dismissed EB-2 NIW Case: Military

U.S. Citizenship 
and Immigration 
Services 
Non-Precedent Decision of the
Administrative Appeals Office 
Date: MAY 24, 2024 In Re: 31138984 
Appeal of Texas Service Center Decision 
Form 1-140, Immigrant Petition for Alien Worker (National Interest Waiver) 
The Petitioner, an entrepreneur in the military field, seeks employment-based second preference (EB-
2) 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 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 did not 
establish eligibility for the requested EB-2 advanced degree classification. The Director declined to 
further consider the Petitioner's eligibility for a national interest waiver of the job offer requirement, 
and thus of a labor certification, as it would serve no meaningful purpose. 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 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 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. 
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). 
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," Matter of Dhanasar, 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: 
• 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. 
II. ANALYSIS 
The Petitioner states that he is a retired military officer with more than 23 years of experience 
"advising on areas of personnel management, building maintenance, and civil works, among other key 
specialties." His professional experience includes human resources, finance, security, and 
intelligence. His proposed endeavor is to direct his own company "that will operate in the guns, 
ammunition, parts, personal protective equipment, firefight [sic] equipment, and accessories market." 
He further states that his company "will provide sales consulting services to Brazilian clients, 
especially in the Navy, Army, air forces, armed police, and military and civil firefighters and U.S. gun 
manufacturing companies in order to allow them to export products made in the U.S. to clients in 
Brazil." 
The Petitioner asserts that he is eligible for the EB-2 classification as a member of the professions 
holding an advanced degree. 2 With the initial filing the Petitioner submitted evidence of his education 
and experience, a definitive statement, and a business plan describing his proposed endeavor and 
claimed eligibility for a national interest waiver. He also submitted certificates of achievement, 
recommendation and support letters, an expert opinion letter, and industry reports and articles 
discussing entrepreneurialism and military careers. 
A. Member of Professions Holding an Advanced Degree 
The Petitioner asserts that he qualifies for advanced degree professional classification by virtue of 
foreign education that he claims is equivalent to a U.S. bachelor of business administration degree 
with more than five years of progressive experience, in accordance with 8 C.F.R. § 204.5(k)(3)(i)(B). 
As noted above, a petition for an advanced degree professional must include evidence that a petitioner 
possesses a "United States academic or professional degree or a foreign equivalent degree above that 
of baccalaureate [or] A United States baccalaureate degree or a foreign equivalent degree followed by 
at least five years of progressive experience in the specialty shall be considered the equivalent of a 
master's degree." 8 C.F.R. § 204.5(k)(2). In addition, a petitioner must meet all of the eligibility 
requirements of the petition at the time of filing. 8 C.F.R. § 103.2(b)(l), (12). 
1 See also Flores v. Garland, 72 F.4th 85, 88 (5th Cir. 2023) (joining the Ninth, Eleventh, and D.C. Circuit Courts (and 
Third in an unpublished decision) in concluding that USCIS' decision to grant or deny a national interest waiver to be 
discretionary in nature). 
2 In these proceedings the Petitioner does not assert eligibility as an individual of exceptional ability. 
2 
The record includes a titulo de bacharel issued to the Petitioner in July 2006 by the I I I The record also includes transcripts issued by the I I 
[demonstrating that the Petitioner completed three and a half years of coursework, from 2002 
to 2005. 
The Petitioner submitted an evaluation of his academic credentials froml Isenior evaluator 
with Highstone Client Services, dated October 25, 2018. The evaluation states that the Petitioner's 
titulo de bacharel indicates that the Petitioner "satisfied requirements substantially similar to those 
required toward the completion of a Bachelor of Business Administration from an accredited 
institution of higher education in the United States." 
The Director issued a Request for Evidence (RFE), informing the Petitioner that the record did not 
establish that the Petitioner possessed an advanced degree to qualify for the requested EB-2 
classification. The Director noted that the Petitioner's degree was a three-year degree, rather than a 
four-year degree. Specifically, she noted that U.S. bachelor's degrees typically require four years to 
complete. Matter ofShah, 17 I&N Dec. 244,245 (Comm'r 1977).3 
In response to the RFE, the Petitioner referenced evidence already in the record, including copies of 
academic records and the evaluation of his academic credentials from Highstone Client Services. The 
Director denied the petition, concluding that the Petitioner did not establish that he is eligible for 
classification as a member of the professions holding an advanced degree. In the Director's decision, 
she cites to both the Petitioner's evaluation as well as to the Electronic Database for Global Education 
(EDGE), which is a web-based resource for the evaluation of foreign educational credentials created 
by the American Association of Collegiate Registrars and Admissions Officers (AACRAO). 4 The 
Director notes that the titulo de bacharel is awarded after a three to five- year course of study, and that 
the "institution confirms the petitioner did earn a three-and-a-half year's bachelor's degree," which is 
not equivalent to a four-year course of study. 
