dismissed EB-2 NIW Case: Mechatronics Engineering

U.S. Citizenship 
and Immigration 
Services 
Non-Precedent Decision of the
Administrative Appeals Office 
Date: JAN. 24, 2025 In Re: 2893774 
Appeal of Nebraska Service Center Decision 
Form 1-140, Immigrant Petition for Alien Workers (National Interest Waiver) 
The Petitioner, a mechatronics engineer who intends to create a company, seeks employment-based 
second preference (EB-2) immigrant classification as an individual of exceptional ability, as well as a 
national interest waiver of the job offer requirement attached to this classification. See Immigration 
and Nationality Act (the Act) section 203(b )(2), 8 U.S.C. § 1153(b )(2). 
The Director of the Nebraska Service Center denied the petition, concluding the record did not 
establish that the Petitioner did not establish eligibility for a national interest waiver as he did not 
demonstrate the national importance of the proposed endeavor; that he is well-positioned to advance 
the proposed endeavor; or that, on balance, waiving the job offer requirement would benefit the United 
States. The matter is now before us on appeal pursuant to 8 C.F.R. § 103.3. 
The Petitioner bears the burden of proof to demonstrate eligibility by a preponderance of the evidence. 
Matter of Chawathe, 25 l&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 qualify for the underlying EB-2 visa classification, a petitioner must establish they are an advanced 
degree professional or an individual of exceptional ability in the sciences, arts, or business. Section 
203(b )(2)(A) of the Act. 
If a petitioner establishes eligibility for the underlying EB-2 classification, they must then demonstrate 
that they merit a discretionary waiver of the job offer requirement "in the national interest." 
Section 203(b)(2)(B)(i) of the Act. Matter ofDhanasar, 26 I&N Dec. 884,889 (AAO 2016), provides 
the framework for adjudicating national interest waiver petitions. Dhanasar states that U.S. 
Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) may, as matter of discretion, 1 grant a national interest 
waiver if the petitioner demonstrates that: 
1 See Flores v. Garland, 72 F.4th 85, 88 (5th Cir. 2023) (joining the Third, Ninth, Eleventh, and D.C. Circuit Courts of 
Appeals in concluding that USCIS ' decision to grant or deny a national interest waiver is discretionary in nature). 
• 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. 
Id. 
TI. ANALYSIS 
The 
Petitioner asserts on appeal that he is an entrepreneur who intends to "create a company providing 
industrial automation and mechatronics services and professional training based in I I 
Through his company, the Petitioner intends to "provide solutions and services 
to optimize industrial processes, improve efficiency and productivity, [] integrate automated systems 
in factories and production lines," and "provide specialized training .... " 
The Director determined the Petitioner qualifies for the underlying EB-2 visa classification as an 
individual of exceptional ability in the sciences, arts, or business.2 The Director also determined the 
Petitioner demonstrated the substantial merit of the proposed endeavor but did not establish its national 
importance. In addition, the Director found the Petitioner is not well-positioned to advance the 
proposed endeavor and, on balance, it would not be beneficial to the United States to waive the 
requirements of a job offer, and thus of a labor certification. 
A. Substantial Merit and National Importance 
The first prong, substantial merit and national importance, focuses on the specific endeavor that the 
individual proposes to undertake. Matter of Dhanasar, 26 I&N Dec. at 889. The endeavor's merit 
may be demonstrated in a range of areas such as business, entrepreneurialism, science, technology, 
culture, health, or education. Id. In determining whether the proposed endeavor has national 
importance, we consider its potential prospective impact. Id. In Dhanasar, we 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. 
On appeal, the Petitioner asserts his proposed endeavor has national importance as his intended 
company is related to fields, industrial automation and mechatronics, of national importance or 
subjects of national initiatives. The Petitioner contends these fields allow for increased productivity 
2 The Director found the Petitioner met three criteria for eligibility to demonstrate extraordinary ability in the sciences, 
arts, or business. In part, the Director determined the Petitioner established evidence of membership in a professional 
association under 8 C.F.R. § 204.5(k)(3)(ii)(E), as he "submitted his license from CREA "Titulo em Electronica."'. In 
order to satisfy this criterion, the Petitioner must demonstrate this is a professional association, which requires its members 
to have earned a U.S. baccalaureate degree or its foreign equivalent. See 8 C.F.R. § 204.5(k)(2). However, the transcripts 
for the Petitioner's industrial mechatronics degree appear to indicate it was a three-year program and a U.S. baccalaureate 
degree generally requires four years of education. Matter ofShah, 17 I&N Dec. 244 (Reg'l Comm'r 1977). The record 
does not appear to supp01i the finding that the Petitioner is a member of an association that requires a U.S. baccalaureate 
degree or its equivalent for its members. However, as we concur with the Director that the Petitioner is ineligible for a 
national interest waiver on a separate ground, we will not further address this ground of ineligibility on appeal. 
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and technological advancement in multiple sectors, which in tum benefits the growth and 
competitiveness of the national economy. However, while we acknowledge the importance of the 
fields of industrial automation and mechatronics, the importance of the proposed endeavor is not 
evaluated by the importance of the profession in which he proposes to engage, but the specific potential 
prospective impact of the specific endeavor. Dhanasar at 889-890. The purpose of the national interest 
waiver is not to ensure a petitioner's employment in industries that may have national significance. 
Rather, anyone seeking a waiver must show that the specific endeavor they propose to undertake has 
national importance. Id. Therefore, the general significance or potential impact of the industries in which 
the Petitioner's company would operate does not specifically inform the importance of the Petitioner's 
own proposed endeavor. Here, the Petitioner has not demonstrated his contributions to the industrial 
automation and mechatronics fields has a wider impact beyond his own business and clients, and at a 
level commensurate with national importance. The Petitioner also intends to disseminate the knowledge 
he acquired as an electromechanical and mechatronic technician by training others. But similarly, the 
Petitioner has not shown that training others in the fields of industrial automation and mechatronics 
has broader implications for the field. Dhanasar explains that STEM teaching will not necessarily 
impact the field of STEM teaching more broadly, in a manner which rises to the level of national 
importance. See Matter ofDhanasar at 893. Like teaching, in which the benefits generally affect the 
students taught, the training the Petitioner plans to provide is generally limited to benefiting the 
students he would train. 
The Petitioner asserts that as an immigrant entrepreneur, he will be "part of the small business segment, 
which moves the American economy." The Petitioner specifies his company will generate economic 
benefits for the United States through "the supply chain of the business; the generation of direct and 
indirect jobs; positive impacts of the business for the area with economic depression; [and] the 
collection of taxes." However, the Petitioner has not submitted supporting evidence to demonstrate 
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. Without sufficient information 
or evidence regarding any projected U.S. economic impact or job creation attributable to his future 
company, the record does not show that benefits to 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. 
B. Additional Dhanasar Prongs and Ineligibility 
As our finding on this issue is dis positive of the Petitioner's appeal, we decline to reach and reserve 
whether the Petitioner has met the additional prongs of the Dhanasar framework and whether the 
Petitioner is an individual of exceptional ability, as discussed in the footnote above. See INS v. 
Bagamasbad, 429 U.S. 24, 25 (1976) (stating that "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 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 
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As the Petitioner has not met the requisite first prong of the Dhanasar analytical framework, we 
conclude the Petitioner has not demonstrated eligibility for or otherwise merits a national interest 
waiver as a matter of discretion. 
ORDER: The appeal is dismissed. 
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