dismissed EB-2 NIW Case: Petroleum Engineering

MATTER OF M-S-
Non-Precedent Decision of the 
Administrative Appeals Office 
DATE: OCT. 2, 2018 
APPEAL OF NEBRASKA SERVICE CENTER DECISION 
PETITION: FORM 1-140, IMMIGRANT PETITION FOR ALIEN WORKER 
The Petitioner, a petroleum engineer, 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. § l l 53(b )(2). After a petitioner has established eligibility for EB-2 
classification, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) may, as matter of discretion, 
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. Matter of 
Dhanasar, 26 I&N Dec. 884 (AAO 2016). 
The Director of the Nebraska Service Center denied the Form 1-140, Immigrant Petition for Alien 
Worker, finding that the Petitioner qualified for classification as a member of the professions 
holding an advanced degree, but that she had not established that a waiver of the required job offer, 
and thus of the labor certification, would be in the national interest. 
On appeal, the Petitioner submits additional evidence and contends that she is eligible for a national 
interest waiver under the Dhanasar framework. 
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: 
Matter of M-S-
(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. 
(8) 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 l&N Dec. 884.1 Dhanasar states that after EB-2 eligibility has been established, 
USCIS may, as a matter of discretion, grant a national interest waiver when the below prongs are 
met. 
The first prong, substantial merit and national importance, focuses on the specific endeavor that the 
foreign national 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 foreign national. 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 
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 
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Maller of M-S-
foreign national's qualifications or the proposed endeavor, it would be impractical either for the 
foreign national 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 foreign national's contributions; and whether the national interest in the foreign national's 
contributions is sufficiently urgent to warrant forgoing the labor certification process. In each case, 
the factor(s) 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.2 
II. ANALYSIS 
The Director found that the Petitoner qualifies as a member of the professions holding an advanced 
degree.3 The sole issue to be determined is whether the Petitioner has established that a waiver of the 
requirement of a job offer, and thus a labor certification, would be in the national interest. 
The record reflects that, at the time of filing, the Petitioner was concurrently pursuing a doctorate 
degree in petroleum engineering and working part time as a research assistant at USC.4 She asserted 
that her research ·was aimed at advancing "understanding of the complex dynamics at play in oil and 
gas reservoirs." The Director issued a request for evidence (RFE) advising the Petitioner of the 
Dhanasar framework. With respect to her proposed endeavor, the RFE noted the temporary nature 
of her studies and fellowship, and asked her to "provide updated information and evidence regarding 
your current employment and your plans for future work in your industry and when this work would 
commence." 5 
In response to the Director's RFE, the Petitioner provided a statement discussing her "Future 
Research Plans" and "Future Job Opportunities." With respect to her "Future Research Plans," she 
indicated that she intends to pursue research in three areas: ( l) "Modeling of underlying physics in 
unconventional reservoirs using molecular dynamics simulation," (2) "Development of fast and high 
accuracy reservoir management tools using Data Analytics and reservoir simulation," and (3) 
"Developing strategies for successful carbon sequestration." Regarding her "Future Job 
Opportunities," the Petitioner asserted that she received communications about post-doctoral 
positions at and 
She further stated: "I have been contacted by the ____________ the 
2 See Dhanasar, 26 l&N Dec. at 888-91, for elaboration on these three prongs. 
" The record retlects that the Petitioner earned a master of science degree in petroleum engineering from 
in May 2016. 
4 Her initial submission included a letter from the director of USC's petroleum engineering program stating that the Petitioner 
is "perfonning research ... in conjunction with earning her Ph.D. in Petroleum Engineering. In her research position, [the 
Petitioner] perfonns various studies, including conducting research in frontier areas of reservoir simulation and forecasting." 
According to the Petitioner's Fonn 1-140 and Fonn ETA-7508, Statement of Qualifications of Alien, she was working 20 
hours per week in her position at USC as a research assistant and Ph.D. fellow. 
5 As the Petitioner is applying for a waiver of the job offer requirement, it is not necessary for her to have a job offer from a 
specific employer. However, USCIS will consider infonnation about her current and prospective positions to illustrate the 
capacity in which she intends to work in order to detennine whether her proposed endeavor meets the requirements of the 
first prong of the Dhanasar framework. 
3 
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Maller of M-S-
biggest oil producer in California (emails attached), as well as by startup companies such as 
which work on implementing a data-and-physics model for optimizing production from oil 
and gas reservoirs (emails attached)." The Director denied the petition, stating that "the details 
about these jobs and what they entail were not provided. This would allow us to determine if these 
sources will support work on her three focused areas of future research." 
In the appeal briet~ the Petitioner "proposes to perform advanced research on oil and gas extraction 
and management in order to improve the techniques and tools available to that field." She provides a 
March 2018 letter from indicating that she has accepted a position 
as a reservoir engineer with that company . This letter, however, does not indicate what, if any 
research the Petitioner will undertake on behalf of 6 Despite the 
Director's request for clarification, the Petitioner has not provided sufficient information and 
evidence to establish whether her proposed endeavor will involve research in the areas she 
previously identified or whether her prospective work as a petroleum and reservoir engineer 
otherwise stands to have broader implications rising to the level of having national importance. In 
Dhanasar, we held that a petitioner must identify "the specific endeavor that the foreign national 
proposes to undertake." Id. at 889. The record does not sufficiently explain the Petitioner's 
proposed endeavor(s) such that we are able to determine, without additional information and 
evidence, that her work will have both substantial merit and national importance and that she is well 
positioned to advance her proposed endeavor. Furthermore, the Petitioner has not established 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. 
lll. CONCLUSION 
As the Petitioner has not met the requisite three prongs set forth in the Dhanasar analytical framework, 
we find that she has not established she is eligible for or otherwise merits a national interest waiver 
as a matter of discretion . 
ORDER: The appeal is dismissed. 
Cite as Matter ofM-S-, ID# 1559104 (AAO Oct. 2, 2018) 
6 On appeal, the Petitioner argues that "it is inconceivable that an engineer in the twenty-first century could possibly carry out 
engineering duties without performing research." While counsel provides the Merriam-Webster definition of"research" and 
argues that positions in the engineering occupation inherently invol_ve some degree of research, the issue here is the specific 
endeavor the Petitioner proposes to undertake and whether such work has broader implications in the field. 
4