dismissed EB-2 NIW Case: Physical Therapy

U.S. Citizenship 
and Immigration 
Services 
Non-Precedent Decision of the
Administrative Appeals Office 
Date: JAN. 10, 2024 In Re: 28449576 
Appeal of Texas Service Center Decision 
Form 1-140, Immigrant Petition for Alien Workers (National Interest Waiver) 
The Petitioner, a physical therapist, seeks classification under the employment-based, second­
preference (EB-2) immigrant visa category and a waiver of the category's job offer requirement. See 
Immigration and Nationality Act (the Act) section 203(b )(2)(B)(i), 8 U.S.C. § 1 l 53(b )(2)(B)(i). U.S. 
Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has discretion to excuse a job offer in this category -
and thus a related requirement for certification from the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) - if a 
petitioner demonstrates that waiving these U.S.-worker protections would be "in the national interest." 
Id. 
The Acting Director of the Texas Service Center denied the petition. The Director found the Petitioner 
qualified for the requested EB-2 category. But the Director concluded that the Petitioner did not 
establish a waiver's merits. On appeal, the Petitioner contends that the Director overlooked evidence 
that her proposed endeavor has "national importance" and that, on balance, a waiver would benefit the 
United States. 
The Petitioner bears the burden of demonstrating eligibility for the requested benefit by a 
preponderance of the evidence. Matter of Chawathe, 25 l&N Dec. 369, 375-76 (AAO 2010). 
Exercising de novo appellate review, see Matter of Christa 's, Inc. , 26 I&N Dec. 537, 537 n.2 (AAO 
2015), we affirm the Director's finding that the Petitioner did not establish the claimed national 
importance of her proposed venture. We will therefore dismiss the appeal. 
I. LAW 
To establish eligibility for national interest waivers, petlt10ners must first demonstrate their 
qualifications for the requested EB-2 immigrant visa category, either as members of the professions 
holding "advanced degrees" or noncitizens of "exceptional ability" in the sciences, arts, or business. 
Section 203(b)(2)(A) of the Act. To protect the jobs of U.S. workers, this category generally requires 
prospective employers to offer jobs to noncitizens and obtain DOL certifications to permanently 
employ them in the country. See section 212(a)(5)(D) of the Act, 8 U.S.C. § 1182(a)(5)(D). To avoid 
the job offer/labor certification requirements, petitioners must demonstrate that waivers of the U.S.­
worker protections would be in the national interest. Section 203(b )(2)(B)(i) of the Act. 
Neither the Act nor regulations define the term "national interest." So, to adjudicate these waiver 
requests, we have established a framework. See Matter ofDhanasar, 26 I&N Dec. 884, 889-91 (AAO 
2016). If otherwise qualified as advanced degree professionals or noncitizens of exceptional ability, 
petitioners may merit waivers of the job-offer/labor certification requirements if they establish that: 
• Their proposed U.S. work has "substantial merit" and "national importance;" 
• They are "well positioned" to advance their intended endeavors; and 
• On balance, waivers of the job-offer/labor certification requirements would benefit the United 
States. 
Id. 
II. ANALYSIS 
A. The Proposed Endeavor 
The record shows that, in 2010, a university in the Petitioner's home country of Brazil awarded her a 
degree in physical therapy. She then worked in Brazil as a physical therapist/Pilates instructor for 
about eight years. 
In 2018, the Petitioner came to the United States. She proposes to continue providing physical 
therapy/Pilates services in this country through her own firm. She states that the firm would provide 
physical wellness, physical training, and physical therapy services. Online government records show 
that she established a limited liability company (LLC) in Massachusetts in July 2023, about two 
months after filing this appeal. Sec'y of the Commonwealth of Mass., Corps. Div., "Search for a 
business entity," https://corp.sec.state.ma.us/corpweb/corpsearch/CorpSearch.aspx. Her business 
plan projects that, within five years of operations, the LLC would generate about $2. 77 million in 
revenues and employ 35 people. 
B. EB-2 Eligibility 
The Petitioner submitted an independent, professional evaluation of her foreign educational 
credentials. The evaluation states that her Brazilian degree - a titulo de fisioterapeuta - equates to a 
U.S. bachelor's degree in physical therapy. She also provided letters from employers, former co­
workers, and former patients confirming that she has more than five years of post-degree experience 
in physical therapy and Pilates. We therefore agree with the Director that the Petitioner qualifies for 
EB-2 classification as an advanced degree professional. See 8 C.F.R. § 204.5(k)(2) (defining the term 
"advanced degree" to include "[a] United States baccalaureate degree or a foreign equivalent degree 
followed by at least five years of progressive experience in the specialty"). 
