dismissed EB-2 NIW Case: Real Estate Development

U.S. Citizenship 
and Immigration 
Services 
In Re: 19939378 
Appeal of Texas Service Center Decision 
Non-Precedent Decision of the 
Administrative Appeals Office 
Date : MAR. 28, 2022 
Form I-140 , Immigrant Petition for Alien Worker (Advanced Degree, Exceptional Ability, National 
Interest Waiver) 
The Petitioner, an entrepreneur and real estate developer, 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 he 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 a brief asserting that he 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. 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 ofjob 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. 
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 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 
1 In announcing this new framework, we vacated our prior precedent decision, Matter of New York State Department of 
Transportation, 22 l&N Dec. 215 (Act. Assoc. Comm'r 1998) (NYSDOT). 
2 See also Poursina v. USCIS, No. 17-16579, 2019 WL 4051593 (Aug. 28, 2019) (finding USCIS' decision to grant or 
deny a national interest waiver to be discretionary in nature). 
2 
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. 3 
II. ANALYSIS 
The Director found that the Petitioner qualifies as a member of the professions holding an advanced 
degree. The remaining 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. For the 
reasons discussed below, we agree with the Director that the Petitioner has not sufficiently 
demonstrated the national importance of his proposed endeavor under the first prong of the Dhanasar 
analytical framework. 
Regarding his claim of eligibility under Dhanasar' s first prong, the Petitioner stated that his proposed 
endeavor is "working for any company in need of his superior business administration, project 
management, and business development skills, especially in the real estate industry." The Petitioner also 
provided articles and business reports discussing the importance of entrepreneurs to the U.S. economy. 
The record therefore shows that the Petitioner's proposed endeavor has substantial merit. 
However, the Petitioner has not provided sufficient evidence that his endeavor has national 
importance, which focuses on the "the specific endeavor that the foreign national proposes to 
undertake," rather than the importance of the field, industry, or profession in which the individual will 
work. See Dhanasar, 26 I&N Dec. at 889. 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. 
In the matter at hand, the Petitioner claims that he has "significantly contributed to the business and real 
estate industry" and "has developed, and gained years of progressive experience that allows businesses 
to achieve consistent revenue growth, improved and continuous performance, cost reduction tendencies 
- namely by driving competitive advantage in today's fast-paced and ever evolving marketplace." The 
Petitioner's experience in his field relates to the second prong of the Dhanasar framework, which "shifts 
the focus from the proposed endeavor to the foreign national." Id. at 890. The issue here, however, is 
whether the specific endeavor that the Petitioner proposes to undertake has national importance under 
Dhanasar's first prong. To that end, the Petitioner has stated that his business, a Florida-based 
company that operates in the real estate sector, has the potential to "contribute to tax revenue, and 
ultimately help increase the flow of money in the U.S on a national level" as well as stabilizing the 
post pandemic housing crisis by facilitating housing for "lower-income families and professionals with 
less financial powers." The Petitioner also provided a business plan in which he stated that his 
company's business strategy is "to provide housing units to medium and small investors" by using the 
3 See Dhanasar, 26 I&N Dec. at 888-91, for elaboration on these three prongs. 
3 
Small Business Administration (SBA) HUBZone program 4 as a reference to "help to fuel small business 
growth in historically underutilized business zones ." Aside from this objective, the business plan also 
describes a five-year hiring plan which projects that the company will have a four-person staff in its 
second year of operation . Although the Petitioner included an organizational chart showing the five-year 
staffing expansion, it has not provided evidence to substantiate the projected rate of growth. 
To evaluate whether the Petitioner's proposed endeavor satisfies the national importance requirement 
we look to evidence documenting the "potential prospective impact" of his work. Although the 
Petitioner's statements reflect his intention to recruit small and medium investors in order to develop 
20 housing units in the City of I I Florida , a qualified SBA HUBZone , he has not 
provided evidence to demon strate that the prospective impact of his proposed endeavor rises to the 
level of national importan ce. The Petitioner must support his assertions with relevant , probative , and 
credible evidence. See Matter of Chawathe, 25 l&N Dec. 369, 376 (AAO 2010). 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. While the Petitioner 
claims to use the SBA HUBZone as a reference point, he concedes that he does not qualify to actively 
participate in the SBA HUBZone program and does not otherwise provide documentation indicating 
his plan to recruit small and medium investors to develop a 20-unit housing project is of national 
importance. Here, we conclude that the record does not show that the Petitioner's proposed endeavor 
stands to sufficientl y extend beyond his company , business partnerships , and clientele to impact the 
real estate field more broadly at a level commensurate with national importance. 
Furthermore, aside from the projected hires indicated in the business plan, the Petitioner has not 
demonstrated that the specific endeavor he proposes to undertake has significant potential to employ 
U.S. workers or otherwise offers substantial positive economic effects for our nation. Specifically , he 
has not shown that his company 's future staffing levels and business activity stand to provide 
substantial economic benefits in Florida , where the company is headquartered, or in the United States. 
While the sales forecasts for his company indicate it has growth potential , the Petitioner has not explained 
how the benefits to the regional or national economy would reach the level of "substantial positive 
economic effects" contemplated by Dhanasar. Id. at 890. 
In addition, the Petitioner asserts that his company will build projects to facilitate housing for "lower­
income families and professionals with less financial powers." However, he has not provided evidence 
that the area where his company will operate is economically depressed, that he would utilize a 
significant population of workers in that area, or that his endeavor would offer the region or its 
population a substantial economic benefit through employment levels or business activity , even if the 
projected hires and revenues are realized. Nor has the Petitioner demonstrated that any increases in 
employment or investment attributable to his company's operations stand to substantially affect 
economic activity or tax revenue in Florida or nationally. According ly, the Petitioner 's proposed work 
does not meet the fus t prong of the Dhanasar framework. 
Because the documentation in the record does not establish the substantial merit or national importance 
of his proposed endeavor as required by the first prong of the Dhanasar precedent decision, the Petitioner 
4 See HUBZone Program, Small Business Administration , available at: https://www.sba.gov/federal­
contracting /contracting-as sistance-program s/hubzone-program. 
4 
has not demonstrated eligibility for a national interest waiver. Further analysis of his eligibility under the 
second and third prongs outlined in Dhanasar, therefore, would serve no meaningful purpose. 
III. CONCLUSION 
As the Petitioner has not met the requisite first prong of the Dhanasar analytical framework, we conclude 
that he has not established he 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, with each considered as an 
independent and alternate basis for the decision. 
ORDER: The appeal is dismissed. 
5