dismissed EB-2 NIW Case: Education And Training

U.S. Citizenship 
and Immigration 
Services 
Non-Precedent Decision of the
Administrative Appeals Office 
Date: FEB. 14, 2024 In Re: 29734776 
Appeal of Nebraska Service Center Decision 
Form 1-140, Immigrant Petition for Alien Workers (National Interest Waiver) 
Intending to work as a provider of training and educational services to U.S. newcomers, the Petitioner 
seeks 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)(i), 8 U.S.C. § 1153(b)(2)(B)(i). U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) 
has discretion to excuse job offers in this category - and, thus, related requirements for certifications 
from the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) - if petitioners demonstrate that waivers of these U.S.­
worker protections are "in the national interest." Id. 
The Director of the Nebraska Service Center denied the petition. The Director concluded that the 
Petitioner did not demonstrate the merits of her national interest waiver request. On appeal, the 
Petitioner contends that the Director erred overlooked evidence, asserting that: her proposed endeavor 
has "national importance;" she is "well positioned" to advance it; and, on balance, a waiver would 
benefit the United States. 
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 agree with the Director that the Petitioner has not established the claimed national 
importance of her proposed venture. We will therefore dismiss the appeal. 
I. LAW 
To establish eligibility for national interest waivers, petlt10ners must first demonstrate their 
qualifications for the EB-2 category, either as members of the professions holding "advanced degrees" 
or noncitizens of "exceptional ability" in the sciences, arts, or business. Section 203(b )(2)(A) of the 
Act. To protect the jobs of U.S. workers, this category usually requires prospective employers to offer 
noncitizens jobs and to obtain DOL certifications to permanently employ the individuals in the 
country. See section 212(a)(5)(D) of the Act, 8 U.S.C. § 1182(a)(5)(D). Petitioners may avoid the job 
offer/labor certification requirements by demonstrating 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." So, 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, 
petitioners may warrant waivers of the job-offer/labor certification requirements by demonstrating 
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 Petitioner earned a master's degree in English from a university in the 
Republic of Georgia, her home country. She then worked about 25 years as an English teacher at a 
Georgian public school, from 1996 to 2021. In 2011, she founded a non-governmental organization 
where she organized various projects promoting youth development and civic awareness. She also 
established a travel agency. 
In 2021, the Petitioner came to the United States. She plans to establish an organization called~
I-~ 
to help newcomers assimilate into U.S. culture. She submitted a business plan ~------~ and addendum, stating that the organization would help people learn English and provide vocational 
training in fields such as: bookkeeping; restaurants; and home care. The Petitioner would teach 
English classes and serve as the organization's education and civic engagement program director. At 
the end of the organization's first five years of operation, the business plan's addendum projects annual 
revenues of more than $997,000 and employment of 18 people. 
B. EB-2 Qualifications 
The record supports the Director's finding that the Petitioner qualifies for the 
requested EB-2 category. 
A professional, independent evaluation of her foreign educational credentials states the equivalency 
of her Georgian master's degree equates to a U.S. bachelor's degree in English. The Petitioner also 
provided copies of a letter and training certificates documenting her 25-year teaching career. She 
therefore demonstrated her eligibility as an advanced degree professional. 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"). 
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 ofDhanasar, 26 I&N Dec. at 889. 
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The record shows that, in addition to generating revenues and creating jobs, the Petitioner's proposed 
endeavor could provide English and workforce training to new U.S. immigrants, helping them to 
obtain employment and assimilate into U.S. culture. We therefore affirm the Director's conclusion 
that the Petitioner's proposed work has substantial merit. 
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 that the Petitioner did not demonstrate that her proposed endeavor would have 
national implications for the economy or the educational/training field. The Director found 
insufficient evidence that the venture would impact more than the Petitioner's organization, its 
employees, and its clients. 
On appeal, the Petitioner states that her endeavor would have a "multiplying effect" because she would 
promote her "innovative approaches" to others in the field. Upon the petition's approval, she says she 
would register the organization with appropriate authorities, giving her the legal ability to employ 
workers and conduct business. The Petitioner notes that she provided letters from businesses and 
individuals willing to financially support the endeavor and train newcomers in her organization's 
program. She says these partners would also employ program graduates. 
Despite evidence of investors and trainers, the Petitioner has not sufficiently demonstrated that her 
particular endeavor would have enough scope to merit national importance. See Matter ofDhanasar, 
26 I&N Dec. at 889 ("The first prong, substantial merit and national importance, focuses on the 
specific endeavor that the foreign national proposes to undertake.") ( emphasis added). The Director 
noted that the addendum to the Petitioner's business plan does not explain the calculations of the 
business's revenue, profit, and personnel forecasts. But, even assuming the projections' validity, 
neither the plan nor its addendum indicates that the endeavor would affect the economy on a national 
level. Also, the Petitioner has not otherwise established or even claimed that her organization would 
benefit an economically depressed area. Further, she states that she would promote innovative 
approaches to education and training in the field. But she does not describe the approaches or explain 
their innovations. The record therefore lacks sufficient evidence that the Petitioner's venture would 
introduce advancements to the educational/training field. 
The Petitioner's endeavor reminds us of one we considered in Dhanasar. There, the petitioner 
proposed teaching U.S. university students courses in science, technology, engineering, and 
mathematics (STEM) disciplines. Matter of Dhanasar, 26 I&N Dec. at 893. We agreed with the 
petitioner that his proposed endeavor had substantial merit. Id. But we held that he did not 
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demonstrate that his proposed teaching had national importance, as he did not establish that the 
endeavor would "more broadly" affect the STEM educational field. Id. 
Similarly, the Petitioner proposes a meritorious endeavor to educate and train newcomers to the United 
States. But, like the petitioner in Dhanasar, she has not sufficiently demonstrated how her endeavor 
would "more broadly" affect the U.S. economy or the educational/training field. 
The Petitioner has not established the claimed national importance of her proposed endeavor. We will 
therefore affirm the petition's denial. 
E. The Other Denial Grounds 
Our conclusion regarding the national importance of the Petitioner's proposed endeavor resolves this 
appeal. We therefore decline to reach and hereby reserve her appellate arguments regarding her 
positioning to advance her proposed venture and a waiver's potential benefits to the United States. 
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 
Under our Dhanasar framework, the Petitioner has not demonstrated that her proposed endeavor has 
national importance. We will therefore affirm the petition's denial. 
ORDER: The appeal is dismissed. 
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