dismissed EB-2 NIW Case: Clinical Research

U.S. Citizenship 
and Immigration 
Services 
In Re: 10422400 
Appeal of Texas Service Center Decision 
Non-Precedent Decision of the 
Administrative Appeals Office 
Date : APR. 22, 2021 
Form 1-140, Immigrant Petition for Alien Worker (Advanced Degree, Exceptional Ability, National 
Interest Waiver) 
The Petitioner, a clinical research coordinator, 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). 
The Director of the Texas Service Center denied the petition, concluding that the Petitioner had not 
established that a waiver of the required job offer, and thus of the labor certification, would be in the 
national interest. 
On appeal, the Petitioner submits a brief asserting that she is eligible for a national interest waiver. 
In these proceedings, it is the petitioner's burden to establish eligibility for the immigration benefit 
sought. Section 291 of the Act, 8 U.S.C. § 1361; Matter of Chawathe, 25 I&N Dec. 369, 375 (AAO 
2010) . 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 ofjob 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. 
Section 10l(a)(32) of the Act provides that "[t]he term 'profession' shall include but not be limited to 
architects, engineers, lawyers, physicians, surgeons, and teachers in elementary or secondary schools, 
colleges, academics, or seminaries." 
The regulation at 8 C.F.R. § 204.5(k)(2) contains the following relevant definitions: 
Advanced degree means any United States academic or professional degree or a foreign 
equivalent degree above that of baccalaureate. A United States baccalaureate degree 
or a foreign equivalent degree followed by at least five years of progressive experience 
in the specialty shall be considered the equivalent of a master's degree. If a doctoral 
degree is customarily required by the specialty, the alien must have a United States 
doctorate or a foreign equivalent degree. 
Profession means one of the occupations listed in section 10l(a)(32) of the Act, as well 
as any occupation for which a United States baccalaureate degree or its foreign 
equivalent is the minimum requirement for entry in the occupation. 
Furthermore, 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 I&N Dec. 884 (AAO 2016). 1 Dhanasar states that after a petitioner has 
established eligibility for EB-2 classification, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) 
may, as matter of discretion 2, 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 
1 In announcing this new framework, we vacated our prior precedent decision, Matter of New York State Department of 
Transportation, 22 l&N Dec. 215 (Act. Assoc. Comm'r 1998) (NYSDOT). 
2 See also Poursina v. USC1S, No. 17-16579, 2019 WL 4051593 (Aug. 28, 2019) (finding USCIS' decision to grant or 
deny a national interest waiver to be discretionary in nature). 
2 
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. 3 
II. ANALYSIS 
The Director concluded that the Petitioner qualifies as a member of the professions holding an advanced 
degree. The Director also determined that the Petitioner had established that her proposed endeavor met 
the first prong set forth in the Dhanasar analytical framework. For the reasons discussed below, however, 
we must withdraw the Director's conclusion that the Petitioner met the national importance portion of 
the first prong. 
In Dhanasar, we held that a petitioner must identify "the specific endeavor that the foreign national 
proposes to undertake." Id. at 889. On the Form 1-140, Immigrant Petition for Alien Worker, the 
Petitioner provided the following information: 
Part 5 - Additional Information About the Petitioner 
Section 3.a. Occupation: Clinical Research Coordinator 
Part 6 - Basic Information About the Proposed Employment 
Section 1. Job Title: Clinical Research Coordinator 
Section 2. SOC Code: 11-91214 
3 See Dhanasar, 26 I&N Dec. at 888-91, for elaboration on these three prongs. 
4 This standard occupational classification (SOC) code 11-9121.01 corresponds to the occupation of clinical research 
coordinators. See https://www.onetonline.org/link/summary/l l-9121.0l. 
3 
Section 3. Nontechnical Description of Job: Plan, direct, or coordinate clinical research 
projects. Direct the activities of workers engaged in clinical research projects. 
