dismissed EB-2 NIW Case: Education

MATTER OF G-M-V-M-
APPEAL OF TEXAS SERVICE CENTER DECISION 
Non-Precedent Decision of the 
_Administrative Appeals Office 
DA TE: DEC. 28, 20 I 8 
PETITION: FORM I-140, IMMIGRANT PETITION FOR ALIEN WORKER 
The Petitioner, a sixth grade math teacher, 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. § 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: (I) 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 qf Dhanasar, 26 l&N 
Dec. 884 (AAO 2016). - . 
The Director of the Texas Service Center denied the petition, concluding that the record did_ not 
establish, as required, 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 evidence and asserts that her proposed endeavor in math 
and special e?ucation is in the national interest, and that a waiver of the job offer requirement should 
be granted. 
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: -
Maller ofG-M-V-M-
(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 !;}ational 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 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. 
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 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 re_quirements. of a job offer and thus of a labor certification. In 
1 In announcing this new framework, we vacated our prior precedent decision, Mauer of New York State Depar!ment (?{ 
Transportation, 22 I&N Dec. 215 (Act. Assoc. Comm 'r 1998) (NYSD07). 
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Matter ofG-M-V-M-
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 nationars contributions; and whether the national interest in the foreign national's 
contributions is suffici_ently 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. 2 · 
IL ANALYSIS 
The Director acknowledged evidence of the Petitioner's Bachelor of Science degree in computer 
science from as well as evidence of her five years of experience as a 
teacher, and concluded that she qualifies as a member of the professions holding an advanced 
degree. See 8 C.F.R. § 204.S(k)(J)(i)(B) . Upon review , while the record includes evidence of her 
experience as a public .school teacher, as well as.her Texas Educator Certificate and transcripts for 
her graduate program in special education, it does not include a diploma or official transcripts as 
evidence of her baccalaureate degree. Therefore, we disagree with the Director and find that the 
Petitioner has not provided sufficient documentation of her eligibility for the underlying EI32 visa 
classification. 3 Nevertheless, we will continue with our analysis of 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. · -
At the time of filing, the Petitioner was a sixth grade math teacher, and proposed to continue in this 
endeavor while also pursuing a master's degree in special education. She states that she plans to 
complete her degree so that she can employ best practices in her classroom and develop innovative 
teaching strategies using technology to meet the needs of special education students . For the reasons 
discussed below, we find the Petitioner has not established eligibility for a national interest waiver 
under the analytical framework set forth in Dhanasar . 
· A. Substantial Merit and National Importance of the Proposed Endeavor 
In his decision, the Director found that the Petitioner's proposed endeavor has substantial merit. The 
Petitioner referenced media and federal government reports noting the shortage of teachers in the 
United S~ates, especially in the areas of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM), 
and the · criticality of these subjects to our national interests. For instance, an article from The 
Washing/on Posl described a study from an education think tank in which it was noted this shortage 
particularly affected the areas of special education, math and science, the precise areas in which the 
Petitioner proposes to continue teaching . Upon review, we agree with the Director's finding. 
: See Dh~nasar, 26 l&N Dec. at 888-91, for elaboration on these three prongs. 
, This evidence must be submitted with any further proceedings in this matter. 
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Mauer ofG-M-V-M-
However, the Petitioner has not submitted sufficient evidence to demonstrate that her proposed 
endeavor is of national importance. The Director found that her work as a sixth grade math teacher 
did not offer benefits beyond her local school district, and so could not be considered to have a 
broader implications consistent with a finding of national importance.· He further noted that the 
evidence submitted by the Petitioner in response to his request for evidence (RFE); including her 
grant from the , copyright registration for her 
sixth grade book, and graduate program transcript from 
could not be considered as they did not exist when her petition was filed on January 14, 
2016, and thus could not support her eligibility at that time. On appeal, the Petitioner urges that we 
consider this evidence, and notes in particular that the effoctive date of her copyright registration is 
prior to her receipt of the Director's RFE. Upon review we do not find that the record, even 
considering this post-filing evidence, establishes that the potential prospective impact of her 
endeavor would have broader implications within the field of primary STEM and special needs 
education. 
