dismissed EB-2 NIW Case: Nursing

U.S. Citizenship 
and Immigration 
Services 
In Re: 20882295 
Appeal of Nebraska Service Center Decision 
Non-Precedent Decision of the 
Administrative Appeals Office 
Date: JUN. 1, 2022 
Form I-140 , Immigrant Petition for Alien Worker (Advanced Degree , Exceptional Ability , National 
Interest Waiver) 
The Petitioner, a registered 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 Nebraska Service Center denied the petition , concluding that the Petitioner qualified 
for classification as a member of the professions holding an advanced degree , but had not established 
that a waiver of the required job offer , and thus of the labor certification , would be in the national 
interest. The Director confirmed this conclusion in the motion to reconsider decision. The matter is 
now before us on appeal. 
On appeal, the Petitioner submits a brief asserting that she is eligible for a national interest waiver. 
In these proceedings, it is the petitioner's burden to establish eligibility for the immigration benefit 
sought. Section 291 of the Act, 8 U.S.C. § 1361; Matt er of Chawathe, 25 I&N Dec. 369, 375 (AAO 
2010) . 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. ... [T]he 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 term "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 Dhanasar states that after a petitioner has established 
eligibility for EB-2 classification, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) may, as matter 
of discretion 2, grant a national interest waiver if the petitioner demonstrates: (1) that the foreign 
national's proposed endeavor has both substantial merit and national importance; (2) that the foreign 
national 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. See Dhanasar, 26 I&N Dec. at 888-91, for elaboration on these three prongs. 
II. ANALYSIS 
The Director determined that, although the Petitioner had demonstrated the substantial merit of her 
proposed endeavor as a registered nurse, she had not established its national importance under the first 
prong of the Dhanasar analysis. 
As we explained in our precedent decision, 
In determining whether the proposed endeavor has national importance, we consider 
its potential prospective impact. An undertaking may have national importance for 
example, because it has national or even global implications within a particular field, 
such as those resulting from certain improved manufacturing processes or medical 
advances. But we do not evaluate prospective impact solely in geographic terms. 
Instead, we look for broader implications. Even ventures and undertakings that have as 
their focus one geographic area of the United States may properly be considered to 
have national importance ... An endeavor that has significant potential to employ U.S. 
1 In announcing this new framework, we vacated our prior precedent decision, Matter of New York State Department of 
Transportation, 22 I&N Dec. 215 (Act. Assoc. Comm'r 1998) (NYSDOT). 
2 See also Poursina v. USCIS, 936 F.3d 868, 2019 WL 4051593 (9th Cir. 2019) (finding USCIS' decision to grant or deny 
a national interest waiver to be discretionary in nature). 
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workers or has other substantial pos1t1ve economic effects, particularly in an 
economically depressed area, for instance, may well be understood to have national 
importance. 
Id. at 889-90. 
On appeal, the Petitioner generally asserts that her endeavor has national importance because of 
COVID-19 and the nursing shortage. In determining national importance, however, we focus on the 
"the specific endeavor that the foreign national proposes to undertake." Id. While the record 
establishes that the Petitioner is an experienced registered nurse who provides a valuable benefit to 
her employer and her patients, especially during the pandemic , it does not demonstrate that her 
proposed endeavor would be of national importance . In Dhanasar, we determined that the petitioner 's 
teaching activities did not rise to the level of having national importance because they would not 
impact his field more broadly. Id. at 893. Similarly, the record in this matter does not demonstrate 
that the Petitioner's proposed endeavor stands to sufficiently extend beyond her immediate employer 
and patients such that it would impact U.S. healthcare or the field of nursing more broadly at a level 
commensurate with national importance. In addition, a nursing shortage in the United States does not 
render her proposed endeavor nationally important under the Dhanasar framework. In fact, as 
acknowledged by the Petitioner, such shortages of qualified workers are directly addressed by the U.S. 
Department of Labor through both the labor certification process and its designation of professional 
nurses as a Schedule A occupation. 
Without more, we cannot conclude that the Petitioner meets the national importance portion of the 
first prong of the Dhanasar analysis. For example, she has not documented that the particular work 
she proposes to undertake offers original innovations that contribute to advancements in nursing or 
otherwise has broader implications for the field or the U.S. healthcare industry. 
Because the documentation in the record does not establish the national importance of her proposed 
endeavor as required, 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 the remaining issues. 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 
The Petitioner has not met the requisite first prong of the Dhanasar analytical framework. Accordingly, 
we conclude that she has not established 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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