dismissed
EB-2 NIW
dismissed EB-2 NIW Case: Entrepreneurship
Decision Summary
The motion to reconsider was dismissed because the petitioner did not establish that the prior AAO decision was based on an incorrect application of law or policy. The original appeal was dismissed on a procedural ground: the petitioner failed to contest one of the two independent grounds for denial (the national interest waiver determination), thereby waiving that dispositive issue.
Criteria Discussed
Eb-2 Eligibility (Advanced Degree Or Exceptional Ability) National Interest Waiver (Dhanasar Framework) Waiver Of Issues On Appeal Motion To Reconsider Standard Procedural Filing Requirements (Form Eta 9089)
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U.S. Citizenship
and Immigration
Services
Non-Precedent Decision of the
Administrative Appeals Office
Date: OCT. 30, 2023 In Re: 28999364
Motion on Administrative Appeals Office Decision
Form 1-140, Immigrant Petition for Alien Workers (National Interest Waiver)
The Petitioner, an entrepreneur, seeks employment-based second preference (EB-2) 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
classification. See Immigration and Nationality Act (the Act) section 203(b )(2), 8 U.S.C. ยง 1153(b )(2).
The Director of the Texas Service Center denied the petition, concluding that the Petitioner did not
established that he qualifies for EB-2 classification as a member of the professions holding an
advanced degree or as an individual of exceptional ability, and did not establish that a waiver of the
required job offer, and thus of the labor certification, would be in the national interest. We dismissed
a subsequent appeal. The matter is now before us on motion to reconsider.
The Petitioner bears the burden of proof to demonstrate eligibility by a preponderance of the evidence.
Matter of Chawathe, 25 l&N Dec. 369, 375-76 (AAO 2010). Upon review, we will dismiss the
motion.
A motion to reconsider must establish that our prior decision was based on an incorrect application of
law or policy and that the decision was incorrect based on the evidence in the record of proceedings
at the time of the decision. 8 C.F.R. ยง 103.5(a)(3). Our review on motion is limited to reviewing our
latest decision. 8 C.F.R. ยง 103.5(a)(l )(ii). We may grant motions that satisfy these requirements and
demonstrate eligibility for the requested benefit.
As noted above, the Director denied the petition based on two independent and alternative grounds,
determining that the Petitioner (1) did not establish his eligibility for EB-2 classification and (2) did
not demonstrate that a discretionary waiver of the required job offer would be in the national interest
under the framework set forth in Matter ofDhanasar, 26 l&N Dec. 884 (AAO 2016). On appeal, the
Petitioner contested the Director's determination regarding his eligibility for EB-2 classification as an
individual of exceptional ability; he did not, however, dispute the Director's conclusion that he was
ineligible for a national interest waiver under the Dhanasar framework.
Issues or claims that are not raised on appeal are deemed to be waived. We therefore deemed this
uncontested ground for denial to be waived and dismissed the appeal, emphasizing that if the affected
party does not address issues raised by the director, and those issues are dispositive of the case, the
appeal will be dismissed based on those waived issues. See, e.g., Matter ofM-A-S-, 24 I&N Dec. 762,
767 n.2 (BIA 2009).
Further, because the Petitioner did not contest the Director's determination regarding his eligibility for
a national interest waiver, and this issue was dispositive of his appeal, we reserved the Petitioner's
appellate arguments regarding his eligibility for EB-2 classification as an individual exceptional
ability. See INS v. Bagamasbad, 429 U.S. 24, 25 (1976) ("courts and agencies are not required to
make findings on issues the decision of which is unnecessary to the results they reach"); see also
Matter of L-A-C-, 26 I&N Dec. 516, 526 n.7 (BIA 2015) (declining to reach alternative issues on
appeal where an applicant is otherwise ineligible).
We also noted in our decision that the Petitioner did not meet the requirement at 8 C.F.R.
ยง 204.5(k)(4)(ii), which requires submission of Form ETA 750-B, Statement of Qualifications of
Alien, in duplicate, and did not submit, in the alternative, Form ETA 9089, Application for Permanent
Employment Certification, with parts J, K, and L completed. The Petitioner was instructed to submit
one of these required forms in a request for evidence (RFE), but the record reflected that his response
did not include either form.
On motion, the Petitioner submits additional evidence and contests the correctness of our prior
decision. Specifically, the Petitioner asserts that our decision "lacks a proper and specific analysis of
the effectiveness of each presented evidence." He also maintains that "the lack of specificity limits
my opportunity to understand the shortcomings pointed out by the AAO and to present additional
information or pertinent clarifications." Finally, the Petitioner submits a copy of a signed Form ETA
9089 and asserts that the original signed form was included in his response to the Director's RFE.
As discussed above, we dismissed the appeal because the Petitioner did not address or contest the
Director's adverse determination regarding his eligibility for a national interest waiver under the
Dhanasar framework. With this issue waived, he could not overcome the denial of the petition, even
if he established that the Director erred with respect to his eligibility for EB-2 classification as an
individual of exceptional ability. Therefore, we reserved the Petitioner's arguments with respect to
his eligibility for EB-2, and cited our legal authority to do so, thus providing the Petitioner with an
explanation with our basis for dismissing his appeal. Although he correctly asserts on motion that we
did not address the arguments he made on appeal regarding his eligibility for EB-2 classification as an
individual of exceptional ability, he has not demonstrated that we misapplied law or policy by
reserving those arguments. Nor does he contest our determination that his appeal addressed only one
of two independent grounds for denial.
Finally, we acknowledge the Petitioner's submission of Form 9089 on motion, and his claim that he
provided this evidence in response to the Director's RFE. However, we have reviewed the record and
observe that this required evidence was not in fact included in the RFE response or mentioned in the
Petitioner's letter accompanying that response and was not in the record of proceedings at the time we
dismissed the appeal.
2
For the reasons discussed, the Petitioner has not established that our previous decision was based on
an incorrect application of law or policy, or that it was incorrect based on the evidence in the record
at the time we issued our decision. Therefore, the motion will be dismissed. 8 C.F.R. ยง 103.5(a)(4).
ORDER: The motion to reconsider is dismissed.
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