dismissed EB-2 NIW Case: Education

U.S. Citizenship 
and Immigration 
Services 
MATTER OF A-D-P-
APPEAL OF TEXAS SERVICE CENTER DECISION 
Non-Precedent Decision of the 
Administrative Appeals Office 
DATE: DEC. 4, 2018 
PETITION: FORM I-140, IMMIGRANT PETITION FOR ALIEN WORKER 
The Petitioner, an educator, 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 lo this EB-2 classification. See Immigration and Nationality Act (the Act) 
section 203(b)(2), 8 U.S.C. § 1 I 53(b)(2). After a 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. Maller <?f 
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 she 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 additional documentation and a briet: arguing that she is eligible 
for a national interest waiver. 
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. 
Section 203(b) of the Act sets out this sequential framework: 
Matter of A-D-P-
(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. 
(8) Waiver of job 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 ernployer in the United States. 
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 Maller c?l 
Dhanasar, 26 l&N Dec. 884. 1 Dhanasar states that after EB-2 eligibility has been established, 
USCIS may, as a matter of discretion, grant a national interest waiver when the below prongs are 
met. 
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 
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 
1 In announcing this new framework, we vacated our prior precedent decision, Matter cJj'New fork State Department of 
Transportation, 22 l&N Dec. 215 (Act. Assoc. Comm'r 1998) (NYSD07). 
2 
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Maller <?f A-D-P-
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 ofter and thus of a labor certification. 2 
IL ANALYSIS 
The record reflects that, at the time of filing, the Petitioner was employed as an elementary school 
teacher at Maryland . Previously, 
the Petitioner worked for as a special education resource teacher and 
elementary mathematics teacher from October 2005 until June 2011. The Director found that the 
Petitoner qualifies as a member of the professions holding an advanced degree.3 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. 
In Part 6 of the Form 1-140, the Petitioner indicated that she intends to work as a "Special Education 
Instructional Coordinator." She proposes to "[c]oordinate educational contents and develop 
instructional methods for special education programs for various educational organizations." In 
addition, the Petitioner provided a December 2016 letter describing her future plans: 
I am currently designing a new instructional model for language arts education. This 
is based on my insight into the nature of academic instruction from my expertise in 
both regular and special educations. It has been a long pattern that each area 
developed independently to each othe~. My suggestion is that two areas must 
communicate with and learn from each other to improve their instructional 
approaches. I am developing a model to facilitate the communication between two 
different education areas . 
With respect to the first prong of the Dhanasar framework, the Director determined that the Petitioner's 
proposed work as a special education instructional coordinator had substantial merit, but found that 
she had not demonstrated her endeavor's national importance . For example, the Director noted that 
the Petitioner did not offer sufficient information regarding "how she would introduce" her 
instructional model or provide supporting evidence demonstrating that her proposed work will have 
broader implications in the field. · 
2 See Dhanasar, 26 l&N Dec. at 888-91, for elaboration on these three prongs. 
3 The Petitioner presented her "Master of Arts in Teaching (Special Education)" degree (June 2012) from 
in the Philippines and an academic credentials evaluation indicating that the aforementioned degree is the foreign 
equivalent of "a Master of Education Degree with a concentration in Special Education from an accredited institution of 
higher education in the United States." 
3 . 
Matter ofA-D-P-
In her appeal brief, the Petitioner maintains that "her education model could significantly benefit the 
standard curriculum of the U.S. public education system for primary/secondary education." She further 
contends that "her new model of instruction development can be used and beneficial in the majority of 
U.S. primary/secondary school organizations." Her appellate submission includes photocopies of 
documents she previously submitted. For instance, the Petitioner offers her educational credentials, 
recommendation letters from colleagues 4, employment verifications, and recognition certificates fro~1 
various schools where she has taught. 
To evaluate whether the Petitioner's work satisfies the national importance requirement we look to 
evidence documenting the "potential prospective impact" of her work. The relevant question is not 
the importance of the field or profession in ~hich the individual will work; instead we focus on the 
"the specific endeavor that the foreign national proposes to undertake." See Dhanasar, 26 l&N Dec. 
at 889. In Dhanasar, we further noted that "we look for broader implications" of the proposed 
endeavor. Id. 
In the present matter, the Petitioner has not sufficiently explained the nature of her endeavor to 
demonstrate its potential prospective implications. For instance, while she stat~s that her methods 
"can be" used widely, she has not indicated whether she intends to introduce her educational model, 
coordinate learning content, or develop instructional methods for special education programs in her 
own classroom or school district, or whether she is proposing to implement or promote her project in 
some way on a larger scale within the field. Nor does the record include. supporting evidence 
showing that her proposed work has broader implications for her field, as opposed to being limited 
to the students in a particular classroom or school district. While we acknowledge the merit of her 
project aimed at improving language arts instruction, the record does not show that the Petitioner's 
proposed endeavor offers benefits that impact the field of education more broadly. 5 
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. 
III. CONCLUSION 
As the Petitioner has not met the requisite first prong of the Dhanasar analytical framework, we find 
that she has not established she is eligible for or otherwise merits a national interest waiver as a 
matter of discretion. 
4 These letters do not address her future plans or otherwise discuss how her proposed endeavor is of national importance. 
5 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. 
4 
Maller of A-D-P-
ORDER: The appeal is dismissed. 
Cite as Maner,?[ A-D-P-, ID# 1810776 (AAO Dec. 4, 2018) 
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