dismissed EB-2 NIW Case: Project Management

U.S. Citizenship 
and Immigration 
Services 
Non-Precedent Decision of the
Administrative Appeals Office 
Date: JUN. 27, 2024 InRe: 31683512 
Appeal of Texas Service Center Decision 
Form 1-140, Immigrant Petition for Alien Workers (National Interest Waiver) 
The Petitioner, a Project Manager, seeks employment-based second preference (EB-2) 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 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 record did not 
establish that the Petitioner had identified a specific proposed endeavor, established the national 
importance of that endeavor or established that he was well positioned to advance the proposed 
endeavor. The matter is now before us on appeal pursuant to 8 C.F.R. § 103.3. On appeal, the 
Petitioner asserts eligibility and provides additional statements regarding his proposed endeavor. 
The Petitioner bears the burden of proof to demonstrate eligibility by a preponderance of the evidence. 
Matter of Chawathe, 25 l&N Dec. 369, 375-76 (AAO 2010). We review the questions in this matter 
de novo. Matter of Christo 's, Inc., 26 I&N Dec. 537, 537 n.2 (AAO 2015). Upon de novo review, 
we will dismiss the appeal. 
I. LAW 
To qualify for the underlying EB-2 visa classification, a petitioner must establish they are an advanced 
degree professional or an individual of exceptional ability in the sciences, arts, or business. Section 
203(b )(2)(A) of the Act. 
If a petitioner establishes eligibility for the underlying EB-2 classification, they must then demonstrate 
that they merit a discretionary waiver of the job offer requirement "in the national interest." 
Section 203(b )(2)(B)(i) of the Act. While neither the statute nor the pertinent regulations define the 
term "national interest," Matter of Dhanasar, 26 I&N Dec. 884, 889 (AAO 2016), provides the 
framework for adjudicating national interest waiver petitions. Dhanasar states that U.S. Citizenship 
and Immigration Services (USCIS) may, as matter of discretion, 1 grant a national interest waiver if 
the petitioner demonstrates that: 
1 See Flores v. Garland, 72 F.4th 85, 88 (5th Cir. 2023) (joining the Ninth, Eleventh, and D.C. Circuit Courts (and Third 
• The proposed endeavor has both substantial merit and national importance; 
• The individual is well-positioned to advance their proposed endeavor; and 
• On balance, waiving the job offer requirement would benefit the United States. 
Id. 
II. ANALYSIS 
The Petitioner seeks to work in the field of project management with his own company, I I 
__ The Petitioner did not initially provide supporting evidence with his petition. The Director 
sent a request for evidence (RFE) seeking additional documentation of the Petitioner's qualifications 
for EB-2 classification, the proposed endeavor, and eligibility under the Dhanasar framework. In 
response, the Petitioner provided evidence of his foreign degrees, a personal statement for each of the 
issues in the Director's RFE, financial statements and taxes for his current business, letters of support, 
a business plan, and contracts from past projects with railway companies. The Director determined 
that the Petitioner had not met his burden of proof in establishing the national importance of the 
endeavor, whether he was well positioned to complete that endeavor, or whether, on balance, it was 
in the best interest of the United States to waive the job offer and labor certification requirements 
because he did not identify the specific endeavor he proposed to undertake. 
The Petitioner provided an article to the Director from I I a trade magazine, published in 
2022 regarding his current business and years of experience. The article states: 
is involved extensively in the construction front of its business, 
where it undertakes repair and maintenance for homes that further improve its core 
service offerings. The company does bathroom and kitchen remodeling including 
additions. The construction trade preferences are Drywall, Flooring and Painting in 
Multi Family and Commercial construction developments. The Business however does 
grounds up Single Family residential development. 
The article goes on to state, "[t]he business supplies maintenance equipment and parts, for buses and 
trains." While the article provides some detail regarding the Petitioner's operations in 2022, including 
several contract relationships with railway companies, it does not establish the Petitioner's future plans 
or the national importance of the proposed endeavor. Based on the information in the article, the 
Petitioner's company appears to provide services across a broad range of areas. 
To the best we can determine based on the evidence provided, the Petitioner intends to work as a 
project manager for various railway companies, however, the record is incomplete regarding the scope 
of his proposed endeavor. On appeal, the Petitioner states that his market sector is in the bidding and 
procurement of government contracts with rail companies so that he may use "his technical skill in 
understanding the maintenance needs of the government transit agencies" and "propose solution in 
production to meet their RAIL maintenance/development needs at quoted costs." The Petitioner does 
in an unpublished decision) in concluding that USCIS' decision to grant or deny a national interest waiver is discretionary 
in nature). 
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not identify any specific rail companies in his personal statement or business plan, or further define 
the scope of work he provides to them. 
The first prong of the Dhanasar framework, substantial merit and national importance, focuses on the 
specific endeavor that the individual 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. Dhanasar, 26 I&N Dec. at 889. 
In determining national importance, the relevant question is not the importance of the industry or 
profession in which the individual will work; instead we focus on "the specific endeavor that the 
foreign national proposes to undertake." See id. In Dhanasar, we further noted that "we look for 
broader implications" of the proposed endeavor and that "[a ]n undertaking may have national 
importance for example, because it has national or even global implications within a particular field." 
Id. We also stated that "[a]n 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. at 890. 
Here, we agree with the Director that the Petitioner has not identified a specific proposed endeavor 
that he seeks to undertake. The Petitioner, on appeal, provides vague statements regarding project 
management in the transportation industry to advance railway expansion and safety. He contends that 
traveling by road is unsafe and that a thriving railway industry would lessen the number of road deaths. 
The Petitioner does not adequately explain how the specific proposed endeavor he aims to undertake 
would save the lives of individuals on U.S. roadways as claimed in his personal statement. He does 
not identify a specific railway project, location, or scope of services to be completed. While the 
Petitioner's business plan states there are three potential revenue streams, he does not provide details 
of those revenue streams, or the steps he would take to advance them. Instead, he makes general 
statements about rail travel and the transportation industry without referencing his specific work, how 
it would impact road safety, or its implications for the broader national economy. 
The Petitioner's business plan does not provide a current or future staffing model for his company or 
support the revenue projections with probative documentation. The two contracts provided by the 
Petitioner indicate that he bid on, and won, government contracts to procure and supply specific parts 
to a northeast rail company. However, the Petitioner has not provided additional details regarding the 
contracts, the potential to win future contracts, or a greater explanation of the business model he 
intends to follow. Absent this information, the Petitioner has not established that the economic, 
scientific, or cultural impacts of his proposed endeavor would rise to the level of national importance. 
It is the burden of the Petitioner to identify his proposed endeavor and to provide probative evidence 
to support his assertions that it has national importance. Matter ofChawathe, 25 I&N Dec. at 375. As 
the Petitioner has not established that his endeavor's prospective impact supports a finding of national 
importance, he has not met the first prong of the Dhanasar framework. 
Because the documentation in the record does not establish the national importance of his 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 his eligibility for a 
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national interest waiver under the second and third prongs of the Dhanasar analytical framework. 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, 526 n. 7 (BIA 2015) ( declining to reach alternative issues on appeal where an 
applicant is otherwise ineligible). 
ORDER: The appeal is dismissed. 
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