dismissed EB-2 NIW Case: Cybersecurity

U.S. Citizenship 
and Immigration 
Services 
Non-Precedent Decision of the
Administrative Appeals Office 
Date: OCT. 24, 2023 In Re: 29139681 
Appeal of Texas Service Center Decision 
Form 1-140, Immigrant Petition for Alien Workers (National Interest Waiver) 
The Petitioner, a provider of electronic data protection services, seeks to permanently employ the 
Beneficiary as a cybersecurity expert. The company requests his classification under the employment­
based, second-preference (EB-2) immigrant visa category and a waiver of the category's job-offer 
requirement. See Immigration and Nationality Act (the Act) section 203(b )(2)(B)(i), 8 U.S.C. 
§ 1153(b )(2)(B)(i). U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has discretion to excuse a job 
offer - and thus a related requirement for a certification from the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) -
if the company demonstrates that the waiver would be "in the national interest." Id. 
The Acting Director of the Texas Service Center denied the petition. The Director found the 
Beneficiary qualified for the requested immigrant visa category as a member of the professions 
holding an "advanced degree" or its equivalent. But the Director concluded that the Petitioner did not 
establish the merits of a national interest waiver. On appeal, the company contends that the Director 
abused her discretion by disregarding evidence. 
The Petitioner bears the burden of demonstrating eligibility for the requested benefit by a 
preponderance of the evidence. Matter of Chawathe, 25 l&N Dec. 369, 375-76 (AAO 2010). 
Exercising de novo appellate review, see Matter of Christa 's, Inc. , 26 I&N Dec. 537, 537 n.2 (AAO 
2015), we conclude that the company did not establish that the Beneficiary 's proposed U.S. 
employment has "national importance." We will therefore dismiss the appeal. 
I. LAW 
To establish eligibility for national interest waivers, pet1t10ners must first demonstrate that 
beneficiaries qualify for the requested EB-2 immigrant visa category, either as advanced degree 
professionals or as noncitizens of "exceptional ability" in the sciences, arts, or business. Section 
203(b )(2)(A) of the Act. To protect the jobs ofU.S. workers, this category usually requires prospective 
employers to offer noncitizens jobs and to obtain DOL certifications to permanently employ the 
noncitizens in the country. Section 212(a)(5)(D) of the Act, 8 U.S.C. § 1182(a)(5)(D). To avoid the 
job offer/labor certification requirements, petitioners must demonstrate that waivers of the U.S.­
worker protections would be in the national interest. Section 203(b )(2)(B)(i) of the Act. 
Neither the Act nor regulations define the term national interest. Thus, to adjudicate these waiver 
requests, we have established a framework. See Matter ofDhanasar, 26 I&N Dec. 884, 889-91 (AAO 
2016). If otherwise qualified as advanced degree professionals or noncitizens of exceptional ability, 
beneficiaries may merit waivers of the job-offer/labor certification requirements if their petitioners 
establish that: 
• Their proposed U.S. work has "substantial merit" and "national importance;" 
• They are "well-positioned" to advance their intended endeavors; and 
• On balance, waivers of the job-offer/labor certification requirements would benefit the United 
States. 
Id. 
II. ANALYSIS 
A. The Proposed Endeavor 
The record shows that the Beneficiary, a Jamaican national and citizen, obtained a bachelor's degree 
in computing and information technology in his home country. He has since gained about 16 years of 
employment experience in the cybersecurity field. 
In 2019, the Beneficiary established the petitioning limited liability company in the United States. 1 
The company seeks to employ him as a cybersecurity expert, stating that he would reduce 
cybersecurity threats to organizations by using "best-in-class" practices. 
B. Advanced Degree Professional 
The Petitioner submitted evidence that the Beneficiary's bachelor's degree equates to a U.S. 
baccalaureate in computer science. The record also documents his 16 years of post-baccalaureate, 
progressive experience in the cybersecurity field. See 8 C.F.R. § 204.5(k)(2) (defining the term 
"advanced degree" to include " a United States baccalaureate degree or a foreign equivalent degree 
followed by at least five years of progressive experience in the specialty"). We therefore affirm the 
Director's finding that the Beneficiary qualifies for the requested EB-2 immigrant visa category as an 
advanced degree professional. 
C. Substantial Merit 
A proposed endeavor may have substantial merit whether it "has the potential to create a significant 
economic impact" or it relates to "research, pure science, and the furtherance of human knowledge." 
Matter of Dhanasar, 26 I&N Dec. at 889. The record indicates that the Beneficiary's U.S. 
cybersecurity work could help: protect data and communications; maintain the nation's economy and 
critical infrastructure; strengthen national defense; and ameliorate a national shortage of cybersecurity 
professionals. Thus, we also agree with the Director that the proposed venture has substantial merit. 
