dismissed EB-2 NIW Case: Geriatric Nursing

U.S. Citizenship 
and Immigration 
Services 
In Re: 12305611 
Appeal of Texas Service Center Decision 
Non-Precedent Decision of the 
Administrative Appeals Office 
Date : WL. 23, 2021 
Form 1-140, Immigrant Petition for Alien Worker (Advanced Degree, Exceptional Ability, National 
Interest Waiver) 
The Petitioner intends to work as a geriatric nurse, and 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 Texas 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 ofjob 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 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 offer or for the 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 
sufficiently urgent to warrant forgoing the labor certification process. In each case, the factor(s) 
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. USC1S, 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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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. 4 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. 
A. Substantial Merit and National Importance of the Proposed Endeavor 
At the time of filing, the Petitioner explained that she will have a "positive health and educational 
impact on both the areas where she will practice and the American people, as she tries to fulfill her 
missions to help assist with elder care and teach these techniques to the field." She also stated, "I 
would bring to the United States 20 years of experience in the field, in addition to extensive training. 
including a specialization in Geriatrics and Gerontology from the I !University ofl I 
The Petitioner noted that in her previous work experience she initiated and developed a program aimed 
at decreasing the number of falls in a residential facility and helped diminish the severity of falls. 
In response to the Director's request for evidence (RFE), the Petitioner explained that there is a 
"shortage of experienced nurses, particularly nurses prepared to work with aging patients, at a time 
when people ages 65 and over are becoming an increasingly larger segment of the U.S. population." 
The Petitioner further stated that her plan is to obtain a license in nursing and work as a geriatric nurse 
and will work in Florida with "elderly and immigrant patients" and "have the ability to train 
community health workers to help mitigate the shortage of healthcare professionals." 
On appeal, the Petitioner states that her "background and education, along with her particular 
experience and specialization in geriatrics, would enhance societal welfare and cultural enrichment." 
Moreover, the Petitioner explains that "[e]very student or colleague or patient that [the Petitioner] 
impacts will potentially benefit part of the greater population." The Petitioner submits articles 
discussing nursing in the United States and needs and changes in education in that field. She also 
explains that during her emf1oyment abroad, she implemented several policies and services. For 
example, she was part of the I' which was a protocol guidance on the prevention of 
falls for the elderly residents in her facility. She also "prepared manuals and lectures to implement 
individualized care plans for patients." The Petitioner also published articles regarding issues related 
to geriatric care in a website. 
In addition, the record included letters of support from peers and co-workers that worked with the 
Petitioner explaining how she provided quality nursing care and improved the nursing operations at 
her employment abroad . Further, the Petitioner presented articles discussing the need for nurses in 
the United States, and how the specialization of geriatrics in nursing is underrepresented. 
3 See Dhanasar , 26 I&N Dec. at 888-91, for elaboration on these three prongs. 
4 The Petitiollfr received a bachelor's degree from the University oft I and a post-graduate degree from the._! _ ___. 
University of! I Brazil. 
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Regarding the first prong of the Dhanasar framework, the Director concluded that the "record does not 
show that the petitioner's proposed endeavor stands to sufficiently extend beyond her patients to 
impact her field of U.S. healthcare more broadly at the level commensurate with national importance." 
While the record demonstrates that the Petitioner's proposed work has substantial merit, for the reasons 
discussed below, the evidence is not sufficient to show this endeavor's national importance. 
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. 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. 
On appeal, the Petitioner contends that her "efforts will have a positive health and educational impact 
on both the areas where she will practice and the American people, as she tries to fulfill her mission 
to help assist with elder care and teach these techniques to the field." The Petitioner further asserts 
that there is a nursing shortage and a growing demand for nurses that specialize in geriatrics. The 
Petitioner notes that she "prepared manuals and lectures to implement individualized care plans for 
patients," that will be a "vital resource to general geriatric care in the United States and would reach 
far beyond just her patients." 
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. With respect to the 
Petitioner's proposed care and treatment of patients, the record does not establish that her nursing 
work in her area would impact the geriatric field and healthcare industry more broadly, as opposed to 
being limited to the patients she serves. The Petitioner did not provide evidence of how her lectures 
and manuals will broadly impact her field. Although the lectures, manuals and policy change she 
made at her facility abroad may be useful to her patients, the record does not demonstrate that they 
were followed by other doctors or nurses or were made available outside of her patient care. This is 
also true for her proposed plan that is lacking sufficient evidence that her knowledge and care of 
elderly patients in Florida will reach other patients or the healthcare industry. Accordingly, without 
sufficient documentary evidence of its broader impact, the Petitioner's nursing work does not meet 
the "national importance" element of the first prong of the Dhanasar framework. Similarly, 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. 
The Petitioner provided a letter from.__ ________ ~ professor of.__ _______ __. 
providing an analysis and advisory evaluation of the Petitioner's request for a national interest waiver. 
I I stated that the Petitioner would work in the U.S. in an area of substantial merit and 
national importance. Specifically] I stated that "as the uncertainty of being able to supply 
the demand for nurses and nursing educators in the country increases, so does the need for U.S. to 
benefit from the expertise of a nurse and health care manager such as [the Petitioner] with an in-depth 
knowledge of the medical environment." Whilel I points out a high demand for nursing, 
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he did not provide sufficient information of how the Petitioner working as a nurse will have a national 
impact outside of caring for her patients. 
Furthermore, the record does not include any information or evidence regarding any significant 
projected job growth attributable to her potential endeavor in geriatric nursing. The Petitioner has not 
shown benefits to the regional or national economy, or increasing job productivity would reach the level 
of "substantial positive economic effects" contemplated by Dhanasar. Id. at 890. Accordingly, the 
Petitioner's proposed work as a geriatric nurse does not meet the first 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. 
III. CONCLUSION 
As the Petitioner has not met the requisite second 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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