sustained EB-2 NIW Case: Electrical Engineering

MATTER OF K-Q-
Non-Precedent Decision of.the 
Administrative Appeals Office 
DATE: OCT. 2, 2018 
APPEAL OF NEBRASKA SERVICE CENTER DECISION 
PETITION: FORM I-140, IMMIGRANT PETITION FOR ALIEN WORKER 
The Petitioner, an electrical engineer, 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. § l l 53(b )(2). After a 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: ( l) 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 qf Dhanasar, 26 l&N 
Dec. 884 (AAO 2016). 
The Director of the Nebraska Service Center denied the petition, concluding that the record did not 
establish, as required, that a waiver of the job offer requirement, and thus of a labor certification, 
would be in the national interest. 
On appeal, the Petitioner submits additional evidence and asserts that the Director conflated his 
employment at the time of filing with his proposed endeavor, and that he is eligible for a national 
interest waiver under the Dhanasar framework. 
Upon de novo review, w'e 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: 
Matter of K-Q-
(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. 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 
1 In announcing this new framework, we vacated our prior precedent decision, Matter of New York State Department of 
Transpol"lation, 22 l&N Dec. 215 (Act. Assoc. Comm'r 1998) (NYSD07). 
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Maller of K-Q-
performing this analysis, USC IS 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) 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 
· Although not addressed in the Director's decision, the record demonstrates that the Petitioner 
qualifies as a member of the professions holding an advanced degree.3 The sole 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. 
At the time of filing, the Petitioner was a research assistant and doctoral student in the computer and 
electrical engineering department at In response to the Director's 
request for evidence (RFE), the Petitioner submitted evidence that he accepted a position as a 
holographer at a producer of augmented reality technology. For the reasons 
discussed below, we find the Petitioner has established eligibility for a national interest waiver under 
the analytical framework set forth in Dhanasar. 
A. Substantial Merit and National Importance of the Proposed Endeavor 
The Petitioner has stated that he plans to pursue research in "the development of improved device 
fabrication methods and advanced optical imaging technology." He has also indicated that ~e will 
continue his work involving 3D printing technology, as well as holographic video and volumetric 
displays. 
In her decision, the Director determined that based upon the Petitioner's description of his duties as a 
"Ph .D. candidate" that appeared in Part 6, Item 3 of Form 1-140, Immigrant Petition for Alien 
Worker, the record did not establish the substantial merit or national importance of his proposed 
endeavor. Specifically, the Director considered the Petitioner's employment with to be a 
change in his endeavor and did not consider the duties of this position in her decision. She also was 
not satisfied that the duties of the "Ph.D. candidate" position were sufficiently detailed, or that they 
would have a broader impact on the field of electrical engineering. However, as mentioned above, 
the analysis in the first prong under the Dhanasar framework is prospective, focusing on the merits 
of the proposed endeavor, and is not limited by a petitioner's occupation or educational status at the 
2 See Dhanasar, 26 l&N Dec. at 888-91, for elaboration on these three prongs. 
3 The Petitioner submitted copies of his diploma and official academic transcript from which 
show that he holds a master of science degree in electrical and computer engineering. See 8 C.F.R. § 204.5(k)(3)(i)(A). 
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Maller of K-Q-
time of filing. As with all those applying for a national interest waiver, we consider the Petitioner's 
current and prospective job offers in this analysis only as they illustrate the capacity in which he 
intends to work. 
Further, we do not find the Petitioner's current duties as 
inconsistent with his stated proposed endeavor. 
describes the Petitioner's duties as a holographer as follows: 
a holographer with 
Principal Scientist at 
As a Holographer, [the Petitioner's] general responsibilities include the design, 
creation and improvement of holographic displays characterized for vertical and 
horizontal parallax; testing, diagnosing, and resolving any problems related to 
software-defined light systems; and advising chemistry team about three­
dimensional printing and fluidics used in 30 printing. 
to be 
Upon review of the entirety of the record, we find that the Petitioner has established that both 
requirements under this first prong have been met. The substantial merit of the Petitioner's proposed 
endeavor is demonstrated in several reference letters submitted with the initial filing. For instance, 
of the states that the Petitioner's research in the 3D 
printing of microfluidic devices presents significant advantages over the traditional methods of 
producing these devices and "results in the greater productivity of research throughout the field." In 
writing about the Petitioner's work on three-dimensional displays, states 
that this technology has "a range of applications from entertainment to health car~ and engineering." 
