dismissed EB-2 NIW Case: Science Education

U.S. Citizenship 
and Immigration 
Services 
MATTER OF S-I-Z-D-
Non-Precedent Decision of the 
Administrative Appeals Office 
DATE: DEC. 2, 2016 
CERTIFICATION OF TEXAS SERVICE CENTER DECISION 
PETITION: FORM I-140, IMMIGRANT PETITION FOR ALIEN WORKER 
The Petitioner seeks classification as a member of the professions holding an advanced degree to 
work as a science teacher. See Immigration and Nationality Act (the Act) section 203(b)(2), 
8 U.S.C. § 1153(b)(2). The Petitioner also seeks a national interest waiver of the job offer 
requirement that is normally attached to this immigrant classification. See § 203(b )(2)(B)(i) of the 
Act, 8 U.S.C. § 1153(b )(2)(B)(i). U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services may grant this 
discretionary waiver of the required job offer, and thus of a labor certification, when it is in the 
national interest to do so. · 
The Director, Texas Service Center, denied the petition. The Director found 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 a job offer would be in the national interest. The Petitioner 
appealed the matter to us. We withdrew the Director's decision and remanded the matter for further 
consideration and entry of a new decision. 
The Director issued a notice of intent to deny the petition, to which the Petitioner responded. The 
Director subsequently issued a new decision denying the petition and certified it to us for review. 
The Petitioner does not offer a brief or further evidence for consideration. 
Upon de novo review, we will affirm the Director's decision denying the petition. 
I. LAW 
To establish eligibility for a national interest waiver, a petitioner must first demonstrate qualification 
for the underlying visa classification, as either an advanced degree professional or an individual of 
exceptional ability in the sciences arts or business. Because this classification normally 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 states, in pertinent part: 
(2) Aliens who are members of the professions holding advanced degrees or aliens of 
exceptional ability. -
Matter of S-1-Z-D~ 
(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. ... the Attorney General 1 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. 
Neither the statute nor the pertinent regulations define the term "national interest." Additionally, 
Congress did not provide a specific definition of "in the national interest." The Committee on the 
Judiciary merely noted in its report to the Senate that the committee had "focused on national 
interest by increasing the number and proportion of visas for immigrants who would benefit the 
United States economically and otherwise .... " S. Rep. No. 55, lOlst Cong., 1st Sess., 11 {1989). 
Matter of New York State Department ofTransportation, 22 I&N Dec. 215,217-18 (Act. Assoc. 
Comm'r 1998) (NYSDOT), set forth several factors which must be considered when evaluating a 
request for a national interest, waiver. First, a petitioner must demonstrate that he or she seeks 
employment in an area of substantial intrinsic merit. !d. at 217. Next, a petitioner must show that 
the proposed benefit will be national in scope. !d. Finally, the petitioner seeking the waiver must 
establish that he or she will serve the national interest to a substantially greater degree than would an 
available U.S. worker having the same minimum qualifications. !d. at 217-18. 
While the national interest waiver hinges on prospective national benefit, a petitioner's assurance 
that he or she will, in the future, serve the national interest cannot suffice to establish prospective 
national benefit. !d. at 219. Rather, a petitioner must justify projections of future benefit to the 
national interest by establishing a history of demonstrable achievement with some degree of 
influence on the field as a whole. !d. at 219, n.6. 
1 Pursuant to section 1517 of the Homeland Security Act of 2002 ("HSA"), Pub. L. No. I 07-296, 116 Stat. 2135, 2311 
(codified at 6 U.S.C. § 557 (2012)), any reference to the Attorney General in a provision of the Act describing functions 
that were transferred from the Attorney General or other Department of Justice official to the Department of Homeland 
Security by the HSA "shall be deemed to refer to the Secretary" of Homeland Security. See also 6 U.S.C. § 542 note 
(2012); 8 U.S.C. § 1551 note (2012). 
2 
(b)(6)
Matter ofS-1-Z-D-
II. ANALYSIS 
In Part 6 ofthe Form I-140, Immigrant Petition for Alien Worker, the Petitoner identified his proposed 
job title as "T~acher," and indicated he would teach various science and engineering courses to 
"secondary and post-secondary school students."2 According to the Petitoner's Form ETA-750B, 
Statement of Qualifications of Alien, he has been employed as a "Chemist /Biomedical Engineer" at 
from April 1996 to the present. In the intial decision denying 
the petition, the Director did not acknowledge or discuss the Petitioner ' s intended occupation as a high 
school science teacher, but instead focused on his employment as a chemist at We therefore 
remanded the matter to the Director for consideration of the Petitioner's intended teaching work. 
On remand, the Director found that the Petitioner holds the foreign equivalent of a U.S. baccalaureate 
degree in chemical engineering and has progressive post-baccalaureate experience in that specialty 
equivalent to an advanced degree under the regulation at 8 C.F.R. § 204.5(k)(3)(i)(B). Accordingly , 
the Director determined that the Petitioner qualified for classification as a member of the professions 
holding an advanced degree . The Director further found that the Petitioner's proposed work as a high 
school science teacher has substantial intrinsic merit. The two findings at issue in this matter are (l) 
·whether the Petitioner established that the benefits of such work are national in scope as required w1der 
the second prong of the NYSDOT national interest waiver analytic framework, and (2) whether he 
demonstrated that his past record of achievement is sufficient to meet the third prong. 
