dismissed EB-2 NIW Case: Food Science

U.S. Citizenship 
and Immigration 
Services 
MATTER OF R-J-J-
Non-Precedent Decision of the 
Administrative Appeals Office 
DATE: AUG. 4, 2016 
APPEAL OF NEBRASKA SERVICE CENTER DECISION 
PETITION: FORM I-140, IMMIGRANT PETITION FOR ALIEN WORKER 
The Petitioner, a microbiology quality technician, seeks classification as a member of the 
professions holding an advanced degree. See section 203(b)(2) of the Immigration and Nationality 
Act (the Act), 8 U.S.C. § 1153(b )(2). The Petitioner also seeks a national interest waiver of the job 
offer requirement that is normally attached to this employment-based second preference immigrant 
classification. See section203(b)(2)(B)(i) ofthe Act, 8 U.S.C. § 1153(b)(2)(B)(i). U.S. Citizenship 
and Immigration Services (USCIS) may grant this discretionary waiver of the required job offer, and 
thus of a labor certification, when it is in the national interest to do so. 
The Director, Nebraska Service Center, denied the petition. The Director found that the Petitioner 
established his eligibility as an advanced degree professional, but did not establish that a waiver of 
the job offer requirement is in the national interest. Specifically the Director concluded that the 
Petitioner had not demonstrated the necessary influence in the field. 
The matter is now before us on appeal. In his appeal, the Petitioner submits a statement and a copy 
of an email. 
Upon de novo review, we will dismiss the appeal. 
I. LAW 
To establish eligibility for a national interest waiver, a petitioner must first demonstrate his or her 
qualification for the underlying visa classification, as either an advanced degree professional or an 
individual of exceptional ability in the sciences, arts, or business. Because this classification 
normally requires that the individual's services be sought by a U.S. employer, a separate showing is 
required to confirm that a waiver of the job offer requirement is in the national interest. 
Section 203(b) of the Act states, in pertinent part: 
(2) Aliens Who Are Members of the Professions Holding Advanced Degrees or 
Aliens of Exceptional Ability. -
Matter of R-J-J-
(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) Subject to clause (ii), the 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.CJ 
Neither the statute nor the pertinent regulations define the term "national interest." Additionally, 
Congress did not provide a specific definition of "in the national interest." The Committee on the 
Judiciary merely noted in its report to the Senate that the committee had "focused on national 
interest by increasing the number and proportion of visas for immigrants who would benefit the 
United States economically and otherwise .... " S. Rep. No. 55, lOlst Cong., 1st Sess., 11 (1989). 
Matter of New York State Dep't ofTransp., 22 I&N Dec. 215,217-18 (Act. Assoc. Comm'r 1998), 
set forth several factors which must be considered when evaluating a request for a national interest 
waiver. First, a petitioner must demonstrate that he or she seeks employment in an area of 
substantial intrinsic merit. !d. at 217. Next, a petitioner must show that the proposed benefit will be 
national in scope. !d. Finally, the petitioner seeking the waiver must verify that the national interest 
would be adversely affected if a labor certification were required by establishing that he or she will 
serve the national interest to a substantially greater degree than would an available U.S. worker 
having the same minimum qualifications. !d. at 217-18. 
While the national interest waiver hinges on prospective national benefit, a petitioner's assurance 
that he or she will, in the future, serve the national interest cannot suffice to establish prospective 
national benefit. !d. at 219. Rather, a petitioner must justify projections of future benefit to the 
national interest by documenting a history of demonstrable achievement with some degree of 
influence on the field as a whole. !d. at 219, n.6. 
1 Pursuant to section 1517 ofthe Homeland Security Act of2002 ("HSA"), Pub. L. No. 107-296, 116 Stat. 2135,2311 
(codified at 6 U.S.C. § 557 (2012)), any reference to the Attorney General in a provision of the Act describing functions 
that were transferred from the Attorney General or other Department of Justice official to the Department of Homeland 
Security by the HSA "shall be deemed to refer to the Secretary" of Homeland Security. See also 6 U.S.C. § 542 note 
(2012); 8 U.S.C. § 1551 note (2012). 
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(b)(6)
Matter of R-J-J-
II. ANALYSIS 
The Petitioner holds a master of science in nutrition, exercise, and food science from 
and a bachelor of science in agricultural sciences from the 
He is also member of the and the 
and is "an At the time of filing, he was 
employed as a microbiology quality technician. 
Upon review of the entire record, the evidence establishes that the Petitioner is a member of the 
professions holding an advanced degree, his work is in an area of substantial intrinsic merit and the 
proposed benefit will be national in scope. It remains, then, to determine whether the Petitioner 
demonstrated that he will benefit the national interest to a greater extent than an available U.S. 
worker with the same minimum qualifications. 
Documentation supporting the Form I-140, Immigrant Petition for Alien Worker, included evidence 
regarding the Petitioner's academic and professional credentials. The Petitioner also submitted 
reference letters from colleagues attesting to his competence and work ethic. After reviewing the 
materials offered in response to his request for evidence, the Director denied the petition, finding 
that the record did not establish the Petitioner's impact on the field. For the reasons discussed 
below, the submitted evidence does not establish that the Petitioner's work has influenced the field 
as a whole as required under the third prong of the NYSDOT national interest waiver analysis. 
