dismissed EB-2 NIW Case: Business Process Automation

U.S. Citizenship 
and Immigration 
Services 
MATTER OF V-A-
APPEAL OF TEXAS SERVICE CENTER DECISION 
Non-Precedent Decision of the 
Administrative Appeals Offi~e 
DATE: JUNE 14,2017 
PETITION: FORM I-140, IMMIGRANT PETITION FOR ALIEN WORKER 
The Petitioner, an automation and optimization supervisor for business applications and processes, 
seeks second preference 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). After the petitioner has established eligibility for EB-2 classification, U.S. Citizenship 
and Immigration Services (USCIS) may, as 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. Matter of Dhanasar, 26 I&N Dec. 884 
(AAO 2016). 
The Director of the Texas Service Center denied the Form I-140, Immigrant Petition for Alien 
Worker, finding that the Petitioner qualified for classification as a member of the professions 
holding an advanced degree, but that he had not established that a waiver of a job offer, and thus of a 
labor certification, would be in the national interest. The matter is now before us on appeal. 
In March 2017, we issued a request for evidence (RFE) asking the Petitioner to provide evidence 
satisfying the three-part framework set forth in Dhanasar. In response, the Petitioner submits 
additional documentation and contends that he is eligible for a national interest waiver under the 
Dhanasar framework. 
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. 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. 
Matter of V-A-
Section 203(b) ofthe 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 mayi 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 recently 
set forth a new framework for adjudicating national interest waiver petitions. See Dhanasar, 26 I&N 
Dec. 884.1 Dhanasar clarifies that, after EB-2 eligibility as an advanced degree professional or 
individual of exceptional ability has been established, USCIS may grant a national interest waiver if 
the petitioner demonstrates by a preponderance of the evidence: (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. If these 
three elements are satisfied, USCIS may approve the national interest waiver as a matter of 
discretion. 
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 
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 
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Matter of V-A-
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, US CIS may evaluate factors such as: whether, in light o( 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? 
II. ANALYSIS 
. The Director found that the Petitoner qualifies as a member of the professions holding an advanced 
degree. The sole 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. 
A. Substantial Merit and National Importance of the Proposed Endeavor 
At the time of filing, the Petitioner identified his endeavor as global systems, applications, and 
products (SAP) project management for and his job title as "Project Manager for the 
Cost to Serve (CTS) project for '' His responsibilities included "the 
analysis, design, and construction of SAP solutions for CTS though collaborating with the business 
process manager and IT [information technology] architects to define processes and ensure that the 
defined requirements are designed, developed, tested, and implemented in accordance with 
, global IT standards and corporate vision." 
Our RFE asked the Petitioner to provide updated information and evidence regarding his 
employment and his plans for future work. In response, the Petitioner states that in 2016 he "left 
to join the Testing Enterprise Services Team (TEST) at 
' as an automation and optimization supervisor.3 He indicates that his current 
responsibilities include "supervising all efforts to automate and optimize business 
applications and processes, including the development of tests, standards, and best practices to 
2 See Dhanasar, 26 I&N Dec. at 888-91, for elaboration on these three prongs . 
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 will consider information about this prospective position to illustrate the 
capacity in which he intends to work. 
3 
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Matter of V-A-
support the execution of automation and optimization." The Petitioner submits an April 2017 letter 
from TEST manager at stating that he performs 
"a key role in the organization's endeavor to integrate, build, and test global business 
applications to-increase cohesion and automation across all platforms."4 In addition, Ms. 
contends that although the Petitioner's "title has changed, he continues to deliver the values of global 
SAP project management, and is in fact even better positioned to contribute to the endeavor as a 
provider due to his extensive knowledge and insight of processes and requirements 
from a customer perspective." Similarly, the Petitioner maintains that, despite his new job title, "the 
objective of [his] endeavor is still to improve global operations through developing 
processes that optimize data and enable test automation to ensure software solutions provide 
sustainable benefits to the operating organizations." 