In her response to the Director's RFE, the Petitioner asserted that these post-filing documents 
demonstrate how her work is of national importance. She indicated that her book "will be 
shared via website as soon as the copyright certificate comes out," but did 
not provide evidence about this website or how sharing her book on it stands to have an impact on 
the field ofSTEM and special needs education on a wider level. She also referenced a seminar she 
gave to teachers at a high school in her district regarding the importance of in general, and 
indicated that she would continue to present seminars and workshops on the subject. But while the 
impact of this work goes beyond her own classroom, the Petitioner has not demonstrated that it 
offers implications for the fields of STEM or special education at a level consistent with national 
importance. Similarly, it has not been shown that the ·scale of her grant project, which proposed the 
purchase of 19 tablets loa.ded with specific software for use by special education students in her 
school, wo~1ld have a broader impact on the field of special education. Further, the Petitioner's 
mentorship of teacher interns has a direct influence on only those interns. While 
the Petitioner argues that those interns may go on to teach anywhere, thus extending her influence, 
the record does not demonstrate that the potential prospective impact of her mentorship rises to a 
level of having national importance. Accordingly, we agree with the Director and find that, much 
like the proposed teaching activities of the petitioner in Dhanasar, the Petitioner's proposed 
endeavor does not meet the requirements of the first prong of the Dhanasar framework. 
B. Well Positioned to Advance the Proposed Endeavor 
The second prong shifts the focus of our analysis from the proposed endeavor to the Petitioner. She 
submitted academic records relating to the graduate program in special education that she is 
pursuing, letters from colleagues and supervisors confirming her employment history as a teacher, 
and evidence of awards she received, including "Teacher of the Year" in her school district for the 
2015-16 academic year. The letters also praise the Petitioner for her abilities as a sixth grade math 
teacher, noting the positive impact she has had on standardized test scores at her school and as the 
sixth grade math . curriculum developer for her district. This evidence demonstrates her 
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Maller ofG-M-V-M-
qualifications and skill as an experienced teacher, and that she is well-positioned to continue in that 
endeavor. 4 The Petitioner thus meets·the second prong of the Dhanasar framework . 
C. Balancing Factors to Determine Waiver's Benefit to the United States 
As explained above, the third prong of the Dhanasar framework 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. The Petitioner claims that she is eligible for a waiver 
based upon her education , experience as a teacher, and dedication to teaching math, especially to 
students with special needs . Despite her documented track record of success in teaching students in 
her classroom , and the evidence of a national shortage of STEM and special education teachers 5, the 
Petitioner has not demonstrated that her work has impacted the field of math and special needs 
education on a broader level which would justify a national interest waiver. Also, in her ~esponse to 
the Director's RFE, the Petitioner mentioned the potential economic benefits of her work, especially 
in what she states is an economically depressed area, but she did·not articulate or provide evidence to 
support the economic benefit which would be derived from her work . 
Further, the Petitioner states that due to the age of her son and the time needed for completion of the 
labor certification process, it would _be impractical for her to pursue that ·route as a means for 
obtaining permanent residency . · Although the Dhanasar decision indicated that a relevant factor 
under the third prong could include the impracticality of obtaining a labor certification in light of the 
nature of a petitioner's qu~lifications or proposed endeavor, here the Petitioner has not asserted that 
her qualifications or her endeavor as a public school teacher present obstacles to the labor 
certification process. 
For the reasons discussed above, we find that the Petitioner has not established 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 . 
Ill. CON(;LUSION 
The Petitioner has not submitted evidence of her baccalaureate degree , and has therefore not 
established her eligibility for the underlying EB2 immigrant visa classification . In addition , she has 
not met the requisite three prongs set forth in the Dhanasar analytical framework . We therefore find 
4 To the extent that the Petitioner plans to disseminate her work on ·a wider scale by making her book available to 
other teachers, the evidence does not establish that she has a past record of achievement that demonstrates that she is 
well positioned to advance the adoption of as a teaching tool. The record does not include evidence showing that 
the Petitioner has made her book available to other sixth grade math teachers, or that its use has spread beyond her 
own classroom or school. 
5 We note that the U.S. Department of Labor addresses shortages of qualified workers through the labor certification 
process. Accordingly, a shortage alone does not demonstrate that waiving the requirement of a labor certification would 
benefit the United States. 
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Maller of G-M-V-M-
that she has not established that she is eligible for, or otherwise merits, a national interest waiver as a 
matter of discretion. 
ORDER: The appeal is dismissed. 
Cite as Matter of G-M-V-M-, ID# 1833319 (AAO Dec. 28, 2018) 
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