dismissed EB-2 NIW Case: Human Resources And Marketing Communication

U.S. Citizenship 
and Immigration 
Services 
Non-Precedent Decision of the
Administrative Appeals Office 
Date: DEC. 27, 2023 In Re: 28559922 
Appeal of Texas Service Center Decision 
Form 1-140, Immigrant Petition for Alien Worker (National Interest Waiver) 
The Petitioner, a human resources and marketing communication specialist, seeks 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 Texas Service Center denied the petition, concluding that although the Petitioner 
qualified for classification as a member of the professions holding an advanced degree, she 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. 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. 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. 
An advanced degree is any United States academic or professional degree or a foreign equivalent 
degree above that of a bachelor's degree. A United States bachelor's degree or foreign equivalent 
degree followed by five years of progressive experience in the specialty is the equivalent of a master's 
degree. 8 C.F.R. § 204.5(k)(2). 
Profession is defined as of the occupations listed in section 10l(a)(32) of the Act, as well as any 
occupation for which a United States baccalaureate degree or its foreign equivalent is the minimum 
requirement for entry into the occupation. 1 8 C.F.R. § 204.5(k)(3). 
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," we set forth a framework for adjudicating national interest waiver petitions 
in the precedent decision Matter ofDhanasar, 26 I&N Dec. 884 (AAO 2016). 2 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 3, 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 
1 Profession shall include but not be limited to architects, engineers, lawyers, physicians, surgeons, and teachers in 
elementary or secondary schools, colleges, academics, or seminaries. Section 101 (a)(32) of the Act. 
2 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). 
3 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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determining whether the proposed endeavor has national importance, we consider its potential 
prospective impact. 
II. ANALYSIS 
The Petitioner proposes to work in the Uni1ed States as a human resources and marketing 
communications specialist through her company, ] The Director found that the Petitioner 
qualifies as a member of the professions holding 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. For the reasons discussed below, we 
conclude that the Petitioner has not sufficiently demonstrated the national importance of her proposed 
endeavor under the first prong of the Dhanasar analytical framework. 
We reviewed the entirety of the record and have considered the Petitioner's eligibility for the national 
waiver. In the decision denying the petition, the Director acknowledged that the Petitioner's proposed 
endeavor had substantial merit but determined that the Petitioner had not established the national 
importance of her proposed endeavor. The Director also concluded that the Petitioner had not 
demonstrated that she is well positioned to advance the proposed endeavor and on balance, that it 
would be beneficial to the United States to waive the requirement of a job offer and thus of a labor 
certification. The Director also stated that the Petitioner had not demonstrated that her undertaking has 
the potential to have "broader implications to the overall field to establish its national importance ... that 
extend beyond her company to impact the field more broadly." 
On appeal, the Petitioner argues that the Director's decision contained errors of law and fact. For 
example, the Petitioner contends that the Director arbitrarily and capriciously ignored the opinion of 
the industry expert which emphasized the national importance of the Petitioner's proposed endeavor. 
The Petitioner also highlights the evidence submitted in support of the petition and in response to the 
Director's request for evidence (RFE) to underscore the sufficiency of the submitted evidence. 
The Petitioner stated in her personal statement, "through my company, I provide customized analysis 
and project management services related to the area of Human Resources and social/organizational 
communications to small and medium U.S. companies that operate in the fields of marketing, 
communications, and education ... [a]s an HR Marketing Communications Specialist, I focus on the 
administrative matters of each company, including personnel training, evaluation, and staff 
development." 
The Petitioner also submitted a business plan where she explains, '1 Iprimarily targets 
business clients, new entrepreneurs, and other interested parties. The company focuses on Southwest 
Florida with the purpose of gradually expanding its operations to reach the entire state." In addition, 
the business plan also contains financial forecasts and projections, a personnel plan, and a discussion 
of the Petitioner's work experience. Regarding future staffing, the Petitioner's business plan 
anticipates that I I will hire eight employees by the end of year five. Furthermore, the 
Petitioner's plan offers sales projections of $202,720 in year one to $547,254 in year five. 
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The Petitioner also rovided expert opinion letters from Dr. V-L-, 4 an associate professor of marketing 
at and Dr. K-W-, an associate professor of quantitative management at 
Drs. V-L- and K-W- contend that the Petitioner's work is of national 
importance. In particular, Dr. V-L- states that the Petitioner "specializes in organizational 
communication with an in-depth knowledge in human resource management. Her work is in demand 
and has national importance in the field of human resources. Through her exceptional track record of 
experience as a Human Resources Director, she has demonstrated that she is fully capable and well 
positioned to advance the proposed endeavor of applying her expertise and skills in her field to 
strengthen businesses in the United States." 
