dismissed EB-2 NIW Case: Sustainable Construction

Non-Precedent Decision of the
Administrative Appeals Office 
U.S. Citizenship 
and Immigration 
Services 
In Re: 24516282 Date : MAY O1, 2023 
Appeal of Texas Service Center Decision 
Form 1-140, Immigrant Petition for Alien Workers (National Interest Waiver) 
The Petitioner, a project manager specializing in sustainable construction, seeks classification as a 
member of the professions holding an advanced degree. 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 attached to this EB-2 immigrant classification. Section 203(b )(2)(B)(i) 
of the Act. U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) 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 of the Texas Service Center denied the petition, concluding that the record did not 
establish that the Petitioner's endeavor has national importance or that it would be beneficial to the 
United States to waive the job offer requirement. The matter is now before us on appeal. 8 C.F.R. 
§ 103.3. 
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 Christa's, Inc., 26 I&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. 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 )(2) of the Act. 
Neither the statute nor the pertinent regulations define the term "national interest." Matter of 
Dhanasar, 26 I&N Dec. 884 (AAO 2016) states that after EB-2 eligibility has been established, USCIS 
may, as a matter of discretion, grant a national interest waiver if the petitioner demonstrates that: (1) 
the noncitizen's proposed endeavor has both substantial merit and national importance; (2) that the 
noncitizen is well-positioned to advance the proposed endeavor; and (3) that, on balance, it would 
benefit the United States to waive the requirements of a job offer and thus of a labor certification. 
II. ANALYSIS 
The Director found that the Petitioner qualifies as an advanced degree professional and meets the 
second prong of the Dhanasar test, but not the first or third. On appeal, the Petitioner provides a 
resume, letters of support, a copy of the business plan for his planned endeavor ( a solar panel 
installation company), and a cover letter explaining why this endeavor has national importance. 
On his Form 1-140, Immigrant Petition for Alien Workers, the Petitioner stated that his occupation and 
job title would be "[p]]roject manager of sustainable building projects" and his proposed endeavor in 
the United States would be: "Research, design, plan, or perform engineering duties in the prevention, 
control, and remediation of environmental hazards using various engineering disciplines. Work may 
include waste treatment, site remediation, or pollution control technology," which is the U.S. Bureau 
of Labor Statistics (BLS) description of the duties of an environmental engineer. 1 He also selected 
the Standard Occupational Code (SOC) 17-2081 for environmental engineers to describe his proposed 
employment. The initial filing included a letter froml I 
a Massachusetts property developer, indicating its intention to hire the Petitioner's company for 
consulting services in the field of sustainable construction for an unspecified period. Finally, the 
Petitioner provided general materials regarding sustainable construction, climate change, the BLS 
Occupational Outlook Handbook's listing for architects, 2 and a report on higher education in technical 
fields. 
The Director issued a request for evidence (RFE) requesting, among other things, further evidence of 
how the proposed endeavor would be of national importance. In response, the Petitioner provided a 
copy of his resume, a business plan for a solar panel installation business in Florida, letters of support, 
and corporate registration documents and licenses related to his general contracting company in 
Russia. The Director found that while the Petitioner's endeavor had substantial merit, the record didn't 
establish it was of national importance. 
On appeal, the Petitioner reiterates his prior arguments about the importance of renewable energy to 
the U.S. economy and environment, as well as growth in sustainable energy markets, stating that his 
endeavor would reduce U.S. dependence on foreign energy sources as well as the pollution caused by 
the use of fossil fuels. As acknowledged by the Director, sustainable energy and sustainable 
construction are activities which have substantial merit. However, this does not mean that all 
endeavors in these areas are of national importance. 
When determining whether a proposed endeavor would have national importance, the relevant 
question is not the importance of the industry or profession where the Petitioner will work, but the 
specific impact of that proposed endeavor. Matter of Dhanasar, 26 I&N Dec. at 889-890. For 
example, an endeavor may qualify if it has national implications within a particular field, or if it has 
significant potential to have a substantial economic effect, especially in an economically depressed 
area. Id.; see generally 6 USCIS Policy Manual F.5(D)(l), http://www.uscis.gov/policy-manual. In 
1 U.S. Bureau of Lab. Stat., Environmental Engineers, https://www.bls.gov/oes/current/oesl 7208 l .htm. 
2 There is no indication in the record that the Petitioner is trained or licensed as an architect. 
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the present case, the Petitioner has not established how his endeavor's impact would extend beyond 
his business's clients. 
