sustained EB-2 NIW Case: Civil Engineering

U.S. Citizenship 
and Immigration 
Services 
In Re: 11858269 
Appeal of Nebraska Service Center Decision 
Non-Precedent Decision of the 
Administrative Appeals Office 
Date : APR. 15, 2021 
Form 1-140, Immigrant Petition for Alien Worker (Advanced Degree, Exceptional Ability, National 
Interest Waiver) 
The Petitioner, a civil engineer, seeks classification as a member of the professions holding an advanced 
degree. See 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 . See section 203(b)(2)(B)(i) of the Act, 8 U.S.C. § 1153(b)(2)(B)(i). 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 Nebraska Service Center denied the petition, concluding that the Petitioner 
qualifies for classification as a member of the professions holding an advanced degree, but that he had 
not established that a waiver of the required job offer, and thus of the labor certification, would be in 
the national interest. 
In these proceedings, it is the Petitioner's burden to establish eligibility for the requested benefit. 
Section 291 of the Act, 8 U.S .C. § 1361. Upon de nova review, we will sustain 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. -
(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 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). Dhanasar states that after a petitioner has established 
eligibility for EB-2 classification, users may, as matter of discretion, 1 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, users 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 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) 
1 See also Poursina v. USCIS, 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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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 
II. ANALYSIS 
The record demonstrates that the Petitioner qualifies as a member of the professions holding an 
advanced degree. 3 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. 
The Petitioner is a structural engineering researcher who, at time of filing, was a research scholar at 
the Universit~ I The Petitioner stated at the time that his "research has been focused on 
the I !resistance of structures and bridges and the of structures." The 
Petitioner intends to continue researchin~ I structural safety. 
When the Petitioner responded to a request for evidence, he documented a job offer from the 
University ofl I for a research associate position in which he would "work on a 
project focusing on the development o~ I for I I infrastructure management" 
and "evaluate new I I technologies." 
More recent submissions from the Petitioner indicate that he is now a postdoctoral fellow at the 
University of1 I where "he is expected to develop newl I monitoring 
approaches fo~ I in concrete structures, bridges, corrosion stainless steel dry 
cask storage systems an~ I' As outlined below, we conclude that the Petitioner has 
established eligibility for a national interest waiver under the Dhanasar analytical framework. 
A. Substantial Merit and National Importance of the Proposed Endeavor 
In denying the petition, the Director acknowledged the substantial merit of the Petitioner's proposed 
endeavor but concluded that the Petitioner had not established its national importance. Specifically, 
the Director stated that the Petitioner "did not provide information to show that [his] assistant 
professorship will impact the field more broadly." The Director also stated that the Petitioner did not 
establish "the importance ofl I infrastructure management" or show how 
I I research "improves or ameliorates ... problems caused by climate, underfunding, or 
in what applications it can be used." 
The record shows that the Petitioner's research involves structural engineering principles with broad 
applications in architecture and transportation infrastructure. Protecting bridges, railroads, and other 
structures from I damage is an issue of national importance. Specific projects have changed 
from one employer to the next, but each job has been consistent with the proposed endeavor described 
in the initial filing of the petition. Also, the Petitioner has not been working on individual construction 
projects with limited impact. Rather, he has published dozens of articles, disseminating research 
findings throughout the field. The Petitioner's stated intention is "to develop newl I 
2 See Dhanasar, 26 I&N Dec. at 888-91, for elaboration on these three,....p~r_on~g~s_. -------, 
3 The Petitioner holds a doctoral degree in "Civil Engineering ~ I from I~----~ 
University! I 
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design strategies, which are easy to apply guidelines for designing safe structures undeil._ _____ _. 
I t We therefore withdraw the Director's conclusion that the Petitioner has not established the 
national importance of his proposed endeavor. 
B. Well Positioned to Advance the Proposed Endeavor 
The Director determined that the Petitioner did not establish that he is well positioned to advance the 
proposed endeavor. This determination rested on details of the job offer letter from the University of 
I I Specifically, the appointment was for one year, with farther employment 
contingent on external financial support. The Director determined that the Petitioner had not submitted 
documentation to show that support. The Director also noted that thq I job offer involved 
research intq I and that the Petitioner had not shown that "this endeavor allows for 
significant time in research of structures and their ~--------~ 
On appeal, the Petitioner asserts that the Director emphasized the Petitioner "proposed employment 
instead of his proposed endeavor," which "is independent of his job and not contingent upon any 
particular employment." 
Dhanasar listed "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." Id. at 890. The Petitioner asserts that his past progress, success 
in related efforts, and the interest of others are evident from the hundreds of citations that his published 
work has received. Letters from individuals at various institutions also discuss the significance of the 
Petitioner's work. 
The Petitioner's various employers over the course of this proceeding have been research institutions 
where the Petitioner has been able to pursue projects that directly relate to the core subjects of his 
ongoing research inquiry. For example, the position inl I involved research int~ 
materials "outfitted with a layer ofl [for use inl___J 
I I' and the development of "novel alrorithms and models for analyzing data collected from 
I I for use in the analysis of .. ..... L _______________ _.t' This is 
consistent with the Petitioner's proposed endeavor, because the data gathered in this way would shed 
light on howl I structures withstan ~--------------~ 
The Petitioner's voluminous publication record speaks to the productivity of his research, both abroad 
and then in the United States. The record indicates steady and productive progress with respect to the 
Petitioner's pursuit of his stated endeavor. 
For the above reasons, we conclude that the Petitioner is well-positioned to advance the proposed 
endeavor. 
C. Balancing Factors to Determine Waiver's Benefit to the United States 
Reaching the third Dhanasar prong, the Director concluded that the Petitioner did not explain how 
obtaining a labor certification would be impractical, or show how his work would be of national 
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benefit. The Director stated that "materials about the need for road and bridge improvements ... do 
not address [the Petitioner's] endeavor, nor ... show how [his] project(s) will be used to ameliorate 
these concerns and by whom." We disagree with this conclusion. The record shows that the 
Petitioner's work is strongly relevant to issues relating to the integrity of buildings and transportation 
infrastructure, and has already been used in various ways by other research teams. On balance, we 
conclude that the national interest in that endeavor outweighs the interests protected through the labor 
certification process, even given the presence of qualified United States researchers in this field. Based 
on the Petitioner's productivity and the influence of his research, we conclude that the United States 
would benefit from a waiver of the job offer requirement, and thus of a labor certification. 
III. CONCLUSION 
Because the Petitioner has met the three prongs of the Dhanasar analytical framework, we conclude that 
he has established eligibility for a national interest waiver as a matter of discretion. The appeal will 
be sustained for the above stated reasons. 
ORDER: The appeal is sustained. 
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