sustained EB-2 NIW Case: Electrical Engineering

U.S. Citizenship 
and Immigration 
Services 
In Re: 6941826 
Appeal of Nebraska Service Center Decision 
Non-Precedent Decision of the 
Administrative Appeals Office 
Date: JAN. 10, 2020 
Form 1-140, Immigrant Petition for Alien Worker (Advanced Degree, Exceptional Ability , National 
Interest Waiver) 
The Petitioner , an electrical engineering researcher , 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 Nebraska Service Center denied the petition, concluding that the Petitioner qualified 
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. 
On appeal, the Petitioner submits a brief and contends that he is eligible for a national interest waiver 
under the Dhanasar framework. 
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 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 individu al 
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. 
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, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) may, as matter 
of discretion 2, 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, 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 
1 In announcing this new rramework. 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 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. 3 
II. ANALYSIS 
The Director found that the Petitoner qualifies as a member of the professions holding an advanced 
degree. 4 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 researcher in thel I Department of Electrical 
Engineering at University of.__ __________ . 5 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 indicated that he intends to continue his research relating to 
I ~ols for I I supercom._p_u_t-er_s __ -M-or_e_s_p_e-c1-. f-1c_a_ll_y_., 
I am designing a framework atLJ for the I exploration of memories in order to find an 
I I design of cells and their placement I Ito minimize.__ _______ ____.." In 
addition, the record includes a letter from!..,.____,,,,...-..,._,,...----,-------'~ professor of electrical engineering 
and computer science ate=] stating that the Petit10ner' s proposed research involves "thel I 
tools, which are then used in I ~ electronics." We .__ ____________ __, 
agree with the Director that the Petitioner's proposed research endeavor has substantial merit. 
To satisfy the national importance requirement, the Petitioner must demonstrate the "potential 
prospective impact" of his work. The record includes letters of support discussing how the Petitioner's 
proposed work stands to advance the U.S. electronics industry. For i~n_st_a_n_c_e...-.----------~ 
professor of electrical engineering and computer science at Universit of explained that the 
Petitioner's research is aimed at developing "new designs for.__ _____ ____. emories and D 
gates" and that this work is "crucial to the advancement of the modem electronics industry. For 
example, new generations of computers and smartphones are continuously being produced, and these 
electronics rely on fosters CPUs [central processing units] and large memories that take up little 
space." Furthermore, the Petitioner has submitted documentation indicating that the benefit of his 
proposed research has broader implications for the field, as the results are disseminated to others in 
the field through engineering journals and conferences. As the Petitioner has documented both the 
3 See Dhanasar, 26 T&N Dec. at 888-91, for elaboration on these three prongs. 
4 The Petitioner presented the official academic record for his Master's degree in Electrical Engineering (September 2014) 
rrom University ofc=] and an academic credential evaluation indicating that the aforementioned degree is the foreign 
equivalent of a U.S. Master of Science degree in Electrical Engineering. 
5 As the Petitioner is applying for a waiver of the job offer requirement, it is not necessary for him to have a job offer from 
a specific employer. However, we consider information about this position to illustrate the capacity in which he intends 
to work in order to determine whether his proposed endeavor meets the requirements of the Dhanasar framework. 
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substantial merit and national importance of his proposed endeavor, the record supports the Director's 
determination that the Petitioner meets the first prong of the Dhanasar framework. 
B. Well Positioned to Advance the Proposed Endeavor 
The second prong shifts the focus from the proposed endeavor to the Petitioner. The record includes 
his curriculum vitae, academic records, published and presented work, and documentation of articles 
that cited to his research findings. In addition, the Petitioner offered reference letters describing his 
expertise in electrical engineering research and his past record of success in that field. 
We find that the Petitioner's past experience renders him well positioned to advance his proposed 
endeavor. Multiple expert references identify specific examples of how the Petitioner's work has 
impacted the field of electrical engineering. For exampleJ I chief scien,....ti_st_at....__ __ ----1 
r I stated that the Petitioner "created new innovative designs for L...---..-------, 
1 , , ~ cells" and developed "effective methods to reduce the supply voltage of -~--...... cells effectively reducing their I I and substantially amplif)'!""'·na=...""'th=e=ir=---------
1 t' Likewise, I l a research engineer at University of 
asse h h Petitioner "desi ed memory! I with more~___;=------=-----!=:::;--w-i-th-o-u-t-r-ed-u-c-i-ng~ 
their or b incorporating next-generation.___ _ _.cells with~---~-__._, 
in each cell." further noted that the Petitioner's "memory system reduce 
an increased I I as compared to contemporary m~e_m_o_ry_. ~------------' systems." 
With respect to the Petitioner's development of a method for correctly estimating I I inc=] 
filters, professor of electrical and computer engineering at University of c=J 
~--~indicated that the Petitioner's "method operates comple~dependent of · als, and 
it also offers valid, accurate estimation results for the many kinds ofL.....J: signals." further 
stated that that "[t]hese attributes have made [the Petitioner's] method for estimatin._,._ ____ _. a 
noteworthy and efficient tool for other researchers in the field." 
The record contains additional letters from researchers who state that they relied on the Petitioner's 
findings in their work. As corroborating documentation regarding the significance of his work, the 
Petitioner provided citation evidence showing that his published work has been frequently cited by 
independent researchers, 6 and that the rate at which his work has been cited is high relative to others in 
his field. This documentation helps demonstrate that the Petitioner is well positioned to advance his 
proposed research in the United States. 
The Petitioner's experience and expertise in his field, published work, citation evidence, record of success 
contributing to various research projects, and progress in electrical engineering research position him 
well to advance his proposed endeavor. Accordingly, we agree with the Director that the Petitioner 
satisfies the second prong of the Dhanasar framework. 
6 For instance, the Petitioner submitted a citation index from Google Scholar indicating that his top three articles have been 
cited to an aggregate of more than 90 times. 
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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. In denying the petition, the Director concluded that the Petitioner did not meet this prong 
because the record did "not persuasively establish that the Petitioner has had a substantial impact in 
the field." In addition, the Director stated that "the opinions of experts in the field" were insufficient 
to demonstrate that the Petitioner warrants a national interest waiver, but did not discuss any specific 
concerns relating to his reference letters. 
We note that while the Petitioner's research contributions and the national interest in these 
contributions are relevant factors for consideration under prong three of the Dhanasar framework, 
there is no requirement that a petitioner demonstrate "a substantial impact in the field" in order to 
satisfy this prong. The Director's prong three analysis was also problematic because it did not consider 
the Petitioner's arguments and evidence relating to the benefit to the United States resulting from his 
research contributions, the impracticality of labor certification due to his unique skills, job creation 
associated with his proposed endeavor, and whether the national interest in his research is sufficiently 
urgent to warrant foregoing the labor certification process. 
As a researcher specializing in the design and implementation of c=J software tools, the Petitioner 
possesses considerable experience and expertise in electrical engineering. The record also demonstrates 
the widespread benefits associated with research progress in.__ _____ __,andl lcom~uting. 
In addition, the Petitioner has documented his past successes in advancing research relating tol I 
electronics, '-------~ and~ methods for digital systems, and in publishing influential 
research findings. Based on the Petitioner's track record of successful research and the significance of 
that work to advance U.S. technological interests, we find that he offers contributions of such value that, 
on balance, they would benefit the United States even assuming that other qualified U.S. workers are 
available. 
III. CONCLUSION 
The Petitioner has met the requisite three prongs set forth in the Dhanasar analytical framework. We 
find that he has established he is eligible for and otherwise merits a national interest waiver as a matter 
of discretion. 
ORDER: The appeal is sustained. 
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