dismissed EB-2 NIW Case: Statistics

U.S. Citizenship 
and Immigration 
Services 
In Re: 24227536 
Appeal of Texas Service Center Decision 
Non-Precedent Decision of the 
Administrative Appeals Office 
Date: JAN. 24, 2023 
Form 1-140, Immigrant Petition for Alien Worker (National Interest Waiver) 
The Petitioner, a statistician, seeks employment-based second preference (EB-2) 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 she had not 
established that a waiver of the required job offer, and thus of the labor certification, would be in the 
national interest. The matter is now before us on appeal. 
The Petitioner bears the burden of proof to demonstrate eligibility by a preponderance of the evidence . 
Matter ofChawathe, 25 I&N Dec. 369, 375-76 (AAO 2010). We review the questions in this matter 
de novo. Matter of Christo 's, Inc., 26 l&N Dec. 537, 537 n.2 (AAO 2015). 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 . Section 203(b )(2)(B)(i) of the Act. Once a 
petitioner demonstrates eligibility as either a member of the professions holding an advanced degree 
or an individual of exceptional ability, they must then establish that they merit a discretionary waiver 
of the job offer requirement "in the national interest." Section 203(b )(2)(B)(i) of the Act. While 
neither the statute nor the pertinent regulations define the term "national interest," Matter of Dhanasar, 
26 I&N Dec. 884, 889 (AAO 2016), provides the framework for adjudicating national interest waiver 
petitions. Dhanasar states that U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) may, as matter of 
discretion 1, grant a national interest waiver if the petitioner demonstrates that: 
• The proposed endeavor has both substantial merit and national importance; 
1 See also Poursina v. USCIS, 936 F.3d 868 (9th Cir. 2019) (finding USCIS' decision to grant or deny a national interest 
waiver to be discretionary in nature). 
• The individual is well-positioned to advance their proposed endeavor; and 
• On balance, waiving the job offer requirement would benefit the United States. 
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 conclude that the Petitioner has not sufficiently demonstrated the national 
importance of her proposed endeavor under the first prong of the Dhanasar analytical framework. 
With respect to her proposed endeavor, the Petitioner initially indicated that she intends to continue her 
career "as a Market Research Analyst, using my expertise in statistical analysis, business intelligence, 
data mining, and finance, among other areas focused on business decision making, to support success in 
corporate endeavors in the United States." She stated that she plans to work with U.S. companies 
"identifying opportunities and collaborating with business growth, as well as working with 
multidisciplinary groups through . . . focusing on solving internal and external issues involving 
departments, suppliers, and customers." The Petitioner further noted that her undertaking involves 
analyzing companies' "potential, studying their markets, and mapping growth opportunities for the 
business .... My work as a market research analyst will support the elaboration of business plans through 
the collection and analysis of primary and secondary data to study and reduce various levels of risk." 
In response to the Director's request for evidence (RFE), she asserted that her "job offer involves R&D 
in Data Science and Storage emerging technologies" and that "there are many vacancies for statisticians 
on Linkedln, showing the clear need for a professional as myself." As indicated above, the Petitioner 
initially claimed that her proposed endeavor involved continuing her work as a market research 
analyst. The Petitioner did not claim that she intended to perform research and development in data 
science and storage. In fact, the record does not reflect her intention to pursue data science and storage 
technological research prior to the Director's issuance of the RFE and only offered this proposed endeavor 
after receiving the RFE. The Petitioner must establish eligibility at the time of filing. 8 C.F.R. 
§ 103.2(b)(12); MatterofKatigbak, 14 I&N Dec. 45, 49 (Comm'r 1971). Further, the purpose of an RFE 
is to elicit information that clarifies whether eligibility for the benefit sought has been established, as of 
the time the petition is filed. See 8 C.F.R. §§ 103.2(b)(l), 103.2(b)(8), 103.2(b)(12). A petitioner may 
not make material changes to a petition in an effort to make a deficient petition conform to USCIS 
requirements. See Matter of Izummi, 22 I&N Dec. 169, 176 (Assoc. Comm'r 1998). Accordingly, we 
will not consider the Petitioner's materially changed proposed endeavor of "R&D in Data Science and 
Storage." 
The record includes information about the job outlook for market research analysts, marketing 
consultants, marketing specialists, and search engine optimization and internet marketing consultants. 
In addition, the Petitioner provided articles discussing immigrants' positive effect on both the business 
community and U.S. economy, the value of business intelligence for entrepreneurs, the talent gap in 
data analytics, the shortage of data scientists in the job market, and ways to address the data science 
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talent shortage . 2 She also submitted information about the value of market research in business , 
business intelligence challenges faced by organizations, the technology industry's use of analytics to 
bolster its workforce, the value of business intelligence , and the role of highly skilled immigrants in 
fostering U.S. economic growth. The record therefore supports the Director's determination that the 
Petitioner's proposed endeavor has substantial merit. 
In the decision denying the petition, the Director determined that the Petitioner had not established the 
national importance of her proposed endeavor. The Director stated that the Petitioner had not shown 
that her undertaking "will impact the field more broadly" or otherwise offers "substantial positive 
economic effects." 
In her appeal brief, the Petitioner asserts that she "has more than twenty (20) years of progressive 
experience and acumen in the business and intelligence statistics industries." She also points to her 
bachelor's degree and multiple master 's degrees . The Petitioner 's education , skills, and knowledge in 
her field relate 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 is whether the specific endeavor that she 
proposes to undertake has national importance under Dhanasar 's first prong. 
The Petitioner contends that her proposed work "will produce significant national benefits, due to the 
ripple effects of her professional activities." She states her undertaking "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 (GDP) ." The Petitioner further indicates that 
her proposed endeavor stands to affect the national economy by "offering economic convenience and 
agility " to "U.S . corporations in domestic and international markets ," "prioritizing the domestic job 
market ... through the creation of both direct and indirect employment opportunities for U.S. 
workers," and "driving competitive advantage for U.S. companies that wish to expand and 
internationalize their business operations." 
In determining national importance, the relevant question is not the importance of the field, 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 l&N Dec. at 889. In Dhanasa r, 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 proposed endeavor satisfies the national importance requirement 
we look to evidence documenting the "potential pro spective impact " of her work. While the 
Petitioner's statements refl ect her intention to provide valuable market research analysis and business 
intelligence services for her future U.S. employer and clients , she has not offered sufficient 
information and evidence to demon strate that the prospecti ve impact of her proposed endeavor rises 
2 The Petition er has not establish ed that her proposed endeavor stands to impact or significantly reduc e the claimed national 
shortag e. Further, shortages of qualified workers are directly addressed by the U.S. Departm ent of Labor through the labor 
certification process. 
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to the level of national importance. 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, we conclude the Petitioner has not shown that her proposed 
endeavor stands to sufficiently extend beyond her future U.S. employer or clientele to impact her field 
or the U.S. economy more broadly at a level commensurate with national importance. 
Furthermore, the Petitioner has not demonstrated 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 regional 
or national economy resulting from the Petitioner's business projects would reach the level of"substantial 
positive economic effects" contemplated by Dhanasar . Id. at 890. 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 conclude 
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. 
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