dismissed EB-2 NIW Case: Financial Engineering

U.S. Citizenship 
and Immigration 
Services 
MATTER OF D-F-D-M-
APPEAL OF TEXAS SERVICE CENTER DECISION 
Non-Precedent Decision of the 
Administrative Appeals Office 
DATE: MAR. 16, 2018' 
PETITION: FORM I-140, IMMIGRANT PETITION FOR ALIEN WORKER 
The Petitioner, a linancial engineer, seeks second preference immigrant classilication 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). After the 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: (l) 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. Matter of 
Dhanasar, 26 I&N Dec. 884 (AAO 2016). 
The Director of the Texas Service Center denied the Form I-140, Immigrant Petition for Alien 
Worker, finding that the Petitioner qualified for classification as a member of the professions 
holding an advanced degree or the equivalent, but that he had not established that a waiver of the 
required job offer, and thus of the labor certification, would be in the national interest. The matter is 
now before us on appeal. 
On appeal. the Petitioner submits additional documentation and argues that he is eligible for a 
national interest waiver based on the demand for financial engineers, as well as his "expertise that 
focuses on helping etlicient and modern projects become more financially feasible." 
Upon de novo review, we will dismiss the appeal. 
l. 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 sequentiallramework: 
Malter ofD-F-D-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 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 otTer-
(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 recently 
set forth a new framework for adjudicating national interest waiver petitions. See 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 requirements of a job offer and thus of a labor certification. In 
1 In announcing this nev .. ' framework, we vacated our prior precedent decision, A1auer of New York State Department of 
Transportation, 22 l&N Dec. 215 (Act. Assoc. Comm ·r 1998) (NYSDOT). 
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Matter (l D-F-D-!vf-
perfo rming this a nalysis , USCIS may evaluate factors such as: whether , in light of the nature of the 
foreig n national's qualificati ons or the propose d endeavor, it would be impractical either lor the 
foreig n n ationa l to secure a job offer or tor the peti tioner to obtain a labo r certi tication ; whether , 
even assuming that other qualified U.S. workers are available, the United States would still benefit 
from the foreign national's contribution s; and whether the national inter est in the foreign national's 
contributions is suftic[ently urgent to warrant forgoing the labor certification process. In each case, 
the factor(s) considered must, taken 10gether, indicate that on balanc e, it would be beneficial to the 
United States to waive the req uirements of ~ j o b offer and thus of a labor certitication.2 
The regulati on at 8 C.F .R. § 204 .5(k)(2 ) con tains the following relevant definitions : 
Advanced degree mean s any United States academic or profe ssio nal degree or a 
foreign equivalent degree above that of baccalaureate. A United States baccalaureate 
degree or a foreign eq uivalent degree followed by at least tive years of pro gress ive 
experience in the specialty shall be considered the equivalent of a master's degr ee. If 
a doctoral degree is custom arily required by the specialty, the alien must have a 
United States doctorat e or a forei gn equivalent degree. 
11. ANALYSIS 
The Petiti oner holds the foreign equiv alent of a U.S. baccalaureate degree in business administration, 
and has progressive post-bacc alaurea te ex perience in that specialty eq uivalent to an ad vanced degree 
under the reg ulation at 8 C.F.R. ~ 204.5( k)(3)(i)( B). Accordingly , the Director determined that the 
Peti tioner qualified for cla ssification as a memb er of the profession s ho lding an advanced degree .:; 
The sole issue to be determined is w hether the Petitioner has established that a waive r of the 
requ irement of a job offer , and thus a labor ce rtifi catio n, would be in the nation al interest. 
A. Substantial Merit and Nationa l Importance of the Proposed Endeavor 
The Petitioner intends to work as a consultan t offering fman cial engineer ing services to cliems.
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In a 
February 2017 letter accompanying the petit ion, he stated: "I plan to cont inue working in investment 
and i nfrastructure project financing, especially in the energy and environmental markets." In response 
to the Director 's RFE, he stated that he had recently begun working as a financial consultant for 
and he described seve ral projects for which he expects to provide financial 
engineering consulting servic es. He explained that he intends to contribute to tivc projects including 
developing a financial restructuring plan for a Brazilian aircraft manufacturer to anract investors and 
2 See Dhwwsar , 26 I&N Dec. at 888-91, for elaboration on these three prongs. 
: In his initial filing, the Petitioner also claimed that he meets the requirements of the u nderlying classification as an 
individual of exceptional ability. However, as the record demonstrates his eligibility as an advanced degree professionaL 
we need not consider whether the Petitioner also quali fies as an individual of exceptional ability. 
4 
The Petitioner e.xplains on appeal that "a financial engineer designs the funding and financial operations of a project, as 
opposed to an architect or engineer that designs the physical structure and construction of a project." 
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Maffer of D-F-D-,1.4-
begin U.S. operations; financial planning for the development of a pharmaceutical company medical 
unit; a financial restructuring to develop three new units providing full·s~rvice preventative medical 
care; developing financial plan for a coastal risk consulting company; and, conducting financial 
research on the production and distribution costs for a new assembly plant for a Brazilian poultry 
equipment manufacturer. He further stated that he is developing a feasibility study and market analysis 
for the to provide structuration and development of 38 low income 
housing uni1s in South Florida. We tind that the Peritioner's proposed work, which otTers economic 
benefits to his clients through linancial engineering services, has substantial merit. 
