dismissed EB-2 NIW Case: Sales Management

U.S. Citizenship 
and Immigration 
Services 
In Re: 10894071 
Appeal of Texas Service Center Decision 
Non-Precedent Decision of the 
Administrative Appeals Office 
Date : JUNE 9, 2021 
Form 1-140, Immigrant Petition for Alien Worker (Advanced Degree, Exceptional Ability, National 
Interest Waiver) 
The Petitioner, a sales manager, 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 ofjob 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 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 a 
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. 
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 
sufficiently urgent to warrant forgoing the labor certification process. In each case, the factor(s) 
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 
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 Petitioner qualifies as a member of the professions holding an advanced 
degree. The Director further found that the proposed endeavor has substantial merit and, upon de nova 
review on appeal, we agree. However, the Director also concluded that the record does not establish 
the endeavor would have national importance. 3 For the reasons discussed below, the Petitioner has 
not established that a waiver of the requirement of a job offer is warranted. 
The Petitioner is "currently employed in the U.S. as a [r]egional [s]ales [m]anager for ... one of the 
largest suppliers of technology for the I I industry and a number of other I I 
industries." The Petitioner stated that he "plan[s] to continue prospecting employment in the United 
States with U.S. companies in need of my unique expertise and extensive experience in sales 
management and engineering," listing 20 "institutions in which I intend to pursue a job placement, as 
well as their current open positions." 
The Petitioner stated that his proposed endeavor would be "to utilize his skills and knowledge to work 
as a [s]ales [m]anager and make contributions of major significance to corporations here in the U.S." 
The Petitioner elaborated that he would make contributions of major significance to corporations in 
the United States by doing the following: 
• Direct and coordinate activities involving sales of manufactured products, services, 
commodities, real estate or other subjects of sale; 
• Resolve customer complaints regarding sales and service; 
• Review operational records and reports to project sales and determine profitability; 
• Oversee regional and local sales managers and their staffs; 
• Determine price schedules and discount rates; 
• Prepare budgets and approve budget expenditures; 
• Monitor customer preferences to determine focus of sales efforts; 
• Plan and direct staffing, training, and performance evaluations to develop and 
control sales and service programs; 
• Direct, coordinate, and review activities in sales and service accounting and record­
keeping, and in receiving and shipping operations; and 
• Direct foreign sales and service outlets of an organization. 
In a request for evidence (RFE), the Director noted that, in the initial filing, "the [P]etitioner has not 
established that his proposed work has implications beyond his current employer ( or any prospective 
employers), their business partners, alliances, and/or unidentified clients at a level sufficient to 
demonstrate the national importance of his endeavor." The Director requested evidence of how the 
endeavor is of national importance, among other types of evidence requested. 
2 See Dhanasar, 26 I&N Dec. at 888-91, for elaboration on these three prongs. 
3 The Director also concluded that the record did not satisfy the second and third Dhanasar prongs. 
3 
In response to the Director's RFE, the Petitioner noted the following: 
I can also be a great mentor, coaching and training other sales professionals. I can share 
my experiences and knowledge of sales, business, and marketing. I can improve the 
performance, confidence, and practices of any sales team, by designing and 
implementing metrics to measure their program impact and effectiveness, and give 
feedback, so they can improve their activity, and therefore become more efficient in 
their day-to-day sales operations. This would maximize the performance of U.S. sales 
teams in order to manage global multimillion-dollar deals that require diverse cultural 
approaches. 
The Petitioner further stated that he "will contribute to the U.S. economy, by increasing the sales and 
partnerships between companies all across the U.S. I will be able to improve cross-border transactions, 
and significantly increase revenues, which will effectively enhance the image of the U.S economy." 
Similar to the RFE, the Director concluded in the decision letter that the Petitioner "has not established 
that his proposed work as a sales manager has implications beyond his current employer ( or any 
prospective employers), their business partners, alliances, and/or clients and customers at a level 
sufficient to demonstrate the national importance of his endeavor." 
On appeal, the Petitioner asserts that his "endeavor is not in any way limited to one particular 
corporation and their clients, but has a much broader scope and breadth" ( emphasis original). The 
Petitioner states that his "endeavor is linked to supporting corporations, both big and small, adapting 
to innovative sales management solutions, to create and sustain businesses, which in tum, generate 
new demands of workforce, besides new revenue streams." The Petitioner further asserts that 
"[b ]usiness internal process/systems mainly get disseminated throughout the industry itself: through 
business events, symposia, conferences, the word of mouth, companies' merging and acquisitions, 
new hiring of experts, private consultancy, etc., all of which contribute to a particular innovation 
and/or technologies getting spread and adopted by important players in the field." The Petitioner also 
references a "steep shortage of U.S.-based, and specialized, sales professionals" and "the significant 
economic impact of his current work in thel I industry in the United States." 
Dhanasar provided examples of endeavors that may have national importance, as required by the first 
prong, 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 889-90. 
The record does not establish any particular process the Petitioner would improve through the 
proposed endeavor, and how he would improve that process. The record also does not identify what 
or how the Petitioner would advance that would result in national or even global implications within 
a particular field, such as sales and marketing. Instead, for example, the Petitioner generally references 
business internal processes and systems that "get disseminated throughout [an] industry." 
While the Petitioner claims the endeavor will generate new revenue streams and a demand for 
additional workforce, the record lacks evidence supporting that statement. While generating sales is 
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a positive economic activity, the record does not specify what positive economic effects the proposed 
endeavor would cause, where the positive economic effects would felt, whether that location is in an 
economically depressed area, and other salient details in order for us to determine whether those 
positive economic effects would be substantial enough to establish the national importance of the 
proposed endeavor. 
In summation, the Petitioner has not established that the proposed endeavor has national importance, 
as required by the first Dhanasar prong, and therefore is not eligible for a national interest waiver. 4 
We reserve our opinion regarding whether the record satisfies the second or third Dhanasar prong. 
III. CONCLUSION 
As the Petitioner has not met the requisite first prong 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. 
4 Because we conclude that the record does not satisfy the first Dhanasar prong, which is dispositive, we need not address 
the Petitioner's further assertions on appeal regarding the second and third prongs. 
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