First, the record does not provide a consistent account of the planned endeavor. In his initial evidence, 
the Petitioner provided a letter froml Idescribing the endeavor as a consulting company that will 
"research the latest trends and technologies in the emerging fields of Green Construction such as solar 
panels, Geothermal HV AC systems, biodegradable materials, green insulation, use and integration of 
IoT and Smart Appliances, low-energy and zero-energy buildings, sustainable sourcing and such." 
This letter stated that the company would be hired for services such as this research into sustainable 
construction technology, assisting architects with integration of such technology into building design, 
inspecting project sites for compliance with design and safety standards, and providing technical 
advice to general contractors in connection with I property development projects in 
Massachusetts. The Form 1-140, by contrast, stated that the Petitioner would be a sustainable 
construction project manager and that he would perform the duties of an environmental engineer, 
which center on preventing and remediating environmental hazards. The Form ETA 750, Application 
for Alien Employment Certification, submitted with the petition stated that the Petitioner's advanced 
degree is in civil engineering and that the proposed occupation would be a sustainable engineering 
consultancy. Finally, the Petitioner submitted a description of the job duties of architects. The 
Petitioner mentioned several possible occupations with different SOC codes when describing his 
proposed work in the United States. 3 Where there are discrepancies in the record, the Petitioner must 
resolve these discrepancies using independent, objective evidence pointing to where the truth lies. 
Matter ofHo, 19 I&N Dec. 582, 591-592 (BIA 1988). 
In response to the Director's RFE, the Petitioner submitted a cover letter and business plan stating that 
his company will provide solar panel installation and maintenance services in Florida. This new 
description of the endeavor differed from the descriptions in the initial filing. The initial proposed 
endeavor was either in environmental engineering, architecture, or an engineering consulting business 
in the field of sustainable construction with projects in Massachusetts. However, in the RFE response, 
the Petitioner shifted his focus to solar panel installation, maintenance, and repair services in Florida. 
This did not resolve the initial discrepancies in the Petitioner's description of his endeavor. Id. The 
inconsistent accounts of the Petitioner's endeavor do not suffice to meet Dhanasar's requirement that 
petitioners identify "the specific endeavor the foreign national proposes to undertake." See Dhanasar, 
26 I&N Dec. at 889; see generally 6 USCIS Policy Manual, supra at F.5(D)(l) ("For example, while 
engineering is an occupation, the explanation of the proposed endeavor should describe the specific 
projects and goals, or the areas of engineering in which the person will work ... "). 
On appeal, the Petitioner provides letters stating that his company will perform various activities other 
than solar panel installation. The letter from provided on appeal repeats the claim that the 
endeavor is an engineering consulting company. The letter froml Istates that 
the Petitioner's company provides solutions such as wall and ceiling insulation, energy efficient 
windows, water recycling systems, and vertical gardens. 4 These activities are not accounted for in the 
3 U.S. Bureau of Lab. Stat., May 2021 Occupation Profiles, https://www.bls.gov/oes/current/oes_stru.htm (indicating the 
following SOC codes: Civil Engineers: 17-2051; Architects, Except Landscape and Naval: 17-1011; Environmental 
Engineers: 17-2081; and Construction Managers: 11-9021 ). 
4 This letter also states that the Petitioner's company has a "substantial and rapidly growing client base in the US." While 
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Petitioner's business plan or otherwise explained in the record. Finally, a letter from J-B-, a research 
and development manager for an unidentified solar panel manufacturer, states that the Petitioner has 
been offered the opportunity to work with J-B-'s company but does not specify what company this 
refers to or what work the Petitioner would perform. The appeal does not contain sufficient 
independent, objective evidence to resolve the discrepancies regarding the nature of the Petitioner's 
proposed endeavor. Matter ofHo, 19 I&N Dec. at 591-592. While the endeavor may include some 
or all of the activities outlined above, we conclude that the Petitioner has not provided a specific or 
consistent proposed endeavor activity such that we can determine its national importance. See 
Dhanasar, 26 I&N Dec. at 889. 