1 The record identifies the Beneficiary as the company's co-owner. 
2 
D. National Importance 
In determining whether a proposed endeavor has national importance, USCIS must focus on the 
particular venture, specifically on its "potential prospective impact." Matter of Dhanasar, 26 I&N 
Dec. at 889. "An undertaking may have national importance, for example, because it has national or 
even global implications within a particular field, such as those resulting from certain improved 
manufacturing processes or medical advances." Id. A nationally important venture may even focus 
on only one geographic area of the United States. Id. at 889-90. "An 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. 
The Director found insufficient evidence that the Beneficiary's proposed work would have national 
implications for the economy or the cybersecurity field. The Director states that "it appears that the 
prospective impact would be localized to prospective employers and customers in the local 
community." The Director also found insufficient evidence that the Beneficiary's activities would 
introduce innovations into the cybersecurity field. 
On appeal, the Petitioner contends that the Director disregarded evidence of the proposed endeavor's 
national importance. The company argues that the Beneficiary's reduction of cybersecurity threats to 
its clients would affect a variety of areas, including: business; entrepreneurialism; science; 
technology; culture; health; and education. The company contends that cybersecurity threats - such 
as ransomware, which enables cybercriminals to encrypt computer files and charge owners' money to 
decipher them - are a "global menace ... that cannot be localized" and that the Beneficiary's activities 
would thereby have national and global implications. The company also argues that his work would 
support U.S. government initiatives to protect the nation's electronic data and communications. 
We recognize that, because of the nature of electronic data, the Beneficiary's cybersecurity work 
would protect clients' information both nationally and internationally. But the company has not 
demonstrated that - collectively - these protection services would rise to the level of national 
importance. The Petitioner stated that, since its opening in 2019, it has received more than 200 
contracts for cybersecurity services and that, by 2023, it expected its revenues to exceed $4.4 million. 
But the company has not demonstrated that these business levels reflect a significant national 
economic impact or would benefit an economically depressed area. Also, the Petitioner has not 
established that the Beneficiary's work would introduce innovations to the cybersecurity field. 
The Petitioner correctly notes that the Beneficiary's work would support U.S. government policy and 
initiatives, including fostering progress in STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) 
disciplines. See generally 6 USCIS Policy Manual F.(5)(D)(2), www.uscis.gov/policy-manual. 
STEM endeavors have substantial merit. But, to establish national importance, they must also have a 
broad impact. For example, in Dhanasar, we found that, despite its substantial merit, a proposal to 
teach STEM disciplines at a U.S. university lacked national importance because it would not impact 
the STEM education field "more broadly." Matter ofDhanasar, 26 I&N Dec. at 893. 
As in Dhanasar, the Beneficiary's proposed cybersecurity work clearly has substantial merit. The 
Petitioner, however, has not demonstrated that the venture would have a broad enough impact on the 
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economy or the cybersecurity field to be considered nationally important. We will therefore affirm 
the petition's denial on this ground. 
E. Labor Certification Application Form 
Although not included among the denial grounds, the record shows that the pet1t10n lacks an 
application form for a labor certification. A petitioner requesting a national interest waiver "must 
submit" a labor certification application form, with the portion regarding a beneficiary's qualifications 
completed. 8 C.F.R. § 204.5(k)(4)(ii). 
The Director's request for additional evidence (RFE) noted the evidentiary deficiency and asked the 
Petitioner to rectify it. In its RFE response, however, the company stated that it declined to provide 
the document "because it is in the 'national interest' to grant [the Beneficiary] a waiver of the 'labor 
certification' requirement." 
But, despite the Petitioner's request for the labor certification waiver, the company's petition must still 
include the relevant portion of a labor certification application. See 8 C.F.R. § 204.5(k)(4)(ii). The 
absence of the regulatory required document warrants the petition's denial. See also 8 C.F.R. 
§ 103.2(b)(14) ("Failure to submit requested evidence which precludes a material line of inquiry shall 
be grounds for denying the benefit request.") Thus, in any future filings in this matter, the Petitioner 
must submit a labor certification application form with the portion regarding the Beneficiary's 
qualifications completed. 
F. The Other Denial Grounds 
Our affirmance of the petition's denial based on insufficient evidence of the proposed endeavor's 
national importance resolves this appeal. Thus, we decline to reach and hereby reserve the Petitioner's 
appellate arguments regarding the Beneficiary's positioning to advance the endeavor and the purported 
benefits to the United States of waiving U.S.-worker protections in this matter. See INS v. 
Bagamasbad, 429 U.S. 24, 25 (1976) (stating that agencies need not make "purely advisory findings" 
on issues unnecessary to their ultimate decisions); see also Matter ofL-A-C-, 26 I&N Dec. 516, 526 
n.7 (BIA 2015) ( declining to reach alternate issues on appeal where an applicant did not otherwise 
qualify for relief). 
III. CONCLUSION 
The Petitioner has not demonstrated that the Beneficiary's proposed U.S. work has national 
importance. We will therefore affirm the petition's denial. 
ORDER: The appeal is dismissed. 
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