dismissed EB-2 NIW Case: Healthcare

U.S. Citizenship 
and Immigration 
Services 
Non-Precedent Decision of the
Administrative Appeals Office 
Date : JUN. 26, 2023 In Re : 2699164 7 
Appeal of Nebraska Service Center Decision 
Form 1-140, Immigrant Petition for Alien Workers (National Interest Waiver) 
The Petitioner, a nurse who intends to own and operate an assisted living facility in the United States, 
seeks employment-based second preference (EB-2) immigrant classification as a member of the 
professions holding an advanced degree . See Immigration and Nationality Act (the Act) 
section 203(b )(2), 8 U.S.C. § 1153(b )(2). The Petitioner also seeks a national interest waiver of the 
job offer requirement that is attached to this EB-2 immigrant classification . See section 
203(b)(2)(B)(i) of the 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 of the Nebraska Service Center denied the petition, concluding that the record did not 
establish that the Petitioner meets the requirements of a national interest waiver. The matter is now 
before us on appeal. 8 C.F.R. § 103.3. 
The Petitioner bears the burden of proof to demonstrate eligibility by a preponderance of the evidence. 
Matter ofChawathe, 25 I&N Dec. 369, 375-76 (AAO 2010). We review the questions in this matter 
de novo. Matter of Christo 's, Inc., 26 l&N Dec. 537, 537 n.2 (AAO 2015). Upon de novo 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. Section 203(b )(2)(B)(i) of the Act. 
If a petitioner demonstrates eligibility for the underlying EB-2 classification, they must then establish 
that they merit a discretionary waiver of the job offer requirement "in the national interest." 
Section 203(b )(2)(B)(i) of the Act. While neither the statute nor the pertinent regulations define the 
term "national interest ," Matter of Dhanasar, 26 l&N Dec. 884, 889 (AAO 2016) , provides the 
framework for adjudicating national interest waiver petitions. Dhanasar states that USCIS may, as 
matter of discretion 1, grant a national interest waiver if the petitioner demonstrates that: 
• The proposed endeavor has both substantial merit and national importance; 
• The individual is well-positioned to advance their proposed endeavor; and 
• On balance, waiving the job offer requirement would benefit the United States. 2 
II. ANALYSIS 
The Director 
determined that the Petitioner qualifies as a member of the professions with 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. 
The Petitioner intends to own and operate an assisted living facility inl !Florida, as its chief 
executive officer. The Petitioner initially described her proposed endeavor as follows: 
My proposed endeavor is to own and operate the company~---------~
I I [T]he company will be a standard and licensed assisted 
living facility for the elderly that will be specifically designed and equipped with the 
needed accommodation and resources to give comfort and security to all our [residents] 
irrespective of the religion affiliations, their race, and health condition. [W]e will 
engage in services such as continuing care retirement communities, assisted living 
facilities and homes for the elderly, independent-living facilities, providing room and 
board, nursing and other supervision services, assistance in daily living and 
housekeeping services. 
The Director concluded that, while the Petitioner's proposed endeavor has substantial merit, the 
Petitioner did not meet any of the three prongs of the Dhanasar framework. For the reasons discussed 
below, we agree with the Director that the Petitioner has not sufficiently demonstrated the national 
importance of her endeavor in order to establish her eligibility under the first prong of the Dhanasar 
analytical framework. 
The first prong, substantial merit and national importance, focuses on the specific endeavor that the 
individual 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. 
Dhanasar, 26 I&N Dec. at 889. 
On appeal, the Petitioner submits copies of documents currently present in the record, including 
academic documentation, recommendation letters, and a letter of opinion. We note that the Director's 
decision stated that the Petitioner qualifies for the EB-2 classification based on her foreign equivalent 
of a U.S. advanced degree. We also note that the recommendation letters relate to the second prong 
1 See also Poursina v. USC1S, 936 F.3d 868 (9th Cir. 2019) (finding USCIS' decision to grant or deny a national interest 
waiver to be discretionary in nature). 
