dismissed EB-2 NIW Case: Construction Project Management

U.S. Citizenship 
and Immigration 
Services 
Non-Precedent Decision of the
Administrative Appeals Office 
Date: OCT. 19, 2023 In Re: 28536764 
Appeal of Texas Service Center Decision 
Form 1-140, Immigrant Petition for Alien Workers (National Interest Waiver) 
The Petitioner, a construction project manager, seeks second preference immigrant classification as a 
member of the professions holding an advanced degree 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. 
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 the Petitioner had not 
established eligibility for 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. 8 C.F.R. § 103.3. 
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 Christa'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, petitioners must 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. In addition, 
petitioners must show the merit of a discretionary waiver of the job offer requirement "in the national 
interest." Section 203(b )(2)(B)(i) of the Act. Matter ofDhanasar, 26 I&N Dec. 884, 889 (AAO 2016) 
provides that U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) may, as matter of discretion 1, grant 
a national interest waiver if: 
• 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. 
1 See also Poursina v. USCIS, 936 F.3d 868 (9th Cir. 2019) (finding USCIS' decision to grant or deny a national interest 
waiver to be discretionary in nature). 
II. ANALYSIS 
As it relates to the national interest waiver, the first prong relates to substantial merit and national 
importance of the specific proposed endeavor. Dhanasar, 26 I&N Dec. at 889. At initial filing, the 
Petitioner's cover letter stated: 
[The Petitioner's] vast experience as a Civil Engineer and Project Manager, her 
completion of dozens of highly important infrastructure projects, and the dire need of 
Project Managers with her pedigree in the United States makes her proposed work as a 
Construction Project Manager of substantial merit and national importance. Further, 
the labor certification requirement should be waived because [the Petitioner] is the 
owner ofl I, a company through which she seeks to continue her work as a 
Construction Project Manager within the United States to improve the country's 
infrastructure, economy, and unemployment rate. 
In addition, the Petitioner's personal statement indicated: 
In the United States, I plan to provide consultancy, maintenance, repair, rehabilitation, 
building construction and civil engineering services, applying my managerial skills as 
a contribution to the construction industry in the country. I also plan to expand 
gradually in order to generate jobs in the construction industry, in addition to applying 
the experience I have acquired that will serve as a positive impact on the projects to be 
developed, optimizing time and resources to achieve a tangible result and contribute to 
the economy of the United States, specifically in the area of construction. 
In response to the Director's request for evidence, the Petitioner provided an updated personal statement 
reflecting: 
I seek to contribute to the United States as a Construction Project Manager through 
my company, I I Through my company, I will serve as the Owner and 
Construction Project Manager to oversee the construction and execution of different types 
of infrastructures throughout the nation. My company is dedicated to providing advice, 
maintenance, repair, rehabilitation, and supervision for the construction of buildings and 
other civil works within the country. I will assist both private and public entities in 
carrying out this [sic] construction needs in an efficient and safe manner. My education 
and vast experience have put in prime positioning to carry out my endeavor. I have 
worked with all different types of infrastructures for the last two decades and have lead 
[sic] hundreds of workers into successfully carrying out high-stake projects. In each of 
the projects I developed throughout my career, I planned, budgeted, and coordinated, from 
start to finish, the entire development. This allowed me to understand project 
management technically and managerially in different areas of civil engineering, which 
has increased my leadership capabilities and professional technical capabilities. 
The Director determined the Petitioner demonstrated the proposed endeavor's substantial merit but not 
its national importance. On appeal, the Petitioner maintains the national importance of her proposed 
endeavor of providing construction project services through the operation of her business. 
2 
In determining national importance, the relevant question is not the importance of the industry or 
profession in which the individual will work; instead, we focus on "the specific endeavor that the 
foreign national proposes to undertake." See Dhanasar, 26 I&N Dec. at 889. Although the Petitioner 
references her submission of "Probative Research," including a wide of topics covering construction 
project manager occupations, infrastructure investment, architecture, industry needs, and small 
businesses, the Petitioner must demonstrate the national importance of her specific, proposed endeavor 
of providing her particular construction project services through I Irather than the 
importance of construction project managers and related fields and industries. 2 In Dhanasar, we 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. 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. 
