dismissed EB-2 NIW Case: Business Management And Accounting

U.S. Citizenship 
and Immigration 
Services 
Non-Precedent Decision of the
Administrative Appeals Office 
Date: JUN. 07, 2024 In Re: 31125219 
Appeal of Texas Service Center Decision 
Form 1-140, Immigrant Petition for Alien Workers (National Interest Waiver) 
The Petitioner, an administrative manager, 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. § 1153(b )(2). 
The Director of the Texas Service Center denied the petition, concluding that although the Petitioner 
established her eligibility for EB-2 classification as a member of the professions holding an advanced 
degree, she did not demonstrate 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 pursuant to 
8 C.F.R. § 103.3. 
The Petitioner bears the burden of proof to demonstrate eligibility by a preponderance of the evidence. 
Matter of Chawathe, 25 l&N Dec. 369, 375-76 (AAO 2010). We review the questions in this matter 
de novo. Matter of Christo '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. 
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 
and Immigration Services (USCIS) may, as matter of discretion, 1 grant a national interest waiver if 
the petitioner demonstrates that: 
1 See Flores v. Garland, 72 F.4th 85, 88 (5th Cir. 2023) (joining the Ninth, Eleventh, and D.C. Circuit Courts (and Third 
• 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. 2 
II. ANALYSIS 
According to the Petitioner's initial and revised resumes, she works as an administrative manager with 
I Ia Dominican food importation business, and as a financial manager with 
I Ia Dominican real estate construction company. The Petitioner 
entered the United States in July 2022 as a B-2 nonimmigrant visitor for pleasure and filed this petition 
in November 2022. 
As stated, the Director concluded that the Petitioner qualifies as a member of the professions holding an 
advanced degree. 3 Therefore, the sole issue before us is whether the record establishes that a waiver 
of the job offer requirement, and thus of a labor certification, would be in the national interest. 4 
At the time of filing, the Petitioner indicated that she intends to advance her career "as a General and 
Operations Manager/Entrepreneur to help deliver effective solutions in challenging accounting, 
taxation, auditing, and business planning sectors." Specifically, the Petitioner submitted a business 
plan indicating that she intends to operate her own accounting services consulting firm, I I I I to "advise companies on their financial and tax planning and consulting, in addition 
to providing auditing and tax filing services." In response to the RFE, the Petitioner submitted an 
updated business plan for Iin which she commits to providing employment 
"for mothers and wives who face challenges working outside their homes due to their responsibilities 
with children or elderly individuals" and "individuals with disabilities, equipping them with the 
necessary tools to work from their homes." 
A. Substantial Merit and National Importance 
The first prong of the Dhanasar framework focuses on the specific endeavor the individual proposes 
to undertake and requires the Petitioner to establish both the substantial merit and national importance 
of the endeavor. 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. Dhanasar, 
26 I&N Dec. at 889. 
The Director concluded that the Petitioner established that her proposed endeavor has substantial merit 
but determined she did not meet her burden to establish the national importance of the endeavor. 
in an unpublished decision) in concluding that USCIS' decision to grant or deny a national interest waiver is discretionary 
in nature). 
2 See Dhanasar, 26 I&N Dec. at 888-91, for elaboration on these three prongs. 
3 The Director also indicated that since the Petitioner qualifies as a member of the professions holding an advanced degree, 
she need not evaluate whether the Petitioner also qualified as an individual of exceptional ability, even though the Petitioner 
did not claim eligibility as an individual of exceptional ability either at initial filing or in response to the Director's request 
for evidence (RFE). 
4 While we do not discuss each piece of evidence individually, we have reviewed and considered each one. 
2 
Specifically, the Director determined that the Petitioner had not shown how her proposed endeavor 
would have broader implications within her field that would reach beyond clients utilizing her services, 
or that it would broadly enhance societal welfare. In this regard, the Director observed that the 
Petitioner's evidence and arguments pertaining to "the economic impact of entrepreneurs and 
immigrants as a whole" did not demonstrate the potential prospective impact of her proposed 
endeavor. The Director further observed that the record did not demonstrate that the proposed 
endeavor has significant potential to employ U.S. workers, would impact an economically depressed 
area, or would have benefits to the regional or national economy that would reach the level of 
"substantial economic effects" contemplated by Dhanasar. Id. at 890. In addition, the Director 
reserved an opinion regarding the second and third prongs of the Dhanasar analytical framework. See 
Dhanasar, 26 I&N Dec. at 888-91. 
