dismissed EB-2 NIW Case: Finance

U.S. Citizenship 
and Immigration 
Services 
In Re: 9020425 
Appeal of Nebraska Service Center Decision 
Non-Precedent Decision of the 
Administrative Appeals Office 
Date: DEC. 22, 2020 
Form 1-140, Immigrant Petition for Alien Worker (Advanced Degree, Exceptional Ability, National 
Interest Waiver) 
The Petitioner, a finance manager, 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. § 1153(b)(2). 
The Director of the Nebraska Service Center denied the petition, concluding 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 brief asserting that she is eligible for 
a national interest waiver. 
In these proceedings, it is the petitioner's burden to establish eligibility for the immigration benefit 
sought. Section 291 of the Act, 8 U.S.C. § 1361. Upon de nova 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: 
(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. 
(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 (AAO 2016).1 Dhanasar states that after a petitioner has established 
eligibility for EB-2 classification, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) may, as matter 
of discretion2, 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. 
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 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 
1 In announcing this new framework, we vacated our prior precedent decision, Matter of New York State Department of 
Transportation, 22 l&N Dec. 215 (Act. Assoc. Comm'r 1998) (NYSDOT). 
2 See also Poursina v. USCIS, No. 17-16579, 2019 WL 4051593 (Aug. 28, 2019) (finding USCIS' decision to grant or 
deny a national interest waiver to be discretionary in nature). 
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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 offer and thus of a labor certification.3 
II. ANALYSIS 
The Director found that the Petitioner qualifies as a member of the professions holding an advanced 
degree. The remaining 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. For the 
reasons discussed below, we agree with the Director that the Petitioner has not sufficiently 
demonstrated the national importance of her proposed endeavor under the first prong of the Dhanasar 
analytical framework. 
Regarding her claim of eligibility under Dhanasar's first prong, the Petitioner stated that she intends to 
continue to work as a finance manager. She indicated that her responsibilities include analyzing market 
trends and competitors, providing financial information, monitoring the cash flow, predicting the trends 
for the future, and managing the budget. The record includes a September 2018 job offer from the 
I I atl I, a senior care facility, offering her "the position of Financial Manager" at the 
facility'd I Department.4 
In response to the Director's request fr evidence (RFE), the Petitioner presented a July 2019 letter from 
I I, director of the at,___ _________ ___, Department, stating that the 
Petitioner's position "involves application of all managerial functions such as planning, organizing, 
directing, and controlling the finance function .... She will be in charge of efficient planning and control 
of the cycle of flow of funds and outflow of funds." 
The Petitioner's response to the RFE also indicated that she seeks experience in "investment analysis, 
financial planning, strategic finance, international finance, and global financial markets." She explained 
that her proposed endeavor is aimed at "driving teams through the development and implementation of 
strategic financial procedures and systems while establishing effective processes to drive business 
success." The Petitioner further asserted that her "ability to supervise corporate financial and budgetary 
development - along with my expertise in developing and introducing new policies and procedures to 
optimize departmental efficiency and productivity - positions me to make a significant and positive 
impact" for her employer. 
3 See Dhanasar, 26 l&N Dec. at 888-91, for elaboration on these three prongs. 
4 This letter listed the Petitioner's job duties as providing financial cost accounting services and supporting senior staff in 
managing operations against budget plus strategic goals. Additionally, the letter stated that her duties involve assisting 
with monthly financial closings, ensuring accurate general ledger cost balances, coordinating financial internal audits, 
developing internal control policies, and monitoring capital for business development projects. As the Petitioner is 
applying for a waiver of the job offer requirement, it is not necessary for her to have a job offer from a specific employer. 
However, we will consider information about her position to illustrate the capacity in which she intends to work in order 
to determine whether her proposed endeavor meets the requirements of the Dhanasar analytical framework. 
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In addition, the Petitioner stated: "I have my tools on putting up my own business in the field of finance 
here in the country and that's my plan. First, I need to focus on my goals and objectives, my main goal 
is to satisfy all the clients' needs when it comes to their financial aspects of their businesses." She also 
indicated that her "objective is the proper mobilization of funds and it needs to utilize funds properly, we 
need to focus on how the company will earn more profits, how to maximize shareholders wealth or giving 
them advice and techniques on how to expand their company." 
The record contains an article, entitled "The Role of Finance in the Economy: Implications for Structural 
Reform of the Financial Sector." This article explains that the U.S. financial system is critical to the 
functioning of the economy as a whole and that banks are central to the financial system. It also indicates 
that finance serves three main purposes: credit provision, liquidity provision, and risk management 
services. The Petitioner also provided information about financial managers from the U.S. Department 
of Labor's Occupational Outlook Handbook. The record therefore supports the Director's 
determination that the Petitioner's proposed work as a finance manager has substantial merit. 
In denying the petition, the Director concluded that the Petitioner had not demonstrated the national 
importance of her particular proposed endeavor. The Director explained that the Petitioner's evidence 
did not show that her proposed work as finance manager for a private company stands to have broader 
implications at a level indicative of national importance. 
In her appeal brief, the Petitioner maintains that as a finance manager, her proposed work has national 
importance because it is beneficial to the U.S. economy. She asserts that "every business and organization 
needs to be vigilant about its financial health." The Petitioner further contends that she "can teach and 
cascade financial literacy to people and even an entire community in impoverished area to be financially 
independent and to better their financial status or be able to equip them to manage their day to day 
finances/ expenses." Additionally, the Petitioner states that our country will benefit from her proposed 
endeavor because her work is "pivotal in the development of the company's financial growth regardless 
[of] whether the company is [a] small, medium, or a large-scale corporation; all companies will benefit 
and [are] in need of financial managers to manage their finances for them." 
In determining national importance, the relevant question is not the importance of the industry or 
profession in which 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 and that "[a]n undertaking 
may have national importance for example, because it has national or even global implications within 
a particular field." Id. We also stated that "[a]n 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. at 890. 
To evaluate whether the Petitioner's proposed endeavor satisfies the national importance requirement 
we look to evidence documenting the "potential prospective impact" of her work. Although the 
Petitioner's statements reflect her intention to provide valuable financial management services for her 
U.S. employer and future clients, she has not offered sufficient information and evidence to 
demonstrate that the prospective impact of her proposed endeavor rises to the level of national 
importance. 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. 
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Here, we conclude the record does not show that the Petitioner's proposed endeavor stands to 
sufficiently extend beyond her employer and future clientele to impact the fi nancial management field 
or U.S. economy more broadly at a level commensurate with national importance. 
Furthermore, the Petitioner has not demonstrated that the specific endeavor she proposes to undertake 
has significant potential to employ U.S. workers or otherwise offers substantial positive economic 
effects for our nation. Without sufficient information or evidence regarding any projected U.S. economic 
impact or job creation attributable to her future work, the record does not show that benefits to the U.S. 
regional or national economy resulting from the Petitioner's financial management projects would reach 
the level of "substantial positive economic effects" contemplated by Dhanasar. Id. at 890. Accordingly, 
the Petitioner's proposed work does not meet the fir st prong of the Dhanasar framework. 
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. 
111. CONCLUSION 
As the Petitioner has not met the requisite first prong of the Dhanasar analytical framework, we conclude 
that she has not established she is eligible for or otherwise merits a national interest waiver as a matter 
of discretion. The appeal will be dismissed for the above stated reasons, with each considered as an 
independent and alternate basis for the decision. 
ORDER: The appeal is dismissed. 
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