dismissed EB-2 NIW Case: Finance

U.S. Citizenship 
and Immigration 
Services 
In Re : 13 111 7 91 
Appeal of Texas Service Center Decision 
Non-Precedent Decision of the 
Administrative Appeals Office 
Date: JUN. 8, 2021 
Form I-140, Immigrant Petition for Alien Worker (Advanced Degree, Exceptional Ability, National 
Interest Waiver) 
The Petitioner, a financial manager, seeks second preference immigrant classification as a member of 
the professions holding an advanced degree and as an individual of exceptional ability, 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 Texas Service Center denied the petition, concluding that the Petitioner 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 a brief asserting that he 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. 
Furthermore, 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 I&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 discretion 2, 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 offerorforthe 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 
1 In announcing this new framework, we vacated our prior precedent decision, Matter of New York State Department of 
Transportation, 22 I&NDec. 215 (Act. Assoc. Comm'r 1998) (NYSDOT). 
2 See also Poursina v. USCJS, No. 1 7-16579, 2019 WL 4051593 (Aug. 28, 2019) (finding USC IS' decision to grant or 
deny a nationalinterestwaiverto be discretionaiy in nature). 
2 
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 
A. Member of the Professions Holding an Advanced Degree 
The Director did not make a determination regarding the Petitioner's eligib lity as either a member of the 
professions holding an advanced degree or as an individual of exceptional ability. The record reflects 
that the Petitioner possesses the foreign equivalent of an advanced degree. Accordingly, the Petitioner 
qualifies as a member of the professions holding an advanced degree. See 8 C.F.R. § 204.5(k)(2) and 
(3)(i)(A). 4 
B. National Interest Waiver 
The remaining issue to be determined is whether the Petitioner has established that a waiver of the 
requirement of a job off er, 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 eligibility under the first prong of the Dhanasar analytical framework. 
The first prong relates to substantial merit and national importance of the specific proposed endeavor. 
Dhanasar, 26 I&N Dec. at 889. The Petitioner initially provided a statement indicating that he "intend[s] 
to continue using [his] expe1iise and knowledge in the fields of Finance and Business Operations by 
working as a Financial Manager" and his "career plan in the United States is to work as a Financial 
Manager, consulting U.S. companies on how to grow successfully, meet their goals, and remain 
profitable." In response to the Director's request for evidence, the Petitionerofferedan updated statement 
indicating that he "intend[ s] to continue using 28 years of professional, progressive experience, expertise, 
and knowledge in International Finance, Tax Operations, Business Management, International Trade, and 
Development to work as a Chief Finance Officer [CFO] for U.S. institutions in any industry in need of 
[his] services." In addition, he claimed that his "financial management experience in Africa and Europe, 
combined with [his] significant experience managing finances for large, multi-national oil and gas 
companies, makes [him] an asset to U.S. companies engaged in or planning to engage in international 
business, and particularly in the highly profitable oil and gas industiy ."5 
The Petitioner maintains on appeal that "he will allow his clients to trust his work, as well as the U.S. 
institution he works for" and "[t]his, in tum, will result in attracting the highest qualified investors, and 
3 See Dhanasar, 26 I&NDec. at 888-91, for elaboration onthesethreeprongs. 
4 As he meets the classification as a memberoftheprofessionsholdinganadvanceddegree, a determination regarding the 
Petitioner's classification as an individual of exceptional ability is moot. 
5 The Petitioner also asserted that "a simple search for 'Financial Managers' on Linkedln, returns over 82J00 opening, 
throughout the United States," and "[t]he wide spectmm of job vacancies in the field, clearly demonstrates the need for 
skilled professionals, such as [him]self, in the United States." As the Petitioner is applyingfora waiverofthejob offer 
requirement it is not necessa1y for him to have a job offer from a specific employer. However, we will consider 
information about his current and prospective positions to illustrate the capacity in which he intends to work in onler to 
determine whether his proposed endeavor meets the requirements of the first prong of the Dhanasar framework. 
3 
achieving the highest level of success for not only his served institutions, but the U.S. economy at large." 
The Director determined that the Petitioner demonstrated the substantial merit of his proposed endeavor, 
and the record supports that conclusion. 6 For the reasons discussed below, we agree with the Director 
that the Petitioner has not sufficiently shown the national importance of his proposed endeavor. 
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 I&N Dec. at 889. Here, the Petitioner 
must demonstrate the national importance of his providing specific financial management or CFO 
services rather than the national importance of the positions or the wide range of fields or industries 
in which he intends to work. 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 . 
In his appeal brief, the Petitioner emphasizes his "extensive expertise ," "28 years of professional 
experience," "wide range of distinctive industry roles ," "extensive experience," "professional record," 
"steep background in international finance ," "outstanding achievements ," and "record of 
accomplishments ." The Petitioner's experience and abilities in his field relate to the second prong of the 
Dhanasar framework, which "shifts the focus from the proposed endeavor to the foreign national." Id. 
at 890. The issue here is whether the specific endeavor that he proposes to undertake has national 
importance under Dhanasar's first prong . 
To evaluate whether the Petitioner ' s proposed endeavor satisfies the national importance requirement 
we look to evidence documenting the "potential prospective impact" of his work. Although the 
Petitioner asserts that "his proposed endeavor will affect the whole business and financial ecosystem, 
as his served organizations, and potential clients, will directly improve the U.S. economy by 
participating in financia l, investment, commercial, and trade activities throughout the United States, 
including the oil and gas sector," he has not offered sufficient, specific information and evidence to 
demon strate that the prospective impact of his specific proposed endeavor rises to the level of national 
importance. Instead, the record contains evidence regarding general infonnation relating to financial 
services, international and trade investment, financial planning, foreign and domestic oil and gas 
investment, and energy industries. 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 . Here, the record does not show that the Petitioner's proposed endeavor of serving 
as a financia l manager or CFO stand s to suffi ciently extend beyond his potential or futuristic 
employers, to impact the oil industry or any other industries or the U.S. economy more broadly at a 
level commensurate with national importance. 
Furthermore , the Petitioner has not established that the specific endeavor he proposes to undertake has 
significant potential to employ U.S. workers or otherwise offers substantial positive economic effects 
6 The record includes documentationregardingthe CFO and financial manager job markets in the United States , including 
their descriptions , roles, and responsibilities . 
4 
for our nation. While he references general U.S. dependent trade job numbers and U.S. energy 
investment statistics, the Petitioner does not demonstrate how his specified proposed endeavor would 
somehow influence those figures. Without sufficient information or evidence regarding any projected 
U.S. economic impact or job creation attributable to his future work, the record does not show that benefits 
to the U.S. regional or national economy resulting from the Petitioner's financial manager or CFO 
position would reach the level of "substantial positive economic effects" contemplated by Dhanasar. Id. 
at 8 90. Accordingly , the Petitioner's proposed endeavor does not meet the first prong of the Dhanasar 
framework . 
Because the documentation in the record does not establish the national importance of his 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 his eligibility under the second 
and third prongs outlined inDhanasar, therefore, would serve no meaningful purpose. 
III. CONCLUSION 
As the Petitioner has notmetthe requisite first prong of theDhanasar analytical framewotk, we conclude 
that he has not demonstrated that he 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. 
5