dismissed EB-2 NIW Case: Travel Consulting

U.S. Citizenship 
and Immigration 
Services 
MATTER OF K-S-
APPEAL NEBRASKA SERVICE CENTER DECISION 
Non-Precedent Decision of the 
Administrative Appeals Office 
DATE: MAY 30, 2018 
PETITION: FORM I-140, IMMIGRANT PETITION FOR ALIEN WORKER 
The Petitioner, a travel consultant, 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). After the petitioner has established eligibility for EB-2 
classification, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) may, as matter of discretion, 
grant a national interest waiver if the petitioner demonstrates: (I) 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. Matter of 
Dhanasar, 26l&N Dec. 884 (AAO 2016). 
The Director of the Nebraska Service Center denied the Form I-140, 'Immigrant Petition for Alien 
Worker, finding that the Petitioner qualified for classification as a member of the professions 
holding an advanced degree, but that she had not establislied that a waiver of the required job offer, 
and thus of the labor certification, would be in the national interest. 
On appeal, the Petitioner submits additional documentation and argues that she is eligible for a 
national interest waiver as a member of the professions holding an advanced degree. 
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.-
Malter of K-S-
(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. 
While neither the statute nor the pertinent regulations detine the term "national interest," we recently 
set forth a new framework for adjudicating national interest waiver petitions. See Dhanasar, 26 I&N 
Dec. 884. 1 Dhanasar states that after EB-2 eligibility has been established, USCIS may, as a matter 
of discretion, grant a national interest waiver when the below prongs are met. 
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 that other qualified U.S. workers are available, the United States would still benefit 
1 In announcing this new framework, we vacated our prior precedent decision, Matter of New York State Department of 
Transportation, 22l&N Dec. 215 (Act. Assoc. Comm'r 1998) (NYSD07). 
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Matter of K-S-
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. 2 . .. 
The regulation at 8 C.F.R. § 204.5(k)(2) contains the following relevant definition: 
Advanced degree mean s any United States academic or professional degree or a 
foreign equivalent degree above that of baccalaureate. A United States baccalaureate 
degree or a foreign equivalent degree followed by at least five years of progre ssive 
experience in the specialty shall be considered the equivalent of a master's degree. If 
a doctoral degree is customarily required by the specialty , the alien must have a 
United States doctorate or a foreign equivalent degree. 
In addition, the regulation at 8 C.F.R. § 204.5(k)(3)(i) provides that, in order to show an individual is 
a professional holding an advanced degree , the petition must be accompanied by: 
(A) An official academic record showing that the alien has an United States advanced 
degree or a foreign equivalent degree; or 
(B) An official academic record showing that the alien has a United States 
baccalaureate degree or a foreign equivalent degree, and evidence in the form of 
letters from current or former employer(s) showing that the alien has at least tive 
years of progressive post-baccalaureate experience in the specialt y. 
II. ANALYSIS 
A. Eligibility for the Underlying Visa Classification 
As a preliminary matter , the regulation at 8 C.F.R. § 204.5(k)(3)(i) states that, to demon strate that 
the Petitioner is a professional holding an advanced degree, the petiti on must be accompanied by 
either an official academic record showing that she holds an advanced degree or a foreign equivalent 
degree, or an official academic record showing that she holds a United States bacca laureate degree 
or a foreign degree equival ent and evidence in the form of letters from current or former employers 
showing that she has at least five years of progres sive post-baccalaure ate experience in the special ty. 
The Director · found that the Petitioner qualitie s as professional holding an advanced degree. 
However, we find that the documentar y evidence does not meet the relevant requiremen ts, and we 
will withdraw the Director 's favorable determination on this issue. 
Specifically, the record includes a copy of the Petitioner's diploma from m 
Korea, evidencing that in 2014, she earned a doctor of hotel tourism management. The record, 
2 See Dhanasar, 26 I&N Dec. at 888-91, for elaboration on these three prongs. 
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MatJer of K-S-
however, does not contain an acade mic credentials evaluation to establish her foreign degree's 
equivalency to a United States degree as required under 8 C.F.R. § 204.5(k)(3)(i)(A). Thus, the 
Petitio ner has not documented her qualifications as an advanced degree professional. In addition, we 
find that , even if she had demonstrated her qualifications for the underlying visa cla ssification, she 
has not established eligibility for a national intere st waiver as explained below. 
B. Nation al Interest Waiver 
In a letter accompa nying the petition , the Petitioner indicated that she plans to serve as the founde r and 
executive manager of a destination management compan y engaged in the 
marketing and sales of experiential tour packages to East Asian nationa ls vis iting the United States. 
She explains th at this company will " develop experiential tou r program s of diverse and unique targe t 
segments not available in the market includin g Amish residentia l, national park s, and historica l 
sites," and that the company intends to "offer extended access and unique experience to inbound 
tourists to discover remote, unknown, and yet economically deprived areas of the United States." 