On appeal, the Petitioner maintains that the Director did not apply the preponderance of the evidence 
standard and did not give due regard to the Petitioner's business plans, resumes, industry reports, and 
articles demonstrating the national importance of her proposed endeavor, and evidence of her 
professional experience and accomplishments. With respect to the national importance of the 
proposed endeavor, the Petitioner points to the staffing and income projections in her company's 
business plan and emphasizes that the company will be headquartered in a Small Business 
Administration (SBA) HUBZone area in Florida. 5 
She further maintains that her "extensive experience and expertise as a general and operations manager 
entrepreneur as well as her financing background has brought numerous advantages to the companies 
she has served" throughout her career and that she will continue to do so as an entrepreneur in this 
sector in the United States. In support of these claims, she references previously submitted media 
articles and reports regarding the importance of operations management and accounting services in a 
business organization and the impacts of immigrants entrepreneurs on the U.S. economy. When 
determining national importance, however, the relevant question is not the importance of the industry, 
sector, or profession in which the individual will work; instead, we focus on "the specific endeavor 
that the foreign national proposed to undertake. Matter of 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 
implications within a particular field." Id. 
Moreover, the Petitioner claims that her proposed endeavor will "generate substantial ripple effects 
upon key commercial and business activities on behalf of the United States - namely, serving the 
business development, sales, and business functions of U.S. Companies." For the reasons provided 
below, we conclude that the Petitioner has not established the national importance of her proposed 
endeavor. 
Based on the business plan provided within the initial submission and the revised business plan 
submitted in response to the RFE, the Petitioner has not shown how the administrative management 
services she intends to provide to individuals and businesses would have broader implications in the 
5 We note that there appears to be some inconsistency as to where the company's two planned future offices will be located: 
the business plans state the company intends to operate in Ohio and California, while the appeal brief indicates the company 
"will open two other business units in South Carolina and Maine." 
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accounting services or financial management field. She broadly states that the staffing and income 
projections of her proposed endeavor "will ultimately impact the productivity of the U.S. business 
ecosystem, as well as national economic activities," but the record does not provide adequate support 
for a determination that her specific proposed endeavor will have such a wide-reaching impact. 
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, the 
record supports the Director's conclusion that the Petitioner has not submitted sufficient evidence to 
establish what the broader implications of her work would be, or that her work would extend beyond 
her company and its clients to impact the accounting services or financial management industry in 
which it intends to operate, or that it would broadly enhance societal welfare at a level commensurate 
with national importance. While the Petitioner proposes to perform work in an area of national 
importance, this is not necessarily sufficient to establish the national importance of the specific 
proposed endeavor. 
We also stated in Dhanasar 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 will be understood to have national importance." Id. at 890. On appeal, the Petitioner 
emphasizes that she will establish her company in an SBA HUBZone area in Florida6 where it "will 
generate a total revenue of $7.03 million at end of Year 5 and generate 20 direct jobs for U.S. 
workers with a total payment of wages of 2.94 million dollars in a total of five (5) years of 
operation." ( emphasis in original). 
We reviewed the Petitioner's business plans, including their revenue and employment projections. 
The business plans do not corroborate the job creation claims that the Petitioner makes on appeal. 
Rather, the Petitioner's business plans project the employment of 12 staff (including the Petitioner), 
total revenue of $703,600, and payroll expenses of $294,722 in its fifth year of operations. 7 
Regardless, the job creation and revenue projections included in the Petitioner's business plan are not 
supported by details showing their basis or an explanation of how those projections will be realized. 
Even if the Petitioner had established a sufficient basis for these projections, they would not establish 
the national importance of the proposed endeavor. While the projected revenue and costs table 
indicates that the Petitioner's company has growth potential, it does not demonstrate that the benefits 
to the regional or national economy resulting from her undertaking would reach the level of 
"substantial positive economic effects" contemplated by Dhanasar. Id. at 890. 
In addition, the Petitioner has not offered sufficient evidence that the area where her company may 
operate ______ Florida) is economically depressed, that it would employ a significant 
population of workers in that area, or that her endeavor would offer the region or its population a 
substantial economic benefit through employment levels or business activity. On appeal, the Petitioner 
6 The Petitioner's business plan briefly discusses the demographics ofl and states that "the region 
surrounding might be an exciting option for Ito settle." 