On appeal, the Petitioner asserts that the Director erred in concluding that he did not earn a four-year 
degree and that he does not qualify as an advanced degree professional. He asserts that, while he 
completed his education at he previously completed 
courses at the in 2000 and these courses are noted on his transcripts. He submits a 
new evaluation of his academic records from senior evaluator with GEO 
Credential Services, dated October 30, 2023. The evaluator concludes that the Petitioner's titulo de 
bacharel is the equivalent of a U.S. bachelor's degree in business administration. The evaluation 
states, "the Bachelor's Degree in Business Administration described above requires an approved 
secondary school diploma for admission and at least four years of postsecondary study." The 
evaluation, however, does not specifically state how many years of study that the Petitioner completed 
based on a review of the transcripts. 
3 The Director determined in the RFE that the Petitioner had established that he possesses at least five years of progressive 
experience in the specialty. 
4 AACRAO is a nonprofit professional association of more than 11,000 higher education admissions and registration 
professionals who represent more than 2,600 institutions in over 40 countries. See http://www.aacrao.org/who-we-are. 
USCIS considers EDGE to be a reliable source of information about foreign credentials equivalencies. 
3 
I 
While we acknowledge that the Petitioner's academic transcripts note the completion of coursework 
at the in 2000, the Petitioner's brief on appeal states that the "courses were taken to 
gain entrance" to the _______ _ The transcripts from the ________ 
state, "Exam Entrance: It is unclear from the record whether the Petitioner needed 
to take additional coursework to gain entrance to the as compared to the 
_________ accepting the credits to serve as part of a four-year program of study to 
reach a four-year bachelor's degree. The record does not include official academic records from the 
Idemonstrating the transfer of credits toward four years of postsecondary study, or 
anything from the I Ishowing acceptance toward a program of study. 
Neither evaluation that the Petitioner submitted addresses this point. Without the official academic 
records from the we are precluded from determining that the Petitioner's study at 
this institution represents attainment of a level of education above completion of senior high school in 
the United States. And without records from thel Ishowing acceptance of 
the prior studies as credit toward the degree, we cannot conclude that these courses represent additional 
study toward the degree. 
Additionally, the issue here is not whether the Petitioner completed four years of study to earn the 
titulo de bacharel. Rather, the question is whether the Petitioner's titulo de bacharel program required 
four years of study and would be equivalent to a bachelor's degree in contrast to completion of three 
of four years of coursework. Here, the record does not include evidence that the Petitioner's titulo de 
bacharel required four years of study. 5 
The GEO Credential Services evaluation cites to the AACRAO EDGE. According to EDGE: 
The 3-year Titulo de Bacharel represents attainment of a level of education comparable to 3 
years of university study in the United States. Credit may be awarded on a course-by-course 
basis. 
EDGE further states that the entry requirement for the titulo de bacharel is a diploma/certifzcado de 
Ensino media. 
The evaluation of the Petitioner's academic credentials from GEO Credential Services, while 
acknowledging that a bachelor's degree requires four years of postsecondary study, does not explain 
how the evaluator found the Petitioner's three and a half years of study to equate to the four years of 
study required for a U.S. bachelor's degree. The evaluation does not discuss the individual courses 
the Petitioner completed to meet the degree requirements. She does not discuss the transfer of credits, 
if any, from a prior course of study. Moreover, while the evaluator specifically cites to EDGE, she 
does not address the specific credential advice in EDGE for the Petitioner's credential, which 
concludes that the three-year titulo de bacharel is comparable to three years of university study in the 
United States rather than to a bachelor's degree. 
USCIS may, in our discretion, use as advisory opinions statements submitted as expert testimony. 
However, where an opinion is not in accord with other information or is in any way questionable we 
5 We note that, in a previous filing the Petitioner submitted a letter from the director of the 
__________ The letter states, "At that time, the curriculum of the Business Administration Course 
was offered in three and a half years." 
4 
are not required to accept or may give less weight to that evidence. Matter ofCaron International, 19 
I&N Dec. 791 (Comm'r 1988); Matter ofSea, Inc., 19 I&N Dec. 817 (Comm'r 1988). See also Matter 
of D-R-, 25 I&N Dec. 445 (BIA 2011). Upon review of the record, including the Petitioner's own 
evaluations submitted, we conclude that the Petitioner has not established that he holds the equivalent 
of a baccalaureate degree from an accredited college or university in the United States. Therefore, he 
is not eligible for classification as a member of the professions holding an advanced degree. 
The Petitioner has not established his qualification for the EB-2 classification as an advanced degree 
professional and is therefore ineligible for a national interest waiver. While he asserts on appeal that 
he meets all three of the prongs under the Dhanasar analytical framework, we will reserve these 
issues. 6 
III. CONCLUSION 
The Petitioner has not established that he is eligible for classification as a member of the professions 
with an advanced degree or that he is otherwise eligible for EB-2 classification. The Petitioner has 
not established that he is eligible for or otherwise merits a national interest waiver as a matter of 
discretion. 
ORDER: The appeal is dismissed. 
6 See INS v. Bagamasbad, 429 U.S. 24, 25-26 (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). 
5