The Petitioner provided studies and online information indicating that effective SAP management 
drives efficiency, generates cost savings, and improves operational performance. Furthermore, the 
record includes letters of support from the Petitioner's current and former colleagues ,attesting to the 
benefits of SAP project management. For example, managing partner at a data 
engineering and business management consultant company, asserted that "research and practice 
repeatedly show that proper management of SAP can lead to considerable cost savings, reduced risk, 
and enhanced data insight, while improving service quality, efficiency and compliance." We find that 
the Petitioner's proposed work as an automation and optimization supervisor, which helps 
identify and execute its enterprise resource planning (ERP) needs, has substantial merit. 
To evaluate whether the Petitioner's work satisfies the national importance requirement, we 
requested evidence documenting the "potential prospective impact" of his ;work. The Petitioner's 
response states that " is the United States top tax payer and investor, and SAP projects 
have played a strategic role in business success." We note, however, that the 
Petitioner has not offered sufficient evidence to demonstrate his proposed work at has 
implications beyond the company at a level sufficient to demonstrate the national importance of his 
endeavor. 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. ld. at 
893. While the Petitioner emphasizes the size and scope of business operations, tax 
payments, and investments, he has not demonstrated that his particular work for this single company 
and its SAP projects stands to have a broader impact on the IT field, petroleum industry, or U.S. 
economy. 
Citing a phrase from Dhanasar, the Petitioner contends that because his endeavor offers "substantial 
positive economic effects," it "may well be understood to have national importance." ld. at 890.5 
4 Specifically , Ms. notes that the Petitioner is responsible for creating all test automation, defining the 
automated /regression testing approach , integrating automation tools with test management tools, testing change 
management/optim ization, supervising staff, providing opportunities to gain expertise with testing tools , and managing a 
two million dollar project to transform testing practices through automation. 
5 A complete reading of our description of national imp-ortance in Dhanasar indicates that "we look for broader 
implications" in considering an endeavor's potential prospective impact , and that "s ubstantial positive economic effects" 
4 
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Matter of V-A-
While the Petitioner notes that paid $27.3 billion in U.S. income taxes and distributed 
$145 billion to its shareholders, the scope of his employer's business activities alone is not sufficient 
to demonstrate his proposed endeavor's national importance. Rather, we must examine the 
prospective impact of the Petitioner's specific endeavor rather than the scale of the company's entire 
operations. In that regard, Ms. asserts that the Petitioner 's SAP project offers "potential 
savings that are expected to be between $2M and $5M per annum." There is no indication, however, 
that the economic benefits of his proposed work extend beyond and its operations at a 
level sufficient to demonstrate the national importance of his endeavor. 
The Petitioner also refers to our recent non-precedent decision concerning a metallurgical engineer 
whose proposed endeavor was found to have national importance. Matter of F-E-, ID# 46885 (AAO 
Mar. 20, 2017). This decision was not published as a precedent and therefore does not bind USCIS 
officers in future adjudications. See 8 C.F.R. § 103.3(c). Non-precedent decisions apply existing law 
and policy to the specific facts of the individual case, and may be distinguishable based on the evidence 
in the record of proceedings, the issues considered, and applicable law and policy. Moreover, our 
national importance finding in Matter of F-E- is significantly discemable from the present matter. For 
example, the petitioner in the cited matter showed how his "work improves mining processes, 
advances metallurgical research , and ameliorates critical environmental problems." Specifically, he 
pointed to his development of a novel method to utilize activated carbon to reduce yield losses 
during the extraction of gold" and "his identification of the effects of carbon particle size and 
magnetic activated carbon." Because the petitioner ' s proposed endeavor involved "developing safer 
and more productive mining processes" and offered environmental consequences reaching "beyond his 
employer to affect the mining industry more broadly," we found the record sufficiently established that 
his proposed endeavor was of national importance. 
In the present matter, the record does not sufficiently demonstrate that the Petitioner's software 
testing and SAP projects stand to impact his industry, field, or the nation's economy more broadly. 
