dismissed EB-2 NIW Case: Law

U.S. Citizenship 
and Immigration 
Services 
MATTER OF K-C-0-
Non-Precedent Decision of the 
Administrative Appeals Office 
DATE: MAR. 31,2017 
APPEAL OF NEBRASKA SERVICE CENTER DECISION 
PETITION: FORM 1-140, IMMIGRANT PETITION FOR ALIEN WORKER 
The Petitioner, a lawyer, 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). After the petitioner has established eligibility for EB-2 
classification, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) may, as matter of discretion, 
grant a national interest waiver if the petitioner demonstrates: (l) 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. Matter of 
Dhanasar, 26 I&N Dec. 884 (AAO 2016). 
The Director of the Nebraska Service Center denied the Form I -140, Immigrant Petition for Alien 
Worker, finding 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. The matter is now before us on 
appeal. In December 2016, we issued a request for evidence (RFE) asking the Petitioner to provide 
evidence satisfying the three-part framework set forth in Dhanasar. 
In support of her appeal, the Petitioner submits additional documentation and argues that she is 
eligible for a national interest waiver because she has "satisfied the three prongs under the new 
framework." 
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. 
Matter of K-C-0-
Section 203(b) ofthe 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 of job 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 recently 
set forth a new framework for adjudicating national interest waiver petitions. See Dhanasar, 26 I&N 
Dec. 884.1 Dhanasar clarifies that, after EB-2 eligibility as an advanced degree professional or 
individual of exceptional ability has been established, USCIS may grant a national interest waiver if 
the petitioner demonstrates by a preponderance of the evidence: ( 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 cetiification. If these 
three elements are satisfied, USCIS may approve the national interest waiver as a matter of 
discretion. 
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 
1 
In announcing this new framework, we vacated our prior precedent decision, Matter of New York State Department of 
Transportation, 22 I&N Dec. 215 (Act. Assoc. Comm 'r 1998) (NYSD07). 
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Matter of K-C-0-
proposed endeavor; and the interest of potential customers, users, investors, or other relevant entities 
or individuals. 
The third prong requires the petiti9ner 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 p.etitioner 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) 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 Petitioner holds a doctor of jurisprudence from the in 
Michigan. Accordingly, the Director determined that the Petitioner qualified for classification as a 
member of the professions holding an advanced degree. The sole 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 
In the initial filing, the Petitioner stated that she intends to work as a public interest lawyer offering 
legal services to clients. In a June 2014 letter accompanying the petition, she indicated that her practice 
provides "legal services to low-income communities," and "significantly helps to make access to 
substantial justice a reality for most people - thus making the core constitutional right to fair and 
competent representation achievable to all low-income earners." The Petitioner further stated that she 
has a "deep interest" in "civil rights and immigration laws," and that she intends to "engage in public 
interest law practice upon admission to the Illinois State Bar." 
In the RFE, we asked the Petitioner to provide evidence documenting the potential prospective impact 
of her proposed endeavor representing clients in low-income communities. We noted, for example, that 
she could provide evidence related to how her representation of indigent clients offers substantial 
positive economic effects for the nation, or how it has broader implications for her field, beyond her 
particular pool of customers or clients. We also asked the Petitioner to provide updated information 
and evidence regarding any current employment and her plans for future work. 
In response, the Petitioner explains that she is now working as an attorney providing tax advice to 
individual and business clients, and she provides a copy of a job otTer f!·om for the 
2 • 
See Dhanasar, 26 I&N Dec. at 888-91, for elaboration on these three prongs. 
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Matter of K-C-0-
position of "practitioner." She states that she has "personally handled and help settle tax between 
$2,000 and $1 million," and that her work saves the "federal or state government from tremendous 
amount of money in litigation and collection fees." She also indicates that she intends to continue to 
offer pro bono legal assistance to African immigrants. The Petitioner submits a letter from 
of confirming that she continues to serve as a pro bono volunteer 
with the organization. We find that the Petitioner's proposed work, in which she offers legal advice to 
her clients, has substantial merit. 