According to the initial "Professional Plan & Statement" (PPS) dated February 7, 2018, the 
Petitioner's "career plan in the United States is to work with a health care or research facility to conduct 
important research on various areas of mental health and provide expert advice and training to other 
professionals and students in the field." She further stated that her "knowledge [] will allow [her] to 
help patients in the United States, by coordinating research in various areas to provide better treatment" 
and "train other professionals in the field based on the knowledge and skills" she possesses. The PPS 
also referenced the responsibilities of psychologists, the need for skilled psychologists, and the 
importance of treating patients. She further states that she will be "helping professionals in the field 
provide effective treatment plans, while also conducting research to create new techniques and 
treatments in the field." The initial support letter indicated that "[i]n her role as a Clinical Research 
Coordinator," the Petitioner will: 
• Maintain required records of study act1v1ty including case report forms, drug 
dispensation records, and regulatory forms 
• Oversee subject enrollment to ensure that informed consent is properly obtained and 
documented 
• Monitor study activities to ensure compliance with protocols and with all relevant local, 
federal, and state regulatory and institutional policies 
• Record adverse event and side effects data and confer with investigators regarding the 
reporting of events to oversight agencies 
• Assess eligibility of potential subjects through methods such as screening, interviews, 
reviews of medical records, or discussions with physicians and nurses. 5 
After conducting her research in various areas relating to the Psychology field, she will be able 
to take her finds and train other professionals in the field on proper treatment plans and 
methods. Based upon her experiences, she will be able to utilize her skills and knowledge to 
work as a Psychologist 6 and make contributions of major significance to the mental health 
community. 7 
In response to the Director's request for evidence, the Petitioner provided a new PP&S dated October 18, 
2019. In it, the Petitioner stated that she "intend[ s] to continue using [her] expertise and knowledge 
working in the field of Psychology" and will "specifically focus[] on consulting, teaching, coaching, 
researching and studying the areas of Personality Psychology, Organizational Psychology, Applied 
5 These duties are copied verbatim from the Occupational Tnf01mation Network (O*NET) at 
https://www.onetonline.org/link/summary/l l-912 l .Ol 
6 We note that according to the Occupational Outlook Handbook, "[i]n most states, practicing psychology or using the 
title "psychologist" requires licensure. In all states and the District of Columbia, psychologists who practice independently 
must be licensed where they work." The record does not establish that the Petitioner is licensed in the United States. 
7 Based on the above, it is unclear whether the Petitioner intends to 1) perform her own original research, 2) act as a clinical 
research coordinator for other scientists' research and then train others to perform the duties of a clinical research 
coordinator, 3) work as a psychologist 4) train other psychologists, or 5) a combination of some, or all, of the listed 
endeavors. 
4 
Behavioral Analysis, Cognitive Psychology and Clinical Psychology." The PPS reflected a change to her 
"overall proposed endeavor," stating it is "to offer my expertise to work as a Research Coordinator, 
Consultant, and Business Coach, interacting with individuals who play decision-maker roles in the 
business field to advise them on improving performance and efficiency and maximize results for their 
companies." She further indicated that she is a co-owner of two companies 8 focusing on data science and 
artificial intelligence and that her "proposed endeavor is to expand the performance of this company 
I I, and continue creating new models of Artificial Intelligence, so that I can solve important 
questions from companies and other American organizations." The Petitioner also stated that "in the next 
3 years," she "intend[s] to pursue a doctorate degree in Artificial Intelligence and Personality Theory" 
and that her "other personal goal is to continue to seek and dedicate time to voluntary work." Notably, 
the Petitioner does not provide an explanation for the change in her specific proposed endeavor. Further, 
given that the new PPS makes only a passing reference to her intention to work as a clinical research 
coordinator (in addition to consultant, business coach, teacher, researcher, entrepreneur, and student), we 
are left to question how much time, if any, will be spent on the endeavor described in the initial filing. 
As discussed by the Director, the Petitioner must establish eligibility at the time of filing. 8 C.F.R. 
§ 103.2(b)(12); MatterofKatigbak, 14 I&N Dec. 45, 49 (Comm'r 1971). Further, the purpose of an RFE 
is to elicit information that clarifies whether eligibility for the benefit sought has been established, as of 
the time the petition is filed. See 8 C.F.R. §§ 103.2(b)(l), 103.2(b)(8), 103.2(b)(12). A petitioner may 
not make material changes to a petition in an effort to make a deficient petition conform to USCIS 
requirements. See Matter of Izummi, 22 I&N Dec. 169, 176 (Assoc. Comm'r 1998). If significant, 
material changes are made to the initial request for approval, a petitioner must file a new petition rather 
than seek approval of a petition that is not supported by the facts in the record. 
The information provided by the Petitioner in the response to the Director's RFE did not clarify or 
provide more specificity to the proposed endeavor as initially described, but rather changed its focus. 
For example, the initial description of the proposed endeavor did not address the Petitioner's intention 
to focus on artificial intelligence and data science, or the Petitioner's intention to be an entrepreneur. 
Rather the initial PPS clearly stated that she intended "to work with a health care or research facility." 
Accordingly, the RFE response presented a new set of facts regarding the proposed endeavor, which 
is material to eligibility for a national interest waiver. See Matter of Michelin Tire Corp., 17 I&N Dec. 
248 (Reg'l Comm'r 1978); see also Dhanasar, 26 I&N Dec. at 889-90. 
In determining whether an individual qualifies for a national interest waiver, we must rely on the 
specific proposed endeavor to determine whether (1) it has both substantial merit and national 
importance and (2) the foreign national is well positioned to advance it under the Dhanasar analysis. 
Because the Petitioner has not provided consistent information regarding her proposed endeavor, we 
cannot conclude that she meets either the first or second prong, or that she has established eligibility 
for a national interest waiver. 
8 According to the PP&S, the Petitioner opened "a consulting and coaching company in Brazil" in 2013, and the U.S. 
company in 2019 ( after the date of filing) "to help organizations, executives, seniors and health professionals." 
5 
III. CONCLUSION 
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. 
6