C. Substantial Merit 
A venture may have substantial merit whether it "has the potential to create a significant economic 
impact" or it relates to "research, pure science, and the furtherance of human knowledge." Matter of 
Dhanasar, 26 I&N Dec. at 889. The record contains evidence that the Petitioner's proposed U.S. work 
could help alleviate a shortage of physical therapists in the country, generate jobs, reduce healthcare 
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costs, and improve the quality of patients' lives. We therefore also agree with the Director that the 
Petitioner's proposed venture has substantial merit. 
D. National Importance 
In determining whether a proposed endeavor has national importance, USCIS must focus on the 
particular venture, specifically on its "potential prospective impact." Matter of Dhanasar, 26 I&N 
Dec. at 889. "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." Id. A nationally important venture may even focus 
on only one geographic area of the United States. Id. at 889-90. "An endeavor that has significant 
potential to employ U.S. workers or has other substantial positive economic effects, particularly in an 
economically depressed area, for instance, may well be understood to have national importance." Id. 
The Director found insufficient evidence that the economic and healthcare benefits from the 
Petitioner's proposed endeavor would reach beyond her firm, its employees, and its patients. 
On appeal, the Petitioner asserts that her proposed endeavor: 
is national in scope, as her professional activities relate to a matter of national 
importance and impact, particularly because they generate substantial ripple effects 
upon key medical activities on behalf of the United States. Her proposed endeavor is 
a vital aspect ofU.S. physical therapy operations and productivity - which contributes 
to a revenue-enhanced business ecosystem, and an enriched, productivity-centered 
economy. 
( emphasis in original). The Petitioner asserts that her physical therapy firm would create jobs and 
"economic stability" in the United States. She also states that "she is set to help the U.S. stay 
competitive by bringing competitive services, helping develop the country, and producing income for 
the U.S. economy." 
As the Director found, however, the record does not sufficiently demonstrate the claimed national 
importance of the Petitioner's endeavor. Her five-year projections of $2. 77 million in revenues and 
employment of 35 workers indicates that her business would lack the size or scope to substantially 
affect the national economy. Also, she has not established that her venture would benefit an 
economically depressed area. Further, the Petitioner has not demonstrated that her endeavor would 
introduce advancements to the U.S. healthcare field. 
We acknowledge that the Petitioner's business could help boost the U.S. economy and healthcare field. 
But, as previously indicated, when considering national importance, we must focus on the particular 
endeavor. Matter ofDhanasar, 26 I&N Dec. at 889 ("The first prong, substantial merit and national 
importance, focuses on the specific endeavor that the foreign national proposes to undertake.") Thus, 
the Petitioner's spec[fic venture itself must have substantial national implications, not merely the 
potential to help boost the U.S. economy or healthcare field when combined with benefits from other 
businesses. See id. at 889-90 (stating that an endeavor may have national importance if it has 
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"significant potential to employ U.S. workers" or "other substantial positive economic benefits, 
particularly in an economically depressed area") ( emphasis added). 
The Petitioner also details her physical therapy experience, asserting that her "professional record 
mirrors how her line of work offers broad implications to the United States' physical therapy 
industry, specifically through her endeavors within key commercial segments." ( emphasis in original). 
But, as previously indicated, when considering national importance, USCIS focuses not on the 
petitioner but on their specific endeavor. See Matter of Dhanasar, 26 I&N Dec. at 889. Thus, the 
Petitioner's education, training, and experience do not establish her venture's national importance. 
The Petitioner has not demonstrated that her proposed endeavor has national importance. We will 
therefore affirm the Director's decision. 
E. A Waiver's Benefits to the United States 
Our conclusion that insufficient evidence supports the claimed national importance of the Petitioner's 
proposed endeavor resolves this appeal. Thus, we decline to reach and hereby reserve consideration 
of her appellate arguments regarding a waiver's purported benefits to the United States. See INS v. 
Bagamasbad, 429 U.S. 24, 25 (1976) (stating that agencies need not make "purely advisory findings" 
on issues unnecessary to their ultimate decisions); see also Matter ofL-A-C-, 26 I&N Dec. 516, 526 
n. 7 (BIA 2015) ( declining to reach alternate issues on appeal in removal proceedings where an 
applicant did not otherwise qualify for relief). 
III. CONCLUSION 
The 
Petitioner has not demonstrated that her proposed endeavor has national importance. As she does 
not merit a national interest waiver under the Dhanasar framework, we will affirm the petition's denial 
for lack of a job offer and labor certification. 
ORDER: The appeal is dismissed. 
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