She states that the company will partner with two Asian travel companies, and 
to sell trave l packages in the Sout h Korean market, though she does not prov ide the specifics of their 
partnerships or indicate where the company will be headquarte red in the United States . 
The record includes copies of a business plan , feasibi lity analysis , and a monthly development plan 
for the business along with a description of the Petitioner's proposed duties. Her stated duties include 
. establishing exec utiVe plans; conferring with business development representatives to discuss and 
approve policies, travel packages , duration and costs; planning, developing, and estab lishing 
management, ope rations , sales, and marketing policies and objectives by reviewing activit y reports, 
financial statemen ts, and market conditions; making decisions regarding major financial operations; 
evaluating the performance of staff and contractors; and, documenting the company minutes and 
decisions to preserve corporat e formalities of the Board of Directors and share holder s. The company's 
undated organizational chart lists four employees , all under the direct or indirect supervi sion of the 
Petitioner. 
The record includes articles and research studies discussing the economic impact sf travel and tourism 
on the U.S. economy, and reports from the World Tourism Organization showing the potentia l for 
tourism to positively impact U.S. job creation. For examp le, a research report from the National Travel 
and Tourism Office entitled " Market Profile: South Korea" details the growth of U.S . tourism activity 
from Korean nationals and its benefits. We find that the Petitioner' s proposed work, which aims to 
advance her entrepreneurial ·business endeavor, create jobs , and contribute to the U.S. tour ism industry, 
has substantial merit. 
To evaluat e whether the Petitioner 's work satisfies the national importance requirement we look to 
evidence documenting the "potential prospective impact" of her work. The relevant question is not the 
importance of the fields or industries in which the individual will work; instead we focu s on the "the 
specific endeavor that the foreign natio nal proposes to undertake." See Dhanasar, 26 I&N Dec. at 
889. In Dhanasar, we noted that "[a]n endeavor that has significant potential to e mplo y U.S. 
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Matter of K-S-
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workers or has other substantial positive economic effects, particul arly in an economically depressed 
area, for instance, may well be understood to have national importance." ld. at 890. 
Here, the record includes financial documents ·including a copy of undated 
business plan. According to the business plan, is forecast to earn $886,750 in 
gross revenue in its first year of operation growing to a projected $2,674,024 in its fifth year of 
operation, and its anticipated payroll expenses are projected to grow from an estimated $168,833 in 
its first year of operation to $299,483 in its fifth year. The busine ss plan also include s a personnel 
summary stating that the company will reach a total headcount of 8 employees in year tive . 
However , the documentation submitted does not explain how these metrics demonstrate that her 
endeavor will offer substantial economic benefit s to the region in which the business is located or to 
the nation , nor did she offer evidence that her work stands to have positive economic effects that 
reach beyond Experiential Travel to affect the area more broadly. First, as stated above, the Petitioner 
did not provide sufficient information explaining where the U.S. business will be located. While she 
states throughout the record that the company will offer tour packages and residential stays in "various 
parts of the United States including California, New York, Illinois, Texas, Florida, Georgia , Arizona, 
and Iowa" she does not provide specific information about where in these states she plans to offer tour 
experiences or explain where the company will house its operations or employ workers. Further, she 
has not offered evidence demonstrating how the company's anticipated revenue of $2.6 million in its 
fifth y~ar of operation represents a substantial economic benefit to the regional or national economy, or 
how, tor instance, its sales projections represent a meaningful increase in tourism in any of the states 
noted. While the Petitioner provided industry data forecasting growth in the tourism industry over the 
next five years, she did not offer information or evidence regarding her company 's role in the growth of 
this industry. 
Overall, the economic data provided indicate that the Petitioner 's business is growing but they do not 
show that benefits to the regional or national economy would reach the level. of substantial positive 
economic effects" contemplated by Dhanasar. While the Petitioner claims that the company "has a 
significant potential to contribute to the welfare enhancement for the economically deprived areas" she 
has not offered sufficient evidence that the area where the company is located is econo micall y 
depressed or that the company would offer the region a substantial economic benefit through either 
its employment levels or tourism business. Nor has the Petitioner established that her proposed 
business would otherwise have broader implication s within the field of tourism. As such, based upon 
the busine ss metrics provided, the Petitioner has not established that her proposed endeavor is of 
national importance. 
As the documentation in the record does not establish the national importance of her proposed 
endeavor(s) as required by the tirst 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. 
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Matter of K-S-
III. CONCLUSION 
The Petitioner has not sufficiently documented her eligibility as a member of the professions holding an 
advanced degree. In addition, as the Petitioner has not established that she meets the requisite first 
prong of the Dhanasar analytical framework, she has not established that she is eligible for or 
otherwise merits a national interest waiver as a matter of discretion. 
ORDER: The appeal is dismissed. 
Cite as Mauer of K-S-, ID# 1208526 (AAO May 30, 20 18) 
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