7 We note that the Petitioner's business plan also contains a table ofprojected annual goals for the sale of products unrelated 
to the Petitioner's field, such as nursing care services, home ultrasound exam, COVID-19 rapid testing kits, intracranial 
pressure measuring device, and ultrasound portable machine. 
I
4 
maintains that her business will operate in an SBA HUBZone in Florida. 8 However, the Petitioner's 
business plan states only that the business may open in ______ Florida; it makes no 
mention of the HUBZone program or its intent to establish a location within a designated HUBZone 
or to participate in the program. 
We have also considered claims that there are labor shortages in the Petitioner's industry, but she has 
not suggested that her proposed endeavor would lessen the shortage of trained accounting services or 
financial management professionals on a scale rising to the level of national importance, or that the 
specific services her company will offer are otherwise scarce in the region or in the United States. For 
all these reasons, the Petitioner has not shown her endeavor has significant potential to employ U.S. 
workers or that the specific proposed endeavor would offer a region or its population a substantial 
economic benefit through employment levels, business activity, or related tax revenue. 
Before the Director and in her appellate brief: the Petitioner has placed considerable emphasis on her 
academic training in accounting and financial management and her professional experience in those 
fields. The record also contains recommendation letters from employers and colleagues in the 
Dominican Republic. While important, the Petitioner's expertise acquired through her academic and 
professional career primarily relates to the second prong of the Dhanasar framework, which "shifts 
the focus from the proposed endeavor to the foreign national." Id. The issue here is whether the 
specific endeavor the Petitioner proposes to undertake has national importance under Dhanasar 's first 
prong. A determination regarding the claimed national importance of a specific proposed endeavor 
cannot be inferred based on the Petitioner's past accomplishments, just as it cannot be inferred based 
on general claims about the importance of a given field or industry. 
Finally, we acknowledge that the Petitioner provided an expert opinion letter from an emeritus 
professor of accounting and operations management at _______ In addressing the first 
prong of the Dhanasar framework, the author notes the Petitioner's "nearly three decades of 
experience" in the business accounting field. He states that the eOVID-19 pandemic "highlighted the 
fragile cliff on which most small and medium sized businesses exist" and that "[a ]ccounting 
professionals played an important role in keeping small and medium businesses open throughout the 
pandemic." The professor concludes that "in this age of supply chain worries, inflation, and promising 
but shaky economic recovery there is an urgent need for accounting, operations, and business 
administration experts to support American businesses." However, the author does not address the 
Petitioner's business plan, the specific proposed endeavor, and its prospective substantial economic 
impact, nor does he address the broader implications of the proposed endeavor in the field. 
We observe that users may, in its discretion, use as advisory opinions statements from universities, 
professional organizations, or other sources submitted in evidence as expert testimony. Matter of 
Caron Int'l, 19 I&N Dec. 791, 795 (eomm'r. 1988). However, users is ultimately responsible for 
making the final determination regarding a foreign national's eligibility. The submission of letters 
from experts supporting the petition is not presumptive evidence of eligibility. Id., see also Matter of 
D-R-, 25 I&N Dec. 445,460 n.13 (BIA 2011) (discussing the varying weight that may be given expert 
8 Under the HUBZone program, the U.S. government seeks to fuel small business growth in historically underutilized 
business zones, with a goal of annually awarding at least 3 % of federal contract dollars to HUB Zone-certified companies 
annually. See "HUBZone Program," https://www.sba.gov/federal-contracting/contracting-assistance-programs/hubzone­
program. 
5 
testimony based on relevance, reliability, and the overall probative value). Here, much of the content 
of the expert opinion letter lacked relevance and probative value with respect to the national 
importance of the Petitioner's proposed endeavor. 
For the reasons discussed, the evidence does not establish the national importance of the proposed 
endeavor as required by the first prong of the Dhanasar precedent decision. The Petitioner has not 
shown how the services she intends to provide would have broader implications in the accounting 
services or financial management fields. Because the Petitioner has not established her proposed 
endeavor has national importance, she is not eligible for a national interest waiver under the Dhanasar 
analytical framework. We reserve our opinion regarding whether the evidence of record satisfies the 
second and third Dhanasar prongs. See INS v Bagamasbad, 429 U.S. 24, 25-6 (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 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. 
ORDER: The appeal is dismissed. 
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