Without such a showing, employment in a beneficial occupation does not, ·by itself, qualify the 
Petitioner for the national interest waiver. 
The record includes evidence regarding the Petitioner's graduate school work on the 2009 and 2010 
'' at and two 
related workshops. The Petitioner states that his "individual contributions" to these projects "are 
generally acknowledged as representing major findings, advances or breakthroughs that have 
enjoyed wide spread implementation." According to an assistant 
professor at and the principal investigator of the project, the 
Petitioner's responsibilities included "generating ideas, providing the visuals and descriptions of the 
science concepts and laboratory techniques for the graphic animators to develop the story boards" 
and "assist[ing] with 
the review process of the through the many stages of development." 
She indicated that he also "develop[ ed] hands-on laboratory activities for wokshops [sic] and 
assist[ed] with the delivery of the workshops." 
states that "[t]he are freely available" online and 
that there has been some outside interest in use by others. Specifically, she indicates that "[ o ]ther 
states are reporting using the and components of the curriculum" and that "an assistant 
professor from is incorporating the and components of the 
curriculum into an online food science course." The record does not, however, contain sufficient 
evidence to support such statements or otherwise demonstrate that the project has had an influence 
on the field of food safety as a whole. Further, she does not provide any specific examples of how 
3 
(b)(6)
Matter of R-J-J-
the Petitioner's contributions to the curriculum, or workshops were novel or indicative 
of influence on the field. The Petitioner maintains that this work has "improve[ d] education and 
training programs for U.S. children and under-qualified workers," which has impacted "the 
education community." Without supporting evidence, the availability of these documents online 
does not establish that they "are widely recognized and utilized as teaching and learning tools in 
schools." Statements made without supporting documentation are of limited probative value and are 
not sufficient for purposes of meeting the burden of proof in these proceedings. Matter of So.ffici, 22 
I&N Dec. 158, 165 (Comm'r 1998) (citing Matter ofTreasure Craft ofCal~fornia, 14 I&N Dec. 190 
(Reg'l Comm'r 1972)). 
On appeal, the Petitioner submits a copy of an email indicating that he volunteered "to participate in 
the workshop for the Exam Review portion of the exam" for The 
Petitioner contends that his selection in 2014 and 2015 is evidence of his "recognition at the national 
level." According to a letter from a senior member of however, he "was 
selected at random" and was "a volunteer." While we agree with that volunteering "is 
an indication of ... professionalism and dedication," it is not evidence of the Petitioner's influence 
on his field. 
Regarding the Petitioner's statements that he is "a uniquely strong contributor in the medical field" 
with an "outstanding interdisciplinary education," assuming his skills are unique, the classification 
sought was not designed merely to alleviate skill shortages in a given field. In fact, that issue 
properly falls under the jurisdiction of the Department of Labor through the alien employment 
certification process. See § 212(a)(5)(A)(i) of the Act; NYSDOT, 22 I&N Dec. at 215, 221. We 
further note that, although the Petitioner qualifies as a member of the professions holding an 
advanced degree, educational degrees, occupational experience, certifications, professional 
memberships, and recognition for achievements are elements that can contribute toward a finding of 
exceptional ability. See 8 C.F.R. § 204.5(k)(3)(ii)(A), (B), (C), (E) and (F), respectively. Pursuant 
to section 203(b)(2)(A) of the Act, however, foreign nationals of exceptional ability are generally 
subject to the job offer/labor certification requirement; they are not exempt by virtue of their 
exceptional ability. NYSDOT, 22 I&N Dec. at 218, 222. An individual cannot qualify for a waiver 
based on a degree of expertise significantly above that ordinarily encountered in his field of 
expertise. The national interest waiver is an additional benefit, separate from the classification 
sought, and therefore eligibility for the underlying classification does not demonstrate eligibility for 
the additional benefit of the waiver. 
Finally, with regard to the reference letters from the Petitioner's colleagues, they indicate that he is 
"creative and productive," and "intelligent and personable." They do not, however, provide any 
specific examples of how the Petitioner's work has already influenced the field. 
Upon review, the supporting 
evidence has not specifically demonstrated how the Petitioner has 
impacted his field. Accordingly, we find the record insufficient to demonstrate that the Petitioner 
has had some degree of influence on the field as a whole. 
4 
Matter of R-J-J-
III. CONCLUSION 
A plain reading of the statute indicates that it was not the intent of Congress that every advanced 
degree professional or individual of exceptional ability should be exempt from the requirement of a 
job offer based on national interest. For the reasons discussed above, we find the record insufficient 
to confirm that the Petitioner's past record of achievement is at a level sufficient to waive the job 
offer requirement which, by law, normally attaches to the visa classification sought by the Petitioner. 
Accordingly, the Petitioner has not established by a preponderance of the evidence that a waiver of 
the requirement of an approved labor certification will be in the national interest of the United 
States. 
The appeal will be dismissed for the above stated reasons. In visa petition 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; Matter of Otiende, 26 I&N Dec. 127, 128 (BIA 2013). Here, that burden has 
not been met. 
ORDER: The appeal is dismissed. 
Cite as Matter of R -J-J-, ID# 17 446 (AAO Aug. 4, 20 16)