dismissed EB-2 NIW Case: Information And Communications Technology

U.S. Citizenship 
and Immigration 
Services 
In Re: 19808475 
Appeal of Texas Service Center Decision 
Non-Precedent Decision of the 
Administrative Appeals Office 
Date: FEB. 28, 2022 
Form 1-140, Immigrant Petition for Alien Worker (Advanced Degree, Exceptional Ability, National 
Interest Waiver) 
The Petitioner, an "entrepreneur and venture capitalist in the field of information and communications 
technology," 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 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 a brief asserting that he 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). 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 1, 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 See also Poursina v. USCIS, 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. 2 
II. ANALYSIS 
The record indicates that 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. 
In his appeal brief, the Petitioner asserts that the "Director erred in assigning three (3) distinct proposed 
endeavors, ignoring the clarification made in response to the Request for Evidence and applied this 
incorrect interpretation throughout his review of the petition." He also contends that the Director 
"discounted much of the initially submitted and supplemental evidence." For the reasons discussed 
below, we agree with the Director that the Petitioner has not sufficiently demonstrated the national 
importance of his proposed endeavor under the first prong of the Dhanasar analytical framework. 
Regarding his claim of eligibility under Dhanasar' s first prong, the Petitioner stated in response to the 
Director's request for evidence that his "proposed endeavor is to develop and improve the information 
and communication technology sector in the United States through the provision of telecommunication 
consulting, training, and project management services, specifically as it pertains to the application of fiber 
optical technology." He explained that his undertaking involves "the establishment of a company, 
which will provide 1) telecommunication technical consulting, training, and project 
management in information and communication technologies (including the application of fiber optical 
technologies) and enhanced security surveillance, and 2) telecommunication service upgrades to already 
acquired real estate investment properties and future real estate investment properties." The Petitioner 
further indicated that his company's services include "consulting, training, project management, and 
security system upgrades using fiber optics network." 
In addition, the Petitioner presented his business plan for I I which indicates that he intends 
to "provide telecommunication and fiber optic consulting services to various companies," "help 
companies make better hiring decisions by training and certifying fiber optic technicians," offer "services 
to local municipalities suggesting better upgrade options," and "establish long term relationships with key 
internet service providers to enhance their business performances." The Petitioner's business plan 
contains market analyses, information about the company's services, business strategies, financial 
forecasts and projections, and a description of company personnel. With respect to future staffing, the 
business plan anticipates thatl l"will hire one Vice President of Business Development and 
one Office Manager in Year 1," "one Administrative Assistant and one Project Coordinator in Year 2, 
and one additional Project Coordinator in Year 3." His business plan also offers sales projections of 
$154,128 in year one, $169,541 in year two, and $186,495 in year three. 
Furthermore, the Petitioner provided letters of support from his various professional acquaintances. 3 
With respect to the potential prospective impact of the Petitioner's work, I l a 
2 See Dhanasar, 26 T&N Dec. at 888-91, for elaboration on these three prongs. 
3 While we discuss a sampling of these letters, we have reviewed and considered each one. The letters of support mainly 
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business line manager withl (an information technology company in Brazil), asserted that the 
Petitioner's proposed endeavor "will certainly benefit the United States, as it will significantly 
improve the country's information and communication technology systems, promoting this sector of 
the economy and creating countless jobs for Americans." Additionally,! I 
Undersecretary of Education forl I in Brazil, indicated that the 
Petitioner's undertaking "will greatly contribute to the progress of the United States in the area of 
information technology and communication and fiber optic network infrastructure. . . . [T]he United 
States needs experts with the capacity to improve the conditions of information traffic passing through 
the network, as well as develop the infrastructure that supports this data flow." Similarly, I I 
Municipal Secretary of Public Safety in ________ stated that the 
Petitioner's proposed work stands to improve the United States' "information and communication 
technology sector, advancing network infrastructure, and creating numerous jobs for Americans 
through his companyJ I which will provide telecommunications and fiber optic consulting 
and support services to U.S. companies." 