A. National in Scope 
The Director found that the proposed benefit of the Petitioner ' s work as a bilingual high school 
science teacher would not be national in scope. With regard to the Petitioner ' s duties as a science 
teacher, he has not established that the benefits of his work would extend beyond his students and 
school district such that they will have a national impact. NYSDOT provided the following examples 
of meritorious occupations that lack national scope: 
For instance, pro bono legal services as a whole serve the national interest, but the 
impact of an individual attorney working pro bono would be so attenuated at the 
national level as to be negligible. Similarly, while education is in the national 
interest , the impact of a single schoolteacher in one elementary school would not be 
in the national interest for purposes of waiving the job offer requirement of section 
203(b)(2)(B) of the Act. As another example , while nutrition has obvious intrin'sic 
value, the work of one cook in one restaurant could not be considered sufficiently in 
the national interest for purposes of this provision of the Act. 
/d. at 217, n.3. The Petitioner's response to the Director's notice of intent to deny included 
information about teacher shortages and federal government initiatives to improve science, 
technology, engineering , and mathematics (STEM) education. However , general arguments or 
2 The Petitioner later clarified that he intends to work as a bilingual high school science teacher. 
3 
(b)(6)
Matter ofS-1-Z-D-
information regarding the importance of a given field of endeavor, or the urgency of an issue facing 
the United States, cannot alone establish that an individual benefits the national interest by vi1tue of 
engaging in the field. !d. at 217. Such information addresses only the "substantial intrinsic merit" 
prong of NYSDOTs national interest analysis. Here, the Petitioner has not shown that his work will 
have an impact beyond the locality where he intends to teach. Accordingly, we agree with the 
Director's determination that the proposed benefit of the Petitioner's employment as a teacher would 
not be national in scope . 
B. Serving the National Interest 
It remains, then, to determine whether the Petitioner will benefit the national interest to a greater 
extent than an available U.S. worker with the same minimum qualifications. The Director 
determined that the Petitioner's impact and influence on the field of teaching did not satisfy the third 
prong of the NYSDOTnational interest analysis. 
The Petitioner submitted letters of support from two of his supervisors at that discuss his work for 
the company. the company president, stated that the Petitioner "has been 
employed by as a Chemist since April of 1996" and that "[t]he main duty of his job is 
manufacturing ultrasound and conductivity gels and disinfectants to be used in the medical field." 
did not explain how the Petitioner's work has affected the field of chemistry, 
secondary education, or STEM teaching. 
plant manager at indicated that the Petitioner's "experience working in the 
fields of chemistry, physics, biochemistry and engineering , coupled with his passion for these topics 
and love for teaching will undoubtedly grant underprivileged students with an incredible advantage 
they so desperately need." In addition, noted that the Petitioner ' s "fluency in Spanish 
will also allow him to educate this country's growing number of Spanish-speaking students, who 
will benefit from being able to learn in a language they understand." Any statements that a 
petitioner possesses useful skills or a unique background, however, relate to whether similarly 
trained workers are available in the United States and are an issue under the jurisdiction of the U.S. 
Department of Labor (DOL) through the labor certification process. !d. at 221. 
further stated: "[The Petitioner ' s] contribution to public education in the fields of science and math 
will provide immediate relief to those school districts , such as NJ, that are currently facing 
a shortage of educators in these subject area[s]. " DOL addresses worker shortages through the labor 
certification process , and therefore a shortage of qualified professionals alone is not sufficient to 
demonstrate eligibility for the national interest waiver. !d. at 218. Further, described 
the Petitioner's potential to contribute to the field of education, but did not indicate that he has had a 
past influence the field as a whole. 
The Petitioner also provided evidence relating to his teaching credentials , including an "Examinee 
Score Report" from the showing his scores on various 
tests between 2001 and 2003. Additionally , the Petitioner submitted a copy of a 2005 "Official 
Statement of Status of Eligibility" indicating that he was "eligible for a Florida Educator's 
4 
(b)(6)
Matter ofS-1-Z-D-
Certificate" to teach chemistry, and a certificate from the State of New Jersey stating that he was 
"eligible to seek employment in positions requiring the Provisional Certificate" as a "Teacher of 
Physical Science." The record further includes evidence that in 2001, the Petitioner received a 
tentative job offer from in New Jersey. This evidence does not demonstrate 
that the Petitioner has had ~n influence on the field of education. 
In this matter, the Petitioner has not established by a preponderance of the evidence that he has a 
past record of demonstrable achievement with some degree of influence on the field of chemistry or 
education as a whole or that he will otherwise serve the national interest to a substantially greater 
degree than would an available U.S. worker having the same minimum qualifications. Accordingly, 
we uphold the Director's determination that the Petitioner has not met the third prong of the 
NYSDOT national interest framework. 
III. CONCLUSION 
The Petitioner has not shown that a waiver of the job offer requirement will be in the national interest 
of the United States. Accordingly, he has not established eligibility for the immigration benefit 
sought. Section 291 of the Act, 8 U.S.C. § 1361; Matter of Otiende , 26 I&N Dec. 127, 128 (BIA 
2013). 
ORDER: The certified decision of the Director, Texas Service Center, is affirmed, and the 
petition is denied. 
Cite as Matter o.fS-1-Z-D- , ID# 188550 (AAO Dec. 2, 2016) 
5