With respect to the national importance of her endeavor, the Petitioner explains in her RFE response 
that, "though she lives in Illinois and is licensed to practice within that state," she is "not limited to 
helping clients in one geographic area." She claims that her work "has a broader implication of national 
importance when properly considered the service rendered affects the entire nation, tax." The Petitioner 
maintains that she has a demonstrated record of providing legal advice to both immigration and tax 
clients and that "taxation is paramount to national security," and that "for the government to function 
and continue to do her job, it needs to collect tax from her citizen [sic]." 
The Petitioner does not explain the change in her proposed endeavor from representing indigent 
clients to practicing tax law, nor does she indicate whether her new role as a tax practitioner 
similarly serves low-income communities or clarify the amount of her time that will be devoted to 
pro bono work. Regardless of whether the Petitioner aims to work as public interest attorney or a tax 
attorney, however, she has not provided sufficient evidence that her proposed endeavor is of national 
importance. While she contends that her role providing tax advice to clients aids the U.S. interests 
of collecting revenue , we find her prospective impact too attenuated to be considered a "substantial 
positive economic effect." She also asserts that her endeavor is of national importance because she 
will not be limited to one geographic area since she will be representing clients from a variety of 
states. However, she hasn't shown her representation has implications that extend beyond the pool 
of clients she will serve. 3 The geographic diversity of her clientele does not, by itself, establish that 
her work stands to impact the broader field or otherwise have implications rising to the level of 
national importance. Accordingly, the Petitioner has not met the first prong of the Dhanasar 
framework. 
B. Well Positioned to Advance the P~oposed Endeavor 
Regarding the second prong of Dhanasar, our RFE requested the Petitioner to submit documentation 
showing that she is well positioned to advance her proposed endeavor. In response, the Petitioner 
submits the above-noted job offer from along with the letter from of 
confirming that she .continues to serve as a pro bono volunteer with 
the organization. She also maintains that she "has provided hours and hours of pro bono legal services 
in the past," and that she has submitted evidence of her "level of commitment and past work in pro bono 
legal services and public interest law." 
3 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. See Dhanasar, 26 I&N Dec. at 893. 
4 
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Matter of K-C-0-
The record includes several letters attesting to the Petitioner's work in the field of public interest law. 
For example, attorney with the confitms that the Petitioner 
has provided "valuable services" to low income clients, "contributing greatly to the progress of some 
clients' cases." While the submitted evidence relates to the Petitioner ' s experience as a public interest 
lawyer, her pwposed endeavor , as described in response to our RFE, appears to be primarily as a tax 
lawyer.4 Without information or evidence documenting her prior experience providing legal taxation 
advice, we cannot conclude that she is well positioned to advance the proposed endeavor that she 
described in the RFE response, representing tax clients. For this reason, the Petitioner has not 
established that she satisfies the second prong of the Dhanasar framework. 
C. Balancing Factors to Determine Waiver's Benefit to the United States 
Third and finally, we conclude that on balance, the Petitioner has not established that it would be 
beneficial to the United States to waive the requirements of a job offer and thus of a labor 
certification. 5 Here, the Petitioner notes in her RFE response that she now has a job , and the record 
does not include evidence explaining why obtaining a labor certification would be impractical. In 
addition, while the Petitioner contends the record shows the importance of her work, she has not 
demonstrated her prospective work would serve an urgent national interest, and the record does not 
indicate that she offers contributions of such value 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 
Petitioner therefore has not established that she meets the third prong of the Dhanasar framework. 
Ill. CONCLUSION 
As the Petitioner has not met the requisite three prongs set forth in the Dhanasar analytical framework , 
we find that she has not established eligibility for or otherwise merits a national interest waiver as a 
matter of discretion. 
ORDER: The appeal is dismissed. 
Cite as Matter of K-C-0-, ID# 77988 (AAO Mar. 31 , 20 17) 
4 As noted previously, because the Petitioner has provided differing accounts of her proposed endeavor, we are unable to 
properly characterize what she aims to do. 
The labor certification process is designed to certify that the foreign worker will not displace , nor adversely affect the 
wages and working conditions of, U.S. workers who are similarly employed. Job requirements must adhere to what is 
customarily required for the occupation in the United States and may not be tailored to the foreign worker ' s 
qualifications or unduly restrictive, unless adequately documented as arising from business necessity. 
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