dismissed EB-2 NIW Case: Nursing

U.S. Citizenship 
and Immigration 
Services 
In Re: 22726423 
Appeal of Texas Service Center Decision 
Non-Precedent Decision of the 
Administrative Appeals Office 
Date: OCT. 27, 2022 
Form I-140, Immigrant Petition for Alien Worker (Advanced Degree, Exceptional Ability, National 
Interest Waiver) 
The Petitioner, a nurse, 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 qualified 
for classification as a member of the professions holding an advanced degree but 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. 
In these proceedings, it is the Petitioner's burden to establish eligibility for the requested benefit 
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 of job offer-
(i) National interest waiver. ... the 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 te1m "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). 1 Dhanasarstates that, after a petitioner has established 
eligibility for EB-2 classification, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (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 ofa labor certification. 
The first prong, substantial merit and national importance, focuses on the specific endeavor that the 
non citizen 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 dete1mining 
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 noncitizen. 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 non citizen's 
qualifications or the proposed endeavor, it would be impractical either for the noncitizen 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 noncitizen's contributions; 
and whether the national interest in the noncitizen's contributions is sufficiently urgent to warrant 
forgoing the labor certification process. In each case, the factor(s) considered must, taken together, 
1 In announcing this new framework, we vacatedourp1iorprecedent decision,MattcrofNew York State Dep't of Transp., 
22 I&NDec. 215 (Act. Assoc. Comm'r 1998) (NYSDOT). 
2 
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 Director found that the 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 of a labor certification, would be in the national interest 
For the reasons discussed below, the Petitioner has not established that a waiver of the requirement of 
a job off er is warranted. 
Initially, the Petitioner described the proposed endeavor as a plan "to work with a health care facility 
to provide expert nursing advice and treatment to patients." The Petitioner further asse1ied the 
following: 
My specific endeavor will potentially impact the U.S. in the following ways: 
• Fill a position as a [ n ]urse that is vacant due to high demand for professionals 
of my caliber; 
• Provide patients with care; 
• Promote the management, organization and control of practices related to 
healthcare; 
• Ensure quality of healthcare services in U.S. [m]edical [i]nstitutions; 
• Train and advise medical professionals and medical students in the nursing of 
critical care patients; 
• Educate patients, their families, and communities on proper care; 
• Recommend therapeutic interventions with attention to safety, cost, 
invasiveness, simplicity, acceptability, adherence, and efficacy; and 
• Generate tax revenue for the United States. 
In response to the Director's request for evidence (RFE), the Petitioner reiterated that the proposed 
endeavor is a plan "to work with a healthcare facility to provide expert nursing advice and treatment." 
The Petitioner added that, between filing the Form I-140, Immigrant Petition for Alien Workers, and 
submitting the RFE response, she "accepted a full-time position as a [ c ]ritical [ c ]are [ r ]egistered 
[ n ]urse at an inpatient hospital that provides highly specialized care for critically ill patients including 
covid recovery patients." The Petitioner added that she "accepted job offers to work in vaccination 
drives aiming at increasing vaccination numbers and overall protection in North Carolinian 
communities." The Petitioner reiterated the bullet-point list provided above and she added that she 
has "participated in many research studies providing data and information that will off er insights to 
researchers," naming two studies for which she provides data about her child: one that "focuses on 
mother and child health" and another that "tests a treatment for young children with peanut allergy." 
The Director acknowledged that "the [P]etitioner's proposed endeavor as a nurse in the United States, 
providing her expertise and services to U.S. companies, which serves the business interests of her 
2 SccDhanasar, 26l&NDec. at 888-91, for elaboration onthesethreeprongs. 
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employer (or prospective employer), its clients/customers, alliances, and the [P]etitioner's workplace 
and prospective patients, has substantial merit." However, the Director concluded that the record 
"does not demonstrate that the [P]etitioner's proposed endeavor has national importance" because it 
"does not convey an understanding of how the [P]etitioner' s proposed employment activities stand to 
have a broader impact on her field." 
On appeal, the Petitioner asserts that the following evidence establishes that the proposed endeavor 
has national importance: 
• Petitioner's [p ]rofessional [p ]Ian and [ s ]tatement, which extensively describes 
her credentials, expertise, professional accomplishments, and allows concrete 
projections of the benefits she may offer to the U.S.; 
• Evidence of the Petitioner's work in the field, which demonstrates her vast 
contributions in the [ n ]ursing field; 
• Letters of [r]ecommendation from experts in the field, which confirms the 
Petitioner's distinguished expertise, significant contributions and importance in 
the [n]ursing field; [and] 
• Industry [ r]eport and [ a ]rticles, demonstrating the national importance of the 
Petitioner's proposed endeavor to work as a nurse, supporting continuing health 
education and disease prevention programs and initiatives; as well as the steep 
shortage in the U.S. of professionals in the field. 
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 [ non citizen] proposes to unde1iake." See Dhanasar, 26 I&N Dec. at 8 89. 
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 improvedmanufacturingprocesses 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 reliance on her prior career experience and qualifications, and on industry reports and 
articles in the record regarding nursing and healthcare in general, is misplaced. The Petitioner's prior 
career experience is relevant to the secondDhanasar prong, whether the Petitioner is well-positioned 
to advance the proposed endeavor, but not to the first Dhanasar prong, whether the proposed endeavor 
has both substantial merit and national importance. See id. Similarly, the letters of recommendation, 
describing the Petitioner's prior career, rather than the prospective endeavor, are relevant to the second 
Dhanasar prong but they do not address whether the proposed endeavor may have national 
importance, as required by the first Dhanasar prong. See id. As explained above, 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 id. at 889. In tum, although the Petitioner 
references "concrete projections of the benefits she may offer to the U.S." on appeal, the professional 
plan and statement submitted in response to the Director's RFE reiterates that the endeavor will benefit 
the Petitioner's employer and its clients and patients, and it provides information regarding nursing 
and healthcare in general; however, it does not establish how the endeavor will have national 
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importance . See id. at 889-90 . The generalized industry reports and articles in the record regarding 
the nursing and healthcare industries do not address the specific endeavor the Petitioner proposes to 
undertake and how it may have national importance. The Petitioner bears the burden of proof to 
demonstrate eligibility by a prep onderance of the evidence. MatterofChawathe, 25 I&N Dec. 369, 
375-76 (AAO 2010). She has not done so here. 
In summation, the Petitioner has not established that the proposed endeavor has national importance, 
as required by the first Dhanasar prong; therefore , she is not eligible for a national interest waiver. 
We reserve our opinion regarding whether the record satisfies the second or third Dhanasar prong 
See 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") ; 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 
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. 
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