dismissed EB-2 NIW Case: Nursing

U.S. Citizenship 
and Immigration 
Services 
Non-Precedent Decision of the
Administrative Appeals Office 
Date: JAN. 19, 2024 In Re: 29247815 
Appeal of Texas Service Center Decision 
Form 1-140, Immigrant Petition for Alien Workers (National Interest Waiver) 
The Petitioner, a registered nurse, seeks classification as a member of the professions holding an 
advanced degree. 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. 
§ 1153(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 although the Petitioner 
qualified for classification as a member of the professions holding an advanced degree, 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. 8 C.F.R. § 103.3. 
The Petitioner bears the burden of proof to demonstrate eligibility by apreponderance of the evidence. 
Matter of Chawathe, 25 l&N Dec. 369, 375-76 (AAO 2010). We review the questions in this matter 
de nova. Matter of Christo 's, Inc., 26 l&N Dec. 537, 537 n.2 (AAO 2015). 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. Section 203(b)(2)(B)(i) of the Act. 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 U.S. Citizenship and Immigration 
Services (USCIS) may, as matter of discretion1, grant a national interest waiver of the job offer, and 
thus the labor certification, to a petitioner classified in the EB-2 category if the petitioner demonstrates 
that (1) the noncitizen's proposed endeavor has both substantial merit and national importance; (2) 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. 
The second prong shifts the focus from the proposed endeavor to the noncitizen. To determine whether 
the noncitizen 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, progress towards achieving the proposed endeavor, and 
the interest of potential customers, users, investors, or other relevant entities or individuals are also 
key considerations. 
The third prong requires the petitioner to demonstrate that, on balance of applicable factors, it would 
be beneficial to the United States to waive the requirements of a job offer and thus of a labor 
certification. USCIS may evaluate factors such as whether, in light of the nature of the noncitizen's 
qualification 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, in I ight of the nature of the 
noncitizen's qualification 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. Each of the factors 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. 
II. ANALYSIS 
The Petitioner, a registered nurse, seeks to work as a nurse and trainer in Florida while obtaining a 
doctor of nursing practice (DNP) degree. The Director concluded that the Petitioner qualifies as a 
member of the professions holding an advanced degree. Accordingly, the remaining issue to be 
determined on appeal 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, we conclude that the Petitioner has not sufficiently demonstrated the national importance of 
her proposed endeavor under the first prong of the Dhanasar analytical framework. 
The Director issued a request for evidence (RFE) requesting, among other things, further evidence of 
how the proposed endeavor would be of national importance. In response, the Petitioner provided 
1 See also Poursina v. USCIS, 936 F.3d 868 (9th Cir. 2019) (finding USCIS' decision to grant or deny a national interest 
waiver to be discretionary in nature). 
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additional documents including a professional plan explaining her strategy to obtain her DNP in order 
to become a nurse trainer and researcher. She also asserts that she intends to become a professor at a 
nursing school as well as become a traveling nurse after working as a nurse for one year. 
The Director determined that the Petitioner's proposed endeavor has substantial merit, and that the 
Petitioner is well positioned to advance the proposed endeavor. The Director found however that the 
Petitioner did not submit evidence to demonstrate the national importance of her endeavor. On appeal, 
the Petitioner reiterates the same arguments and resubmits previously submitted documents to 
demonstrate her eligibility for the national interest waiver and underscore the sufficiency of the 
submitted evidence. For example, the Petitioner contends that she has presented sufficient evidence 
to overwhelmingly prove that she has met all the requirements for the EB-2 classification and the three 
prongs of the Dhanasar framework. 
The Petitioner states that she will "contribute to the improvement of patient care in the U.S., as nursing 
is considered an important component of a fully functional national healthcare system." She further 
maintains that she will use her core competency "to help the US by not only functioning as a high­
level Registered Nurse, but also training other Registered Nurses to benefit the US healthcare 
community on a national and global level." The Petitioner discusses a nursing shortage in the United 
States and states that her endeavor of working and training as a nurse and obtaining her DNP will 
expand the workforce and alleviate the nursing shortage. 
