dismissed EB-2 NIW Case: Mechanical Engineering

U.S. Citizenship 
and Immigration 
Services 
In Re: 26375080 
Appeal of Texas Service Center Decision 
Non-Precedent Decision of the 
Administrative Appeals Office 
Date: APR. 12, 2023 
Form 1-140, Immigrant Petition for Alien Workers (National Interest Waiver) 
The Petitioner, a mechanical engineer, seeks classification as an individual of exceptional ability in 
the sciences, arts or business. 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. 
§ ll 53(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 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. 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 I&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. 
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 l&N Dec. 884 (AAO 2016). Dhanasar states that, after a petitioner has established 
eligibility for EB-2 classification, USCIS may, as a matter of discretion, grant a national interest 
waiver if the petitioner demonstrates: (1) that the noncitizen's proposed endeavor has both substantial 
merit and national importance; (2) that the noncitizen 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 
noncitizen 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. 
See Dhanasar, 26 I&N Dec. at 888-91, for elaboration on these three prongs. 
TI. ANALYSIS 
We first note that, in the decision, the Director did not address whether the Petitioner qualifies for 
second-preference classification as either a member of the professions holding an advanced degree or 
as an individual of exceptional ability. See section 203(b )(2) of the Act. However, in a prior request 
for evidence (RFE), the Director stated that the Petitioner "submitted evidence with Form I-140 which 
establishes [he] holds a bachelors [sic] degree in mechanical engineering and thus qualifies as a 
member of the professions holding an advanced degree. Therefore, at this time, USCIS does not need 
to evaluate whether [he] also qualifies as an alien of exceptional ability." 
The Director's statement that a bachelor's degree alone qualifies an individual as a member of the 
professions holding an advanced degree is incorrect as a matter of law. The regulations define 
"advanced degree" as "any United States academic or professional degree or a foreign equivalent 
degree above that of a baccalaureate." 8 C.F.R. § 204.5(k)(2) (emphasis added). Although a 
bachelor's degree followed by at least five years of progressive experience in the specialty may be 
considered the equivalent of a master's degree, see id., a bachelor's degree alone cannot qualify an 
individual as a member of the professions holding an advanced degree under the relevant regulations. 
See id. Therefore, we withdraw the Director's conclusion that the Petitioner's bachelor's degree in 
mechanical engineering alone qualifies the Petitioner as a member of the professions holding an 
advanced degree. However, because we nevertheless find that the record does not establish that a 
waiver of the requirement of a job offer, and thus of a labor certification, would be in the national 
interest, we reserve our opinion regarding whether the Petitioner satisfies second-preference eligibility 
criteria. See id.; see also 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"); 
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). 
Initially, the Petitioner described the endeavor as a plan to "settle in this country and contribute to the 
development of the [ o ]il and [g]as industry wherever it is required." Although the Petitioner provided 
more information about his prior experience, he did not initially elaborate on what the prospective 
endeavor, generally contributing to the development of the oil and gas industry, would entail. In an 
RFE, the Director informed the Petitioner that the record did not provide sufficient information about 
the proposed endeavor in order to determine whether it has substantial merit. In relevant part, the 
Director requested a detailed description of the proposed endeavor and documentary evidence that 
supports the Petitioner's statements and establishes the endeavor's merit. 
2 
In response to the Director's RFE, the Petitioner elaborated that "contributing to the [e]nergy and [ o ]ii 
& [g]as sector" would entail: 
working as [ c ]onstruction [ m ]anager in [ e ]ngineering, [p ]rocurement and 
[ c ]onstruction projects of refining plants, power generation, and [liquified natural gas 
(LNG)] generation, handling and transportation, as well as major repairs to existing 
plants or expansion works of the same; contributing [his] technical knowledge and 
experience in the construction area, solving critical problems during the different 
phases of the life cycle of the projects, solving the needs of the company and the client. 
The Petitioner also stated in response to the RFE that his duties as a construction manager would 
include the following: 
developing execution plans to ensure the safety, quality, and performance of the 
construction work, coordinating personnel's day-to-day activities, organizing 
construction coordination meetings, inspecting the material and equipment received, 
supervising preventive maintenance during storage, management and supervision of 
installation of equipment, piping, and other structures, managing the quality of 
construction work, reviewing and approving the hydrostatic and pneumatic tests to be 
performed, start-up of the planning and coordination of the pre-commissioning and 
start-up of the constructed units and other highly specialized services related to the 
most crucial phases of the extraction, handling and transportation of natural gas 
products (such as [l]iquefied [n]atural [g]as) and petroleum products. 
The Petitioner further stated that, through his services: 
companies in the oil and gas industry will be able to count on the knowledge and 
experience that will allow them to develop, optimize and complete constructions and/or 
repairs of extraction, refining, treatment and transportation units of natural products 
and petroleum derivatives in a safe and controlled manner and with levels of quality 
and performance that meet the expectations of the clients, thus contributing to the 
development and growth of this industry at a national level, guaranteeing reserves and 
supplies according to the requirements of international customers. 
