dismissed EB-2 NIW Case: Physical Therapy

U.S. Citizenship 
and Immigration 
Services 
In Re: 20800833 
Appeal of Texas Service Center Decision 
Non-Precedent Decision of the 
Administrative Appeals Office 
Date: JUNE 15, 2022 
Form I-140, Immigrant Petition for Alien Worker (Advanced Degree, Exceptional Ability, National 
Interest Waiver) 
The Petitioner, a physical therapist, 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 1he 
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 
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 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 Director also found that the Petitioner established that the proposed endeavor has both 
substantial merit and national importance, as required by the first Dhanasar prong. See Dhanasar, 
26 I&N Dec. at 889-90. However, the Director found that the record did not satisfy the second and 
thirdDhanasarprongs. See id. at888-91. 
Although the record establishes that the proposed endeavor has substantial merit, we conclude that it 
does not establish that the proposed endeavor has national importance, as required by the first 
Dhanasarprong, for the reasons discussed below. See id. at 8 89-90. Initially, the Petitioner described 
the endeavor as a plan "to continue using my expertise and knowledge in the field of [p ]hysical 
[t]herapy." The Petitioner elaborated thather"careerplan in the United States is to work with a health 
care facility to provide expert advice and treatment to patients." The Petitioner further stated: 
My specific endeavor will potentially impact the U .S[.] in the following ways: 
• Fill a position as a [p ]hysiotherapist/[p ]hysical [t]herapist that is vacant due to 
a large demand for physical therapists but lack of qualified physical therapists; 
• Provide patients with a proper diagnosis; 
• Educate other physical therapists/physiotherapists on proper techniques and 
treatments; 
• Monitor and manage other therapists, assistants, and others involved in the 
diagnosis and recovery process; 
Economic Benefits 
• Optimizing the lives of patients that suffer from illnesses and injuries; 
• Reduce the amount of time patients spend in the hospital; 
• Increase the quality of life of patients dealing with different illnesses and 
injuries through personalized treatment, allowing them to participate in the 
community; 
Social Benefits 
• Improve comfort and health of patients; 
• Minimize use and reliance of assistive devices; 
• Increase overall morale and mobility of patients through treatment. 
In a request for evidence (RFE), the Director informed the Petitioner, in relevant part, that the initial 
evidence "has not established thatherproposed work for has [sic] implications beyond her prospective 
2 SccDhanasar, 26l&NDec. at 888-91, for elaboration onthesethreeprongs. 
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employer and its clients at a level sufficient to establish the national importance of his [sic] endeavor." 
The RFE sought, among other things, evidence to establish that the proposed endeavor has national 
importance. In response to the RFE, the Petitioner supplemented her statement of the proposed 
endeavor: "My career plan in the United States is to support the physiotherapy needs of hospitals, 
outpatient clinics, medical organizations, and, most of all, patients." In addition to reiterating topics 
in the initial bullet-point list quoted above, the Petitioner added in response to the RFE that her "treated 
patients will also be able to reintegrate into society, and thus contribute to the U.S. economy." 
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 foreign national proposes to undertake." SeeDhanasar, 26 I&N Dec. at 
889. Dhanasarprovided examples of endeavors that may have national importance, as required by 
the first prong, having "national or even global implications within a partiicular field, such as those 
resulting from certain improved manufacturing processes 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 proposed endeavor of "work[ing] with a health care facility to provide expe1i advice and treatment 
to patients" will benefit the unspecified employer -whether it is a hospital, outpatient clinic, or other 
medical organization-and the Petitioner's patients at that healthcare facility. The endeavor may also 
benefit fellow physical therapists that the Petitioner educates at that healthcare facility, and those 
therapists' patients. However, the record does not establish how the endeavor will rise to the level of 
having "national or even global implications within a particular field, such as those resulting from 
certain improved manufacturing processes 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 8 89-90. The record does not 
establish that the Petitioner's plan to be employed at a healthcare facility would create a significant 
potential to employ other U.S. workers or other substantial positive economic effects, and even if it 
did, the Petitioner does not specify her intended workplace and establish whether that workplace is in 
an economically depressed area. See id. 
The Petitioner's discussion of her qualifications and prior career accomplishments relate to the second 
Dhanasar prong, whether she is well-positioned to advance the proposed endeavor, not the first 
Dhanasar prong, whether the proposed endeavor has both substantial merit and national importance. 
See id. at 888-90. In turn, the Petitioner's discussion of the role of physical therapists in general and 
her discussion of healthcare industry trends in general do not address the "specific endeavor that the 
foreign national proposes to undertake" and how it may have national importance. See Dhanasar, 26 
I&N Dec. at 889. Based on the foregoing, we withdraw the Director's conclusion that the record 
established that the proposed endeavor has national importance. 
In summation, the Petitioner has not established that the proposed endeavor has national importance, 
as required by the first Dhanasar prong, and therefore she is not eligible for a national interest waiver. 
Moreover, as the Director concluded, the record does not establish that the Petitioner is well-positioned 
to pursue the endeavor, as required by the second Dhanasar prong. See id. at 888-91. Specifically, 
the record does not establish that, at the time of filing the petition, the Petitioner held a license to 
practice physical therapy in the United States, or even that she would be qualified to take an exam to 
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obtain such a license. We reserve our opinion regarding whether the record satisfies the 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 ofL-A-C-, 26 I&N Dec. 516, 526n.7 (BIA 2015) (declining to reach alternative issues 
on appeal where an applicant is otherwise ineligible). 
III. CONCLUSION 
As the Petitioner has not met either of the requisite first and second prongs 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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