2 See Dhanasar, 26 I&N Dec. at 888-91, for elaboration on these three prongs. 
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of Matter ofDhanasar, an issue that will be reserved in this decision. Finally, we note that the letter 
of opinion discussing the Petitioner's eligibility for a national interest waiver covers her experiential 
qualifications, which relate to the second prong, and also discusses the healthcare industry itself: as 
opposed to describing how the Petitioner's proposed endeavor meets the qualifications for a national 
interest waiver. As such, this material will not be farther discussed in this notice. 
The Petitioner's appeal also contains a brief in which she provides statistics for small businesses in 
Florida and cites initiatives that are part of the 2023 budget for the Small Business Administration 
(SBA). The brief also includes data concerning assisted living in Florida, information about the 
healthcare industry and the high costs of care, and the importance of home healthcare services. The 
Petitioner provides the following: 
I have knowledge and expertise as a Registered Nurse, which as a result I will 
strengthen relationships with influential professionals and industries in the market, in 
this way penetrating into important areas for the development of the market segment 
that for strategic and/or technical reasons have not yet been potentially explored .... 
Considering the employability presented, it can be concluded that my business 
generates significant economic and social impacts on the U.S. The positive social 
impacts stem not only from the generation of jobs and income itself but also from the 
economic alternative for various economic areas, such as the health industry. 
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 farther 
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. at 890. 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. 
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 build business networks and employ quality workers 
through use of her knowledge as a nurse, 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. See 
Dhanasar, 26 I&N Dec. at 893. Here, we conclude that the record does not show that the Petitioner's 
proposed endeavor stands to sufficiently extend beyond her employees and facility residents to impact 
either the healthcare or assisted living industries more broadly at a level commensurate with national 
importance. 
In addition, the Petitioner has not demonstrated that her proposed endeavor has significant potential 
to employ U.S. workers or otherwise offers substantial positive economic effects for the nation. 
Specifically, she has not shown that her business activity stands to provide substantial economic 
benefits to Florida or to the United States. The business plan does not demonstrate that the benefits to 
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the regional or national economy resulting from the Petitioner's endeavor would reach the level of 
"substantial positive economic effects" contemplated by Dhanasar. Id. at 890. Further, although the 
Petitioner asserts that her company will hire U.S. employees, she has not provided evidence to show 
that she would employ a significant population of workers in the region, or that her endeavor would 
offer the region or its population a substantial economic benefit through employment levels, business 
activity, or tax revenue. The Petitioner states that by the fifth year of operation, her facility will have 
eleven employees. While the Petitioner has provided data demonstrating economic hardship in the 
region within Florida in which she intends to operate her facility, it is not clear how an individual 
business of the size and scope described will impact those economic situations in a way that would 
positively affect the region. The Petitioner also cites a shortage of nurses in the United States as a 
positive impact because her facility will employ nurses; however, it is not clear how employment of a 
few individuals in an occupation in which there is a general national shortage would render the 
proposed endeavor nationally important under the Dhanasar framework. The Petitioner further cites 
research concerning the benefits of immigration and entrepreneurialism in the United States. Although 
this may be an issue of significance in the economy generally, the issue is not relevant to whether the 
Petitioner's specific endeavor to own and operate an assisted living facility rises to the level of national 
importance. The Petitioner has not demonstrated the national importance of her proposed endeavor 
under the first prong of the Dhanasar analytical framework. 
The record does not establish the national importance of the proposed endeavor as required by the first 
prong of the Dhanasar precedent decision. Therefore, the Petitioner has not demonstrated eligibility 
for a national interest waiver. Because the identified basis for dismissal is dispositive of the 
Petitioner's appeal, we decline to reach and hereby reserve remaining arguments concerning eligibility 
under the Dhanasar framework. See INS v. Bagamasbad, 429 U.S. 24, 25 (1976); see also Matter of 
L-A-C-, 26 I&N Dec. 516, 526 n.7 (BIA 2015) (declining to reach alternative issues on appeal where 
an applicant is otherwise ineligible). 
III. CONCLUSION 
The Petitioner has not demonstrated that her proposed endeavor has national importance. As the 
Petitioner has not met the requisite first prong of the Dhanasar analytical framework, she has not 
established that she is eligible for or otherwise merits a national interest waiver as a matter of 
discretion. The petition will remain denied. 
ORDER: The appeal is dismissed. 
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