dismissed EB-2 NIW Case: Special Education

U.S. Citizenship 
and Immigration 
Services 
In Re: 5939286 
Appeal of Nebraska Service Center Decision 
Non-Precedent Decision of the 
Administrative Appeals Office 
Date: JAN. 14, 2020 
Form 1-140, Immigrant Petition for Alien Worker (Advanced Degree, Exceptional Ability, National 
Interest Waiver) 
The Petitioner, a special education teacher, 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 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 certification, would be in the 
national interest. 1 
On appeal, the Petitioner asserts that she 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. -
1 The Director did not make a finding regarding the Petitioner 's claimed eligibility as a member of the professions holding 
an advanced degree. 
(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). 2 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 3, 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 
2 In announcing this new rramework. 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). 
3 See also Poursina v. USC1S. 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 
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) 
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. 4 
II. ANALYSIS 
A. Member of the Professions Holding an Advanced Degree 
The Petitioner received a Master of Education degree in special education from~I -----~ 
University in December 2010. Accordingly, she qualifies as a member of the professions holding an 
advanced degree. 
B. National Interest Waiver 
The remaining issue is whether the Petitioner has established that a waiver of the requirement of a job 
offer, and thus a labor certification, is in the national interest. For the reasons discussed below, we find 
the Petitioner has not demonstrated eligibility for a national interest waiver under the analytical 
framework set forth in Dhanasar. 
At the time of filing, the Petitioner was working as an "Exceptional Student Services Inclusion 
Teacher" at I I School inl l Arizona. She provided a "Job Summary" for this position 
which states: "The successful candidate with possess a broad knowledge of special education and be 
able to manage a 25-40 student caseload. The position entails writing and implementing Individual 
Education Plans, facilitating Multidisciplinary Team Meetings and working in the classroom 
individually, co-teaching, and/or in a resource setting." 5 
Regarding her claim of eligibility under Dhanasar' s first prong, the Petitioner indicated that she intends 
to continue her work as a special education coordinator atl !School. She asserted that her 
proposed endeavor stands to improve "the educational and social economic value of her students 
which is of substantial merit and of national importance." In addition, the Petitioner stated: 
The student demographics the Petitioner coordinates and teaches atl I School 
positively affects and decreases the nation's cost oflaw enforcement, unemployment 
aid or job training. . . . I I School has students with autism, learning 
disabilities! delinquencies, juvenile records, [ and] Title I designated children. . . . Most 
students at. I School are working jobs to support themselves, such as janitors, 
cafeteria workers, etc. 
4 See Dhanasar, 26 T&N Dec. at 888-91, for elaboration on these three prongs. 
5 As the Petitioner is applying for a waiver of the job offer requirement, it is not necessary for her to have a job offer from 
a specific employer. However, we will consider information about her current position to illustrate the capacity in which 
she intends to work in order to determine whether her proposed endeavor meets the requirements of the Dhanasar 
analytical framework. 
3 
The record includes articles about special education teacher shortages in the United States and 
Arizona, the adverse effects of teacher turnover on student achievement, and the benefits of retaining 
teachers already employed by a school district. In addition, the Petitioner provided information about 
poverty and high school dropouts, lost tax revenue attributable to high school dropouts, causes and 
costs associated with the high school dropout rate, economic ripple effects of high school dropouts, 
and increased dropout rates for students with learning and attention issues. The record therefore shows 
that the Petitioner's proposed endeavor aimed at teaching students with special needs has substantial 
merit. 
In determining national importance, the relevant question is not the importance of the field 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. 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. 
To evaluate whether the Petitioner's work satisfies the national importance requirement we look to 
evidence documenting the "potential prospective impact" of her work. In the present matter, the 
Petitioner's evidence is insufficient to show that her proposed work has broader implications for her 
field, as opposed to being limited to the students at the school where she intends to teach. While the 
Petitioner offered articles indicating that both the United States and Arizona face a shortage of special 
education teachers, this reported shortage does not render the work of an individual teacher nationally 
important under the Dhanasar framework. 6 In general, the value of qualified teachers to U.S. national 
educational initiatives is collective, and the Petitioner has not shown that her proposed work stands to 
have wider implications in the field of special education. 
Furthermore, while the Petitioner asserted that her proposed work as a special education coordinator 
will contribute to a strong and stable U.S. economy by decreasing the number of high school dropouts, 
she has not demonstrated that her undertaking has any implications beyond her particular school's 
dropout rate. Nor has the Petitioner shown 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. 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 her teaching activities at I O I School would reach the level of 
"substantial positive economic effects" contemplated by Dhanasar. Id. at 890. 
The Petitioner's documentation is not sufficient to demonstrate that her proposed endeavor is of 
national importance. While we acknowledge the merits of her work to create a positive learning 
environment and improve her students' academic proficiency and employability, the record does not 
demonstrate that the Petitioner's instructional and case management activities offer benefits that 
6 We note that the U.S. Department of Labor addresses shortages of qualified workers through the labor certification 
process. Accordingly, a shortage alone does not demonstrate that waiving the requirement of a labor certification would 
benefit the United States. 
4 
extend beyond her school to impact the field of special education or U.S. economy more broadly. 7 
Accordingly, the Petitioner's proposed work 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 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 find that 
she has not established 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. 
7 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. 
5