Likewise] I chief executive officer of ________ ( a real estate investment 
company in Texas), indicated that the Petitioner's proposed endeavor is aimed at "improving the 
information and communication technology sector and improving fiber optic network infrastructure 
in the U.S." and "would benefit the country." In addition,__ _____ co-founder ofl I 
_____ (a non-profit organization), asserted that the Petitioner's undertaking contributes "to 
American society, which needs greater data communication services that will be fast, safe, and 
reliable." 
The record also includes information about job creation in the U.S. technology sector, approaches for 
building a successful technology company, using technology as an advantage in building a strong 
company, the U.S. housing shortage, smart student housing development, university and private 
developer partnerships to address student housing needs, broadband access areas in the United States, 
the lack of universal broadband adoption in our country, digital poverty in U.S. metropolitan areas, 
the value of upgrading U.S. broadband infrastructure, and enhancing public safety with emerging 
technologies. In addition, the Petitioner provided articles discussing the shortage of affordable homes 
and rental apartments in the United States, conditions in the U.S. home buying market, the shortage 
of on-campus student housing, the lack of access to high-speed internet in certain parts of the country, 
factors limiting broadband access in rural areas, advanced fiber optics training, rural broadband 
infrastructure and next generation precision agriculture technologies, projections for U.S. fiber 
broadband coverage, optical fiber technologies, energy-efficient telecommunications, COVID-19's 
impact on broadband access, the basics of fiber optics, and the education technology students will need 
in a post-COVID environment. He also submitted information about the lack of broadband access in 
rural areas, solutions to rural broadband internet deployment, over-the-air signals as a technological 
solution for those without broadband connectivity, technological innovation in the battle against 
COVID-19, fiber connectivity in the United States relative to other countries, fiber as the centerpiece 
for wireless advancement, the need for a national fiber broadband access plan, rural communities' lack 
focus on the Petitioner's skills, knowledge, and past work experience rather than the national importance of his proposed 
endeavor. The Petitioner's skills, knowledge, and prior work in his field relate to the second prong of the Dhanasar 
framework, which "shifts the focus from the proposed endeavor to the foreign national." Id. at 890. The issue here is 
whether the specific endeavor that he proposes to undertake has national importance under Dhanasar's first prong. 
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of access to high-speed internet, public safety for the smart city, and five strategies for bringing the 
internet to all Americans . The record therefore demonstrates that the Petitioner's proposed work has 
substantial merit. 
In determining national importance, 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 his work. While the 
Petitioner's statements reflect his intention to provide valuable consulting, training, and project 
management services for his future clients, he has not offered sufficient information and evidence to 
demonstrate that the prospective impact of his 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. 
Here, we conclude the record does not show that the Petitioner's proposed endeavor stands to 
sufficiently extend beyond his company and its clientele to impact the information and communication 
technology fields or the U.S. economy more broadly at a level commensurate with national 
importance. 
Furthermore , the Petitioner has not demonstrated that the specific endeavor he proposes to undertake 
has significant potential to employ U.S. workers or otherwise offers substantial positive economic 
effects for our nation. Specifically, he has not shown that his company's future staffing levels and 
consulting activity stand to provide substantial economic benefits in any particular region (such as 
Florida) or in the United States. While the sales forecast for !indicates that his company 
has growth potential, it does not demonstrate that the benefits to the regional or national economy 
resulting from the Petitioner's undertaking would reach the level of "substantial positive economic 
effects" contemplated by Dhanasar. Furthermore , the Petitioner has not demonstrated that the specific 
endeavor he proposes to undertake has significant potential to employ U.S. workers or otherwise offers 
substantial positive economic effects for our nation. Id. at 890. For instance, he has not offered 
sufficient evidence that I I would employ a significant population of workers in an 
economically depressed area or that his endeavor would offer a U.S. region or its population a 
substantial economic benefit through employment levels or business activity. Accordingly , 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 his 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 his eligibility under the second 
and third prongs outlined in Dhanasar, therefore, would serve no meaningful purpose. 
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III. CONCLUSION 
As the Petitioner has not met the requisite first prong of the Dhanasar analytical framework, we conclude 
that he has not established he 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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