dismissed EB-2 NIW Case: Sales Management

U.S. Citizenship 
and Immigration 
Services 
In Re : 17949679 
Appeal of Nebraska Service Center Decision 
Non-Precedent Decision of the 
Administrative Appeals Office 
Date: DEC. 6, 2021 
Form I-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. § l 153(b)(2). 
The Director of the Nebraska Service Center denied the petition, concluding that the Petitioner had not 
established that a waiver of the required job offer, and thus of the labor ce1iification, would be in the 
national interest. 
On appeal, the Petitioner submits a brief asserting her eligibility 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 novo 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. ... [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. 
Furthermore, 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 impmiance, 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 offerorforthepetitionerto 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 I&NDec. 215 (Act. Assoc. Comm'r 1998) (NYSDOT). 
2 See also Poursina v. USCJS, No. 1 7-16579, 2019 WL 4051593 (Aug. 28, 2019) (finding USC IS' decision to grant or 
deny a nationalinterestwaiverto be discretionaiy in nature). 
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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 concluded 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 eligibility under the first prong of the Dhanasar analytical framework. 
The first prong relates to substantial merit and national importance of the specific proposed endeavor. 
Dhanasar, 26 I&N Dec. at 889. The Petitioner initially claimed that she "intends to continue her career 
as a Sales Manager, in which capacity she will enhance the revenue of U.S. companies, thus elevating 
their productivity patterns and market growth," and "[s]hewill also help U.S. companies expand their 
business operations into Latin American matkets." In response to the Director's request for evidence, the 
Petitioner offered an updated statementindicatingthatshe"intend[s] to continue [her] careerin the United 
States as a Sales Manager, using [her] 25 years of professional expertise, along with [her] strong expe1tise 
in Sales and Marketing in Tourism, Public Tourism Policies, Tourism Planning, International Relations, 
Hospitality, Hospitality Administration, and Business in Tourism." In addition, she "plan[s] to use [her] 
skills and knowledge, gained through 25 years of professional experience, to contribute to U.S. societal 
needs and economic prosperity through [her] role as a Sales Manager. 
The Petitioner maintains on appeal that she "will continue her career as a Sales Manager, in which position 
she will further her sales methodologies, all while prompting cross-border tourism, transactions, and 
cooperation between the U.S. and foreign markets, explicitly in Brazil and the wider Latin America 
region." The Director determined that the Petitioner demonstrated the proposed endeavor's substantial 
merit but not its national importance. 
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 "the specific endeavor that the 
foreign national proposes to undertake." See Dhanasar, 26 I&N Dec. at 889. Here, the Petitioner 
must demonstrate the national importance of her providing specific sales management rather than the 
national importance of the sales manager position in a company or the wide range of fields or 
industries, such as tourism, in which she intends to work. 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, pa1iicularly in an economically depressed area, for 
instance, may well be understood to have national importance." Id. at 890. 
Throughout the record, including in her appeal brief, the Petitioner emphasizes her "past record of 
achievements and continuous concrete contributions," "expertise," "over 32 years of progressive 
3 SccDhanasar, 26l&NDec. at 888-91, for elaboration onthesethreeprongs. 
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experience," "significant experience," and "strong knowledge." The Petitioner's experience and abilities 
in her field relate to the second prong of the Dhanasar framework, which "shifts the focus from 1he 
proposed endeavor to the foreign national." Id. at 890. The issue here is whether the specific endeavor 
that she proposes to undertake has national impmiance under Dhanasar' s first prong. 
To evaluate whether the Petitioner's proposed endeavor satisfies the national importance requirement 
we look to evidence documenting the "potential prospective impact" of her work. Although the 
Petitioner asserts that her proposed endeavor "will enhance the revenue of U.S. companies, thus 
elevating their productivity patters and market growth" and "will provide significant sales growth 
potential for U.S. companies, which will ultimately impact the productivity of the U.S. business 
ecosystem, as well as national economic activities," she has not offered sufficient, specific information 
and evidence to demonstrate that the prospective impact of her specific proposed endeavor rises to 1he 
level of national importance. Instead, the record contains evidence regarding general information of 
the relationship between immigrants and the economy, the talent shortage of sales managers, the role 
of sales in business, and the importance of sales and tourism. 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. Here, the record does not show that the 
Petitioner's proposed endeavor of serving as a sales manager stands to sufficiently extend beyond her 
potential or futuristic employers, to impact the tourism industry or any other industries or the U.S. 
economy more broadly at a level commensurate with national importance. 
Furthermore, the Petitioner has not established that the specific endeavor she proposes to undertake 
has significant potential to employ U.S. workers or otherwise offers substantial positive economic 
effects for our nation. While the Petitioner claims that her "proposed endeavor will also contribute to 
tax revenue, and ultimately help increase the flow of money in the U.S. on a national level, which will 
contribute to an enhanced U.S. gross domestic product (GSP)," she did not further elaborate and 
provide specific details to corroborate her assertions. Without sufficient information or evidence 
regarding any projected U.S. economic impact or job creation attributable to her future work, the record 
does not show that benefits to the U.S. regional or national economy resulting from the Petitioner's sales 
manager position would reach the level of "substantial positive economic effects" contemplated by 
Dhanasar. Id. at 890. Accordingly, the Petitioner's proposed endeavor does not meet the first prong 
of the Dhanasar framework. 
Because the documentation in the record does not establish the national importance of her proposed 
endeavor as required by the first prong of the Dhanasar precedent decision, the Petitioner has not 
demonstrated eligibility for a national interest waiver. Further analysis of her eligibility under 1he second 
and third prongs outlined inDhanasar, therefore, would serve no meaningful purpose. 
III. CONCLUSION 
As the Petitioner has not met the requisite first prong of theDhanasar analytical framework, we conclude 
that she has not demonstrated that she 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. 
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