The Director concluded that "[t]he documentary evidence submitted does not support the [P]etitioner's 
statements that the proposed endeavor has substantial merit." Although the Petitioner's initial 
description of the proposed endeavor did not provide sufficient information to determine its merit, the 
Petitioner's RFE response clarified what the proposed endeavor would entail. We withdraw the 
Director's finding that "the [P]etitioner has not established that the proposed endeavor is of substantial 
merit." Instead, we acknowledge that the record indicates that the proposed endeavor has substantial 
merit. 
The Director also concluded that "the [P]etitioner has not shown [his] proposed endeavor in this case 
stands to sufficiently extend beyond an organization and its clients to impact the industry or field more 
broadly" and thus, "has not established that the proposed endeavor is of national importance." 
3 
On appeal, the Petitioner asserts that his proposed endeavor of working as a construction manager will 
"support[] the American oil and gas industry itself as well as all other sectors and industries that 
depend or rely on it [and] boost[] the U.S. economy and job market." The Petitioner also references 
generalized information about the oil and gas industry in the record, including a one-page information 
sheet, dated 2020, from the U.S. Department of Energy titled, The Economic Benefits of Oil & Gas; 
a report prepared in 2021 for the American Petroleum Institute by Pricewaterhouse Coopers titled, 
Impacts of the Oil and Natural Gas Industry on the US Economy in 2019; and an apparent self-
published blog post, datedl I 2022, from Wood Mackenzie's Vice Chair-Americas, Ed Crooks 
titled, Opinion: I I The Petitioner also references a combined letter of 
reference and letter of interest in the record froml and states that he "is currently providing 
his expert services for the construction, pre-commissioning, commissioning, and start-up of the 
I ITX, LNG production and transportation plant-a project in excess of $1 [b]illion with 
an expected capacity of 16 million tons of LNG per year." 
In determining national importance, the relevant question is not the importance of the industry, field, 
or profession in which an individual will work; instead, to assess national importance, we focus on the 
"specific endeavor that the [noncitizen] proposes to undertake." See Dhanasar, 26 I&N Dec. at 889. 
Dhanasar provided examples of endeavors that may have national importance, as required by the first 
prong, having "national or even global implications within a particular field, such as those resulting 
from certain improved manufacturing processes or medical advances" and endeavors that have broader 
implications, such as "significant potential to employ U.S. workers or has other substantial positive 
economic effects, particularly in an economically depressed area." Id. at 889-90. 
The Petitioner's references to generalized information about the oil and gas industry is misplaced. 
Neither the 2020 one-page information sheet from the U.S. Department of Energy, nor the 2021 
Pricewaterhouse Coopers report, nor Ed Crooks' 2022 opinion blog post about an LNG boom discuss 
the Petitioner; his proposed endeavor; and how the specific endeavor the Petitioner proposes to 
undertake may have "national or even global implications within a particular field" or broader 
implications, such as "significant potential to employ U.S. workers or ... other substantial positive 
economic effects." Id. 
Instead, as the Director noted, the record indicates that the proposed endeavor will benefit his employer 
and its clients. Specifically, as quoted above, the Petitioner asserts that his endeavor will "solv[ e] the 
needs of the company and the client," "allow [ companies in the oil and gas industry] to develop, 
optimize and complete constructions and/or repairs," and "meet the expectations of the clients." 
Relatedly, the combined letter of reference and letter of interest froml lstates that the 
Petitioner's services "will directly impact the company's market positions and bottom line financials," 
again addressing how the proposed endeavor will benefit the Petitioner's employer but not establishing 
that it will have broader implications. See id. Although the Petitioner emphasizes the scope of his 
current "project in excess of $1 [b Jilli on with an expected capacity of 16 million tons of LNG per 
year," the Petitioner does not explain how the project for his employer-and any other such project 
that may fall within the proposed endeavor-has broader implications, "such as those resulting from 
certain improved manufacturing processes or medical advances," "significant potential to employ U.S. 
workers or ... other substantial positive economic effects" beyond benefitting his employer and its 
client. Id. 
4 
In summation, the Petitioner has not established that the proposed endeavor has national importance, 
as required by the first Dhanasar prong; therefore, he is not eligible for a national interest waiver. We 
reserve our opinion regarding whether the record satisfies the second or third Dhanasar prong. See 
Bagamasbad, 429 U.S. at 25; see also Matter ofL-A-C-, 26 I&N Dec. at 526 n.7. As noted above, we 
also reserve our opinion regarding whether the record establishes the Petitioner is eligible for second­
preference classification. See id. 
III. CONCLUSION 
As the Petitioner has not met the requisite first prong of the Dhanasar analytical framework, we 
conclude that the Petitioner has not established eligibility for, or otherwise merits, a national interest 
waiver as a matter of discretion. 
ORDER: The appeal is dismissed. 
5