Similarly, Dr. K-W- asserts that the Petitioner "will provide the nation the advantages of female 
business as a co-owner ofl IFor good reason, entrepreneurs are among the most avant­
garde and thought-provoking members of society." 
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The Petitioner also submitted a letter of intent to continue employment from ~I------~IThe company states that they contracted the Petitioner and her company's services to 
provide communication strategies and organizational development in order to improve their labor 
practices and internal management structure. 
In determining whether the proposed endeavor has national importance, we consider its potential 
prospective impact. Further, the relevant question is not the importance of the field, 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. 
To evaluate whether the Petitioner's proposed endeavor satisfies the national importance requirement 
we look to evidence documenting the "potential prospective impact" of the Petitioner's work. While 
the Petitioner's statements reflect her intention to work in the United States as a human resources and 
marketing communications specialist through her company, the Petitioner 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. Id. at 893. 
Though we acknowledge the Petitioner's assertions and the evidence she submitted on appeal, we 
conclude that the Petitioner has not shown her proposed endeavor stands to sufficiently extend beyond 
her employees and her company's customers to enhance societal welfare on a broader scale indicative 
of national importance. 
4 Names withheld to protect individuals' identities. 
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The first prong's focus is on the proposed endeavor itself and not the petitioner. Id. The Petitioner 
must establish that her specific endeavor has national importance under Dhanasar's first prong. The 
Petitioner has not shown that the specific endeavor she proposes to undertake has significant potential 
to employ U.S. workers or otherwise offers substantial positive economic effects for the United States. 
Specifically, the Petitioner has not demonstrated that her company's future staffing levels and business 
activity stand to provide substantial economic benefits in Florida or the United States. While the 
Petitioner claims that her company has growth potential, she has not presented evidence indicating that 
the benefits to the regional or national economy resulting from her undertaking would reach the level of 
"substantial positive economic effects" contemplated by Dhanasar. Id. at 890. In addition, although the 
Petitioner asserts that her endeavor stands to "create employment opportunities in the United States," she 
has not offered sufficient evidence that the area where her company operates is economically 
depressed, that she would employ a significant population of workers in that area, or that her endeavor 
would offer the region or its population a substantial economic benefit through employment levels, 
tax revenue, or business activity. 
The Petitioner claimed that her proposed endeavor "has had a far reach" in the United States by 
"supporting medium-sized and small businesses to improve their effectiveness, efficiency, and 
performance." The Petitioner further elaborated that she has been "providing guidance on change 
management strategies, developing communication plans, addressing resistance to change, and 
supporting implementing of new initiatives or restricting efforts." To illustrate further, the Petitioner 
discussed the benefits of the HR department and HR professionals who hold management positions, 
highlighting how her endeavor will help promote healthy work environments where employees feel 
safe, valued, and properly supported and will contribute to the success of businesses nationwide. 
Although the Petitioner claimed that she would create jobs and improve businesses, the evidence she 
provided does not support such a conclusion. While her endeavor may directly imP.act the 
communication strategies and organizational development of a particular company such as I I
I I, the evidence does not suggest how these benefits would reach the field of 
human resource management/communication overall or have an impact so broad as to affect the 
economy or create a significant number of jobs. 
We acknowledge that the field of human resource is important; however, this is insufficient to establish 
the national importance of the proposed endeavor. As previously mentioned, 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." Id. at 889. The Petitioner has not sufficiently explained how helping the individual 
companies and clients that hire her would result in impact on a broad scale rising to the level of national 
importance. For instance, the Petitioner has not provided evidence that increasing the profitability and 
enabling the expansion of a particular company would affect the GDP. It is insufficient to claim an 
endeavor has national importance or will create a broad impact without providing evidence to 
corroborate such claims. The Petitioner must support her assertions with relevant, probative, and 
credible evidence. See Matter of Chawathe, 25 I&N Dec. 369, 376 (AAO 2010). 
For the aforementioned reasons, the Petitioner's proposed work 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, 
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the Petitioner has not demonstrated eligibility for a national interest waiver. Since this issue is dispositive 
of the Petitioner's appeal, we decline to reach and hereby reserve the appellate arguments regarding 
her eligibility under the second and third prongs outlined in Dhanasar. See INS v. Bagamasbad, 429 
U.S. 24, 25 (1976) ("courts and agencies are not required to make findings on issues the decision of 
which is unnecessary to the results they reach"); see also Matter ofL-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 
As the Petitioner has not met the requisite first 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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