In addition, the Petitioner highlights the societal welfare and economic importance of health care 
professionals such as nurses by pointing to industry and governmental reports on this and other related 
topics. The materials demonstrate that the registered nursing occupation is important; however, this 
does not necessarily establish the national importance of the proposed endeavor. 
As previously mentioned, the first prong of the Dhanasar test, substantial merit and national 
importance, focuses on the specific endeavor that the Petitioner proposes to undertake. Matter of 
Dhanasar, 26 I&N Dec. at 889. An endeavor's merit may be demonstrated in a range of areas, such 
as business, entrepreneurial ism, science, technology, culture, health, or education. Id. An endeavor's 
national importance is determined by examining its potential impact. Id. An endeavor may qualify 
if, for instance, it has national implications within a particular field, or if it has significant potential to 
have a substantial economic effect, especially in an economically depressed area. While we 
acknowledge the healthcare industry's importance, the relevant question when determining whether a 
proposed endeavor would have national importance is not the importance of the industry or profession 
where the Petitioner will work, but the specific impact of that proposed endeavor. Id. at 889-90. Here, 
the record does not establish that the Petitioner's proposed endeavor's impact will be nationally 
important. 
The Petitioner claims that her endeavor will be nationally important due to the importance of nursing 
as a profession. However, this establishes the merit of the endeavor, not its national impact, which is 
a separate consideration under the first Dhanasar prong. Matter of Dhanasar, 26 l&N Dec. at 889-
90. In Dhanasar, the noncitizen's work as a science teacher was found to have substantial merit but 
did not qualify him under the first prong because the evidence did not show how that work would 
impact the field of science education more broadly. Id. at 893. Similarly, as explained above, the 
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Petitioner has not established that her endeavor will have an impact that extends beyond her patients 
and trainees to the broader field of nursing or healthcare. 
The Petitioner states that her endeavor has national importance due to the shortage of nurses in the 
United States and references fact sheets from the White House's COVID-19 initiatives. She further 
contends that her endeavor aligns with the four national interests identified by the Biden 
Administration's Interim National Security Strategic Guidance. Though we acknowledge the 
Petitioner's skills and experience in the nursing field, the Petitioner has not provided sufficient 
evidence that her endeavor would resolve the shortage or that her endeavor would stand to provide 
substantial economic benefits in Florida or the United States. We further note that the Department of 
Labor (DOL) has addressed the shortage of nurses by designating professional nursing as a Schedule 
A occupation, indicating that there are insufficient U.S. workers able, willing, qualified, and available 
for professional nursing positions. 20 C.F.R. §§ 656.5, 656.15. See generally 6 USCIS Policy Manual 
E.7(C), https://uscis.gov/policymanual. This designation exempts U.S. employers of noncitizen 
nurses from having to test the labor market and apply to DOL for a permanent labor certification. 20 
C.F.R. § 656.15. However, this is not a waiver of the job offer requirement, and as such it does not 
support a finding that nursing-related work inherently has national importance in the context of a 
national interest waiver petition. 
We also acknowledge the documentation regarding the Petitioner's experience and qualifications and 
the recommendation letters commending her abilities and diligence. However, these relate to the 
second Dhanasar prong, which is concerned with the Petitioner's ability to advance her endeavor. 
They do not establish what impact her endeavor will have. 
For the aforementioned reasons, the Petitioner's proposed work does not meet the first prong of the 
Dhanasar framework. Because the documentation in the record does not establish the national 
importance of her proposed endeavor as required by the first prong of the Dhanasar precedent decision, 
the Petitioner has not demonstrated eligibility for a national interest waiver. Since this issue is dispositive 
of the Petitioner's appeal, we decline to reach and hereby reserve the appellate arguments regarding 
her eligibility under the second and third prongs outlined in Dhanasar. 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 l&N Dec. 516, 526 n.7 
(BIA 2015) (declining to reach alternative issues on appeal where an applicant is otherwise ineligible). 
Ill. CONCLUSION 
As the Petitioner has not met the Dhanasar analytical framework's requisite first prong, we conclude 
that she has not established that she is eligible for or otherwise merits a national interest waiver as a 
matter of discretion. The appeal will be dismissed for the above stated reasons. 
ORDER: The appeal is dismissed. 
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