The record, however, does not demonstrate that the Petitioner's proposed endeavor is of nationaL 
importance. His appellate brief contends that his work on the projects noted above is of national 
importance because it is critical to each project's success, and each one addresses an issue that is of 
national importance. For example, in support of the national importance of the Petitioner's proposed 
work on the and projects he presents media articles and a joint 
report from .the advocating the wide-
spread application of systems engineering. tools to improve health care delivery. He states that 
"although local," his work on both projects "represent(s) a national problem." 
Similarly, in support of the national importance of his proposed work with a Brazilian aircraft 
manufacturer, the Petitioner presents evidence discussing the role of aerospace manufacturing in 
''fostering regional and national economic prosperity." tie also provides excerpts from testimony 
from a hearing of the U.S. Department of Transportation stating that aviation manufacturing is a 
''critical sector of our nation's economy." He further states that even a single aircraft manufacturing 
plant opening in the U.S. has national importance because that plant relies on "thousands of 
suppliers across the United States." He argues that his work drafting a financial restructuring plan 
for the Brazilian aircraft manufacturer is analogous to establishing a manufacturing plant in 
South Carolina. He points to an article published on the U.S. Department of Commerce website in 
which the Secretary of Commerce, Penny Pritzker, commends for making a foreign direct 
investment in the United States. 
In determining national importance, the relevant question is not the importance o f Lhe fields or 
industries 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. Although the 
Petitioner's statements reflect his intentions to provide a vaJu~ble service to prospective clients, he 
has n ot offered sufficient evidence to demonstrate that his proposed endeavor is of national 
importance. In the same way that Dhanasar tinds that a classroom teacher's proposed endeavor is not 
nationally important because the effects of the work are primarily limited to the teacher's school or 
district, we find that the proposed endeavor in this case will not sufticiently extend beyond the 
Petitioner's clients to ·impact the lields of infrastructure, health care delivery, aviation manufacturing, or 
low income housing mor~ broadly thim a single plant, clinic, or project.5 Nor has he shown his work 
5 See ld. at 893. 
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J\.falter of D-F-D-M-
would have broader implications for the field of financial engineering. Accordingly, the Petitioner has 
not met the first prong of the Dhanasar framework. 
B. Well Positioned to Advance the Proposed Endeavor 
The Petitioner submitted academic records, letters confirming his employment history, evidence of 
his credentials, and various awards and certitkates, including documentation that he has served as a 
financial engineer specializing in financing for large-scale infrastructure projects with the 
for more than 20 years. He also provided evidence that he worked closely with the Brazilian 
government on multiple federal infrastructure financing projects including creation of the financial 
budget tor a new cell phone and landline project lor the country. 
chief executive ollicer of provides a letter stating that he and the 
Petitioner were responsible for this project valued at 5 billion dollars and fi nanced by the central 
government of Brazil. He comments that "[The Petitioner) is a specialist in project finance and 
planning. He is also able to most accurately project expenses and revenue from any infrastructure 
project as well as assess risks involved." 
In addition, the Petitioner offered letters of recommenda6on from former colleagues, supervisors, 
and industry professionals, attesting to his expertise and positive impact on project finance. The 
references discussed the Petitioner's talent, dedication, and contributions to many public works 
projects in Brazil. For example, a letter of support from administrative and 
t[nance director of comments that the Petitioner's work was critical to a project to 
modernize the water and sanitation system of Mexico, and that his "financial expert ise in 
the infrastructure linancing and the construction industry was important to the development of a 
construction timeline, tailor-made financial solutions , and effective funding allocation for both the 
building and operating phases of the project." Similarly, head of North 
American operations for states that the Petitioner's expertise is "extensive and well 
documented through years of major professional achievements." Accordingly, the Petitioner has 
provided evidence that he is 1-veiJ positioned to advance his proposed endeavor of providing financial 
engineering services to clients, and \.Ve find therefore that he satisfies the second prong of the 
Dhanasar frame•vork. 
C. Balancing Factors to Determine Waiver's Benefit to the United States 
As explained above, 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. He indicates that it would be difficult for him to obtain a labor certification due to the 
timing of financial engineering projects and the fact that he intends to be an independent contractor 
working on multiple projects for several clients .. However, as the Petitioner has not established the 
national importance of his proposed endeavor as required by the first prong of the Dhana.mr 
framework, he is not eligible for a n ational interest waiver and further discussion of the balancing 
factors under the third prong would serve no mean.ingful purpose. 
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Mauer of D-F-D-M-
III. CONCLUSION 
As the Petitioner has not met the requisite three prongs set forth in the Dhanasar analytical framework, 
we find that he has not established he is eligible for or otherwise merits a national interest waiver as 
a matter of discretion. 
ORDER: The appeal is dismissed. 
Cite as Matter of D-F-D-M-. !0# l 037887 (AAO Mar. !6, 20 !8) 
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