Moreover, the Petitioner contends that she presented an expert opinion letter from Dr. J-A-L- who 
found the proposed endeavor has national importance. The letter, however, makes the same 
arguments, discussed above, relating to the importance of the construction industry, the country's 
infrastructure, and national initiatives rather than focusing on the national importance of the 
Petitioner's specific, proposed endeavor of operating! IFurthermore, the letter does not 
explain how the Petitioner's services and business have broader implications for our country. To 
evaluate whether the Petitioner's proposed endeavor satisfies the national importance requirement, we 
look to evidence documenting the "potential prospective impact" of his work. Dhanasar, 26 I&N 
Dec. at 889. Here, the Petitioner did not demonstrate how her proposed endeavor largely influences 
the field and rises to the level of national importance. In Dhanasar, we determined 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. Likewise, the record does not show through supporting 
documentation how her services or business stand to sufficiently extend beyond prospective clients, 
to impact the industry or the U.S. economy more broadly at a level commensurate with national 
importance. 
The Petitioner also claims she provided "letters of recommendation confirming her contributions and 
impacts in the field." However, the Petitioner's skills, expertise, abilities, and prior accomplishments 
relate to the second prong of the Dhanasar framework, which "shifts the focus from the proposed 
endeavor to the foreign national." Id. at 890. The issue here is whether the specific endeavor she 
proposes to undertake has national importance under Dhanasar's first prong. In addition, the letters 
discuss the impact of the Petitioner's work to their own experiences rather than the required broad 
impact to the construction industry. Id. at 889. 
Further, although the Petitioner provided a business plan for I I the Petitioner did not 
demonstrate how her business plan's claimed revenue and employment projections, even if credible 
or plausible, have significant potential to employ U.S. workers or otherwise offers substantial positive 
economic effects for our nation. While the sales forecast $455K in year 1 to $881K in year 5, the 
2 The Petitioner's arguments and evidence relate more to the substantial merit aspect of the proposed endeavor rather than 
the national importance part. 
3 
business plan does not establish the benefits to the regional or national economy would reach the level 
of "substantial positive economic effects" contemplated by Dhanasar. Id. at 890. Similarly, although 
the plan claims the business would create 1 position in year 1, which is allocated to the Petitioner, to 
4 positions in year 5, which includes the Petitioner's position, the Petitioner did not demonstrate that 
such future staffing levels would provide substantial economic benefits to Texas or the region or U.S. 
economy more broadly at a level commensurate with national importance. 3 The Petitioner, for 
instance, did not show that such employment figures would utilize a significant population of workers 
in the area or would substantially impact job creation and economic growth, either regionally or 
nationally. For all these reasons, the record does not establish that, beyond the limited benefits 
provided to its prospective clients and employees, the Petitioner's proposed endeavor has broader 
implications rising to the level of having national importance or that it would offer substantial positive 
economic effects. 
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. Further analysis of her eligibility under the second 
and third prongs outlined in Dhanasar, therefore, would serve no meaningful purpose. 4 
III. CONCLUSION 
As the Petitioner has not met the 
requisite first prong ofthe Dhanasar analytical framework, we conclude 
that she has not demonstrated eligibility 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. 
3 Although the business plan claims the company will utilize independent contractors for projects, it appears the business 
plan does not factor them into its projections. 
4 See INS v. Bagamasbad, 429 U.S. 24, 25 (1976) (stating that agencies are not required to make "purely advisory findings" 
on issues that are unnecessary to the ultimate decision); see also Matter ofL-A-C-, 26 l&N Dec. 516,526 n.7 (BIA 2015) 
( declining to reach alternate issues on appeal where applicants do not otherwise meet their burden of proof). 
4