As the Petitioner has not established that his endeavor's prospective impact 
supports a finding of 
national importance, he has not met 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's qualifications. Our 
RFE requested the Petitioner to submit documentation showing that he is well positioned to advance 
his proposed endeavor. In response, he provides the aforementioned letter from Ms. 
discussing his business knowledge, IT expertise, and work on various SAP projects at 
The Petitioner also offers emails showing his participation in "Max Attention Work Stream" 
meetings. As discussed below, we find that the Petitioner's past experience as a SAP project manager 
renders him well positioned to advance his proposed endeavor. 
may qualify as such. /d. at 889-90. 
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Matter of V-A-
Several of the letters submitted with the initial filing attest that the Petitioner has played a role )n 
various IT projects for For example, , a process improvement advisor and 
consultant, described the Petitioner's work as data architect for fuels marketing for 
the company's SAP ERP version of business management software used in its 
downstream business. Mr. noted that the Petitioner increased effectiveness of operational 
and controls reports, led the design and use of a data management issue log, implemented an access 
database tool, improved customer master data preparation and loading processes, aligned project 
resources on common dual maintenance plans, and introduced a customer master field tracker. 
In addition, a global strategy program manager with indicated that 
the Petitioner worked as the Cost to Serve (CTS) SAP project manager for 
Mr. stated that the Petitioner was charged with delivering "strategic SAP enhancements in 
response to business requirements" and that his responsibilities involved "the analysis, design, and 
construction of SAP solutions for the project." Furthermore, Mr. noted that the Petitioner 
leveraged "in-depth knowledge of proprietary IT practices and expertise of the 
company's SAP project methodologies to reach significance milestones in the project." 
The evidence discussed above is sufficient to demonstrate that the Petitioner is well positioned to 
advance his proposed endeavor of SAP project 'management for including supervising 
efforts to automate and optimize the company's business applications and processes. Accordingly, 
he has established that he satisfies the second prong of the Dhanasar framework. 
C. Balancing Factors to Determine Waiver's Benefit to the United States 
The Petitioner 'asserts that he "possesses a rare combination of busines~ technical, and cultural 
intelligence" and that it would be impractical for him to obtain a labor certification. For instance, Ms. 
contends that because of "the institution-specific requirements of his role, it would be impractical 
for to go through the labor ~ certification process, especially since [the Petitioner's] unique 
experience and insight make him significantly more impactful in this critical position that benefits the 
company .... " 6 The Petitioner maintains that "[r]equiring his employer to test the U.S. labor market 
would deprive and hence the United States, of the full extent of the benefits of SAP 
projects." 
While some of the Petitioner's knowledge and experience may exceed the minimum requirements for 
his occupation and therefore could not be easily articulated on an application for labor certification, he 
has not demonstrated, as claimed, that he presents benefits to the United States through his proposed 
endeavor that outweigh those inherent in the labor certification process. The Petitioner has not shown 
an urgent national interest in proposed work, nor has he demonstrated that he offers contributions of 
such value that, over all, they would benefit the nation even if other qualified U.S. workers were 
6 The labor certification process is designed to certify that a foreign worker will not displace nor advers ely affect the 
wages and working conditions of U.S. workers who are similarly employed. Job requirem ents must adhere to what is 
customarily required for the occupation in the United States and may not be tailored to the foreign worker's 
qualifications or unduly restrictive, unless adequately documented as arising rrom business necessity. 
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Matter of V-A-
available. In sum, the Petitioner has not demonstrated 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 
Petitioner therefore has not established that he meets the third prong of the Dhanasar framework. 
IV. CONCLUSION 
As the Petitioner has not met the requisite three prongs set forth in the Dhanasar analytical framework, 
we find that he has not established eligibility for or otherwise merits a national interest waiver as a 
matter of discretion. 
ORDER: The appeal is dismissed. 
Cite as Matter of V-A-, ID# 353734 (AAO June 14, 2017)