remanded EB-2 NIW Case: Finance

U.S. Citizenship 
and Immigration 
Services 
In Re: 10205290 
Appeal of Texas Service Center Decision 
Non-Precedent Decision of the 
Administrative Appeals Office 
Date : MAR . 25, 2021 
Form 1-140, Immigrant Petition for Alien Worker (Advanced Degree, Exceptional Ability, National 
Interest Waiver) 
The Petitioner, a financial analyst, 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 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. 
On appeal, the Petitioner submits additional documentation and a brief asserting 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 novo review, we will withdraw the 
Director's decision and remand the matter for further review of the record and issuance of a new 
decision. 
I. LAW 
To establish eligibility for a national interest waiver, a petitioner must first demonstrate qualification 
for the underlying EB-2 visa classification ( emphasis added), 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. -
(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. 
Section 10l(a)(32) of the Act provides that "[t]he term 'profession' shall include but not be limited to 
architects, engineers, lawyers, physicians, surgeons, and teachers in elementary or secondary schools, 
colleges, academics, or seminaries." 
The regulation at 8 C.F.R. § 204.5(k)(2) contains the following relevant definition: 
Advanced degree means 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 progressive 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. 
Furthermore, 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). 1 Dhanasar states that after a petitioner has 
established eligibility for EB-2 classification (emphasis added), U.S. Citizenship and Immigration 
Services (USCIS) may, as a matter of discretion,2 grant a national interest waiver if a 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) 
1 In announcing this new framework. 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). 
2 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). 
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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. 3 
II. ANALYSIS 
As noted above, the Director concluded that the Petitioner qualifies for EB-2 classification as a member 
of the professions holding an advanced degree.4 Specifically, the Director concluded that the Petitioner 
is a professional holding an advanced degree based upon her foreign equivalence of a U.S. bachelor's 
degree, combined with "evidence of her work experience in the field." A review of the record, however, 
does not support such a conclusion. For the reasons discussed below, we withdraw the Director's 
conclusion on this issue. 
In order to show an individual is a professional holding an advanced degree, the petition must be 
accompanied by "[a]n official academic record showing that the alien has a United States advanced 
degree or a foreign equivalent degree." 8 C.F.R. § 204.5(k)(3)(i)(A). Alternatively, the Petitioner 
may present "[a]n 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 five years of progressive post-baccalaureate experience 
in the specialty." 8 C.F.R. § 204.5(k)(3)(i)(B). 
The record contains an "Evaluation of Training, Education, and Experience" from USA Evaluations 
which concludes that the Petitioner holds the equivalent of a master of business administration degree 
in finance "based upon a combination of Academics and a minimum 5 years Professional experience, 
as per USCIS." 5 The evaluation does not establish that the Petitioner's education alone meets the 
regulation at 8 C.F.R. § 204.5(k)(3)(i)(A). Therefore, we must look to letter(s) from the Petitioner's 
current or former employers to demonstrate that she has the required five years of progressive post­
baccalaureate experience. 8 C.F.R. § 204.5(k)(3)(i)(B). 
In response to the Director 's RFE, the Petitioner provided a September 6, 2019 letter from the regional 
sales manager - cash management services ad I which lists her dates of employment 
as January 3, 2011 through January 9, 2018, her job title as Cash Management Sales Manager, her 
salary, and eight duties. The letter does not, however, establish that the Petitioner's experience was 
progressive. 8 C.F.R. § 204.5(k)(3)(i)(B). The Petitioner, therefore, has not demonstrated eligibility 
for the requested classification as a member of the professions holding an advanced degree, as required 
by section 203(b )(2) of the Act 8 C.F .R. § 204.5(k)(2) 
We would note that, regarding the Petitioner's remaining claims of eligibility under the Dhanasar 
analysis, we agree with the Director's ultimate conclusions. For example, regarding the national 
importance portion of the first prong, although the Petitioner's statements reflect her intention to 
continue working in her field in the United States, she has not offered sufficient information and 
evidence to demonstrate that the prospective impact of her proposed endeavor rises to the level of 
national importance. In Dhanasar, we determined that the petitioner's teaching activities did not rise 
3 See Dhanasar, 26 I&N Dec. at 888-91, for elaboration on these three prongs. 
4 Although the Director's request for evidence (RFE) also addressed the criteria for an individual of exceptional ability, 
the Petitioner's response was limited to her qualifications as a member of the professions holding an advanced degree. 
5 The evaluator indicates that he relied on the Petitioner's resume for a description of her experience. 
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to the level of having national importance because they would not impact his field more broadly . Id. 
at 893. Similarly , the record in this matter does not demonstrate that the Petitioner's proposed 
endeavor stands to sufficiently extend beyond her future employer(s) and clients such that it would 
impact U.S. interests or the financial industry more broadly at a level commensurate with national 
importance. In addition , she has not demonstrated that her specific proposed endeavor has significant 
potential to employ U.S. workers or otherwise offer substantial positive economic effects for our 
nation . 
For the reasons discussed above, we are remanding the petition for the Director to consider whether the 
Petitioner qualifies for EB-2 classification , the threshold determination in national interest waiver 
cases . The Director may request any additional evidence considered pertinent to the new 
determination. 
ORDER: The decision of the Director is withdrawn. The matter is remanded for further 
proceedings consistent with the foregoing analysis and entry of a new decision. 
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