To satisfy the national importance requirement, the Petitioner must demonstrate the "potential 
prospective impact" of his work. The evidence of this impact includes a transcript of a 
committee hearing on augmented reality, during which the committee heard from 
Chief Executive Officer regarding the benefits of the technology which the Petitioner will be helping 
to develop, which could extend to the manufacturing, transportation and health industries. The 
Petitioner also provided recent media articles discussing his work on volumetric displays which 
noted their possible applications in medical imaging. This evidence demonstrates that the 
Petitioner's proposed work to further these areas of technology stands to have broader implications 
in several industries. Accordingly, as the Petitioner has documented the substantial merit and 
national importance of his proposed endeavor, we disagree with the Director and find that he meets 
the first prong of the Dhanasar framework. 
8. Well Positioned to Advance the Proposed Endeavor 
The second prong shifts the focus from the proposed endeavor to the Petitioner. The Petitioner 
submits copies of his academic credentials, papers published in scholarly journals, information 
regarding the number and context of citations to those papers, and several reference letters from 
experts in his field. 
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Mauer of K-Q-
We find that the Petitioner's past experience renders him well positioned to advance his proposed 
endeavor aimed at developing holographic and volumetric displays and furthering the technology of 
30 printing. In his letter describing the Petitioner's research in the 3D printing of micro.fluidic 
devices, of states that it "led to a vast improvement 
in the process by which microfluidic devices are made," and that "the influence of this research can 
be seen in the various projects that have made use of it in some way." of 
the provides examples of this, writing that he discussed the Petitioner's 
work "throughout" his review article titled "3D-printed microfluidic devices." He calls the 
Petitioner's study "pioneering," describes other published research which relied upon his work, and 
notes that it "has led to tangible improvements in electrical engineering and related fields." Other 
writers also describe the direct impact of the Petitioner's work on their own research. In addition, 
of who served as the Petitioner's Ph.D. 
adviser, describes the Petitioner's creation of a component which can lead to smaller and cheaper 
holographic equipment and states that it "represents a tremendous step forward for holographic 
technology because it makes this technology easier to produce." These letters indicate that the 
Petitioner has established a track record of success in research and development related to his 
proposed endeavor. 
The record also includes citation evidence which corroborates the statements highlighted above, 
showing that the Petitioner's published work has been cited at a rate which is high relative to others 
in his field. In particular, the number and context of citations to the Petitioner's work on the 3D 
printing of microfluidic devices helps to show his past record of achievement, demonstrating that he 
is well positioned to advance development in this area. We also note that has indicated 
that the Petitioner's current position with involves both the development of holographic 
displays and holographic 3D printing technology, covering both aspects of the Petitioner's proposed 
endeavor. 
The Petitioner's expertise in electrical engineering, record of success in contributing to related 
research projects, and progress in the areas of 3D printing and the development of 3D displays 
position him well to continue to advance his proposed endeavor. Accordingly, we find that he 
satisfies the second prong of the Dhanasar framework. 
C. Balancing Factors to Determine Waiver's Benefit to the United States 
As explained above, 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. The Petitioner holds a master of science degree in electrical engineering, and at the 
time of filing was pursuing his Ph.D. at He has demonstrated his 
expertise in the area of 3D printing techniques, and the record shows that his work in this area has 
already had significant influence on researchers in his field and in others. Several experts have 
indicated that the use of 3D printing to fabricate microfluidic devices, as pioneered in the 
Petitioner's study, has saved time and improved access to these important tools of research. In 
addition, his research on volumetric displays has garnered attention in both mainstream and 
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Matier of K-Q-
scientific media, and he is already applying his research on holograms to the development of 
augmented reality devices with a wide range of applications. For these reasons, we find that the 
Petitioner has established that, on balance, the United States will benefit from his contributions, even 
assuming that other qualified U.S. workers are available. Therefore, he satisfies the third prong of 
the Dhanasar framework. 
III. CONCLUSION 
The Petitioner has met the requisite three prongs set forth in the Dhanasar analytical framework. We 
therefore find that he has established eligibility for and otherwise merits a national interest waiver as 
a matter of discretion. 
ORDER: The appeal is sustained. 
Cite as Matter of K-Q-, ID# 1602741 (AAO Oct. 2, 2018) 
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