Second, the documentation provided does not establish how the Petitioner's initial proposed endeavor 
of engineering consulting in sustainable construction would have sufficient impact to reach the level 
of national importance. Dhanasar states that an endeavor may have national importance if it has 
national or global implications within a particular field, but the record does not establish that the 
Petitioner's work would impact his field in such a manner. Id. For example, the letter from I I 
states that the Petitioner "is making significant contributions to energy recapture and recycling," but 
does not specify what contributions it refers to. A letter from I lstates that the Petitioner's 
endeavor is "revolutionary" and that he "will continue to develop unique green construction methods," 
but there is no supporting documentation in the record establishing how the Petitioner's methods could 
have national or international implications in his field. Finally, J-B- states that he has worked with 
the Petitioner and considers him "one of the best in the business," but provides no examples of the 
work they have done together except for phone and video chats, and does not specify what work he 
would hire the Petitioner to do. These letters are insufficient to establish what impact the Petitioner's 
endeavor would have on his field or how it would be nationally important. Id. 
Dhanasar states 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," may have 
national importance. Id. at 890. Such effects need not be national in scale but must demonstrate a 
potential prospective impact that is "substantial" to a particular area, region, or industry. Id. However, 
the record does not establish how the Petitioner's endeavor, specifically, would have such benefits. 
The support letters rely heavily on general information about the importance and economic impact of 
sustainable construction as a field. As noted above, the fact that an endeavor has substantial merit 
does not establish that it will have national importance. Similarly, while the business plan asserts that 
the Petitioner's company will create jobs, reduce dependence on foreign sources of energy, reduce 
pollution, and create economic benefits by allowing homeowners and businesses to spend less money 
on electricity, it does not establish to what degree its operations will have these impacts. The 
Petitioner's business plan states that after five years, the company will employ six workers in Florida 
other than the Petitioner at a median wage level of $60,000 and have over $10 million in revenues. 
However, the Petitioner does not provide documentation establishing that the area where his company 
will operate is economically depressed, that he will employ a significant population of workers in that 
area, or that the endeavor would offer the region or its population a substantial economic benefit. It 
is also not apparent that the company's projects would represent a significant share of the Florida or 
the record indicates that the company was incorporated in 2016, there is no documentation showing that it has already 
started providing goods or services. Because the letter from Sistema is not in accord with the rest of the record, we will 
not grant it decisive weight. See Matter ofCaron, 19 I&N Dec. 791, 795 (BIA 1988). 
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U.S. solar panel installation market. This does not establish that the proposed endeavor's economic 
impact would rise to the level of national importance. 5 
Finally, the letters' assertions about the Petitioner's education and professional record go towards the 
second prong of the Dhanasar test, which concerns the Petitioner's ability to advance the proposed 
endeavor. They do not establish that his endeavor, and of itself, has significant potential to contribute 
to the advancement of the fields of renewable energy or sustainable construction or to otherwise 
enhance societal welfare. See generally 6 USCIS Policy Manual, supra at F.5(D)(l). The Petitioner 
has not demonstrated that his proposed endeavor has national importance. 
Because the Petitioner has not established eligibility under the first prong of the Dhanasar test, we 
need not address his eligibility under the second and third prongs and we hereby reserve them. See 
INS v. Bagamasbad, 429 U.S. 24, 25 (1976) ("courts and agencies are not required to make findings 
on issues the decision of which is unnecessary to the results they reach"). The petition will remain 
denied. 
III. CONCLUSION 
The petitioner has not met the requisite first prong of the Dhanasar analytical framework. As such, 
we conclude that he has not established that he is eligible for or otherwise merits a national interest 
waiver as a matter of discretion. 
ORDER: The appeal is dismissed. 
5 The letter fro ml Iand the other documentation of the Petitioner's initial engineering consultancy endeavor do not 
contain specific information about that endeavor's economic benefits, such as projected employment and revenues. This 
does not establish what economic impact that endeavor would have in Massachusetts, and so does not establish eligibility. 
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