaining licenses and 
registrations. The Petitioner also included evidence from the U.S. Department of Commerce and U.S. 
Chamber of Commerce regarding the importance of foreign investments to the national economy, 
which shows the substantial merit of his work in this area. However, similar to the letters describing 
the teaching activities in the STEM field of the petitioner in the Dhanasar decision, this evidence does 
not indicate that the Petitioner would be engaged in activities that would impact the field of business, 
or foreign direct investment, more broadly. 4 Rather, the effects of his activity are limited to his and 
his employer's clients. 
As noted above, the Petitioner also listed several potential job opportunities he intended to pursue as 
his proposed endeavor in business administration and operational and general management. This list 
included positions with companies across the United States, sourced from job search websites. While 
all of these positions included the word "operations" in the job title, they ranged from "operations 
professional" to "Vice President of Operations," and appeared to span several industries. The record 
does not include information about the duties involved with these positions, so does not indicate that 
they would allow the Petitioner to advance his proposed endeavor by helping these companies to 
improve strategies and practices. More importantly for the determination of whether this proposed 
endeavor would be of national importance, the record does not include evidence to show that the 
Petitioner's employment in these positions would have broader implications for the field of operations 
management, or have substantial positive economic effects beyond those of the employer. 
The Petitioner also submitted articles about human resources, operations management, and start-up 
companies from a variety of sources. As with the evidence about foreign investment discussed above, 
this evidence is sufficient to show the substantial merit of operations management as a field, but does 
not show that the specific endeavor proposed by the Petitioner would be of national importance. 
4 Dhanasar, 26 I&N Dec. at 893 
4 
Based upon our analysis of the Petitioner's description of the aspects of his proposed endeavor and 
the totality of the evidence in the record, we agree with the Director's conclusion that the Petitioner 
has not established that his proposed endeavor is of national importance. He therefore does not meet 
the requirements of the first prong of the Dhanasar framework. 
B. Well Positioned to Advance the Proposed Endeavor 
The second prong shifts the focus from the proposed endeavor to the Petitioner. The Director 
concluded that the Petitioner meets this prong, but did not include an analysis of the evidence in his 
decision. In support of his qualification under this prong, the Petitioner submitted evidence of his 
academic credentials and experience, including reference letters confirming his employment in the 
banking sector inl I for man ears and as a tax and business consultant in the United States. This 
includes two letters from Business Developmrt Maual!ef atl I 
and a former supervisor of the Petitioner a .__ _______ _. ancL I D I I highlights an important contribution the Petitioner made tol I its 
internal operations. In addition, a letter from the CEO o±i I, I I credits 
a large part of the recent growth in his company's client base and increase in revenue to the Petitioner. 
We therefore agree with the Director's conclusion that the Petitioner has established that he is well 
positioned to advance his proposed endeavor. 
C. Balancing Factors to Determine Waiver's Benefit to the United States 
As explained above, 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 as labor 
certification. Here, the Petitioner asserts that because of his experience in operations management, 
the United States would benefit from his activities here, notwithstanding the presence of qualified U.S. 
workers. However, as the Petitioner has not established that his proposed endeavor is of national 
importance as required under the first prong of the Dhanasar framework, he is not eligible for a 
national interest waiver, and further discussion of the balancing factors under the third prong would 
serve no meaningful purpose. 
III. CONCLUSION 
Because the Petitioner has not established that he meets the requisite three prongs set forth in the 
Dhanasar analytical framework, we find that he is not eligible for or otherwise merits a national 
interest waiver as a matter of discretion. 
ORDER: The appeal is dismissed. 
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