sustained EB-2 NIW Case: Electrical Engineering

U.S. Citizenship 
and Immigration 
Services 
Non-Precedent Decision of the
Administrative Appeals Office 
Date: APR. 22, 2024 In Re: 32204931 
Appeal of Texas Service Center Decision 
Form 1-140, Immigrant Petition for Alien Workers (National Interest Waiver) 
The Petitioner, a technology company involved in electrical product and integrated software/hardware 
development and production, seeks employment-based second preference (EB-2) immigrant 
classification for the Beneficiary, an embedded systems architect, as a member of the professions 
holding an advanced degree. See section 203(b)(2) of the Act, 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. 
The Director of the Texas Service Center initially denied the petition and subsequently affirmed his 
decision on motion, concluding that the record did not establish that a waiver of the classification ' s 
job offer requirement would be in the national interest. We initially granted the Petitioner's erroneous 
request to withdraw the instant appeal, but subsequently reopened the appeal sua sponte, pursuant to 
8 C.F.R. § 103.5(a)(5)(ii), to consider anew the merits of the claims contained in its appeal brief. 1 
The matter is now before us on appeal pursuant to 8 C.F.R. § 103.3. 
The Petitioner bears the burden of proof to demonstrate eligibility by a preponderance of the evidence. 
Matter ofChawathe, 25 l&N Dec. 369, 375-76 (AAO 2010). We review the questions in this matter 
de novo. Matter of Christa's, Inc., 26 I&N Dec. 537,537 n.2 (AAO 2015). Upon de novo review, 
we will sustain the appeal. 
I. LAW 
To establish eligibility for a national interest waiver, a petitioner must first demonstrate the 
beneficiary's 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. Section 
203(b )(2)(B)(i) of the Act. An advanced degree is any United States academic or professional degree 
or a foreign equivalent degree above that of a bachelor's degree. A United States bachelor's degree or 
foreign equivalent degree followed by five years of progressive experience in the specialty is the 
equivalent of a master's degree. 8 C.F.R. § 204.5(k)(2). 
1 The Petitioner was permitted a period of 30 days in which to provide a supplemental brief. We did not receive a 
supplemental submission within that time frame and therefore consider the record to be complete as presently constituted. 
If a petitioner demonstrates the beneficiary's eligibility for the underlying EB-2 classification, it must 
then establish that they merit a discretionary waiver of the job offer requirement "in the national 
interest." Section 203(b )(2)(B)(i) of the Act. While neither the statute nor the pertinent regulations 
define the term "national interest," Matter ofDhanasar, 26 I&N Dec. 884, 889 (AAO 2016), provides 
the framework for adjudicating national interest waiver petitions. Dhanasar states that U.S. 
Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) may, as matter of discretion, 2 grant a national interest 
waiver if the petitioner demonstrates that: 
• The proposed endeavor has both substantial merit and national importance; 
• The individual is well-positioned to advance their proposed endeavor; and 
• On balance, waiving the job offer requirement would benefit the United States. 3 
TI. ANALYSIS 
The Director determined that the Beneficiary qualifies for EB-2 classification as a member of the 
professions holding an advanced degree, and the record supports this conclusion. The Petitioner 
presented the master's degree the Beneficiary earned in electrical engineering from the I I 
I Iat I I in 2015. See 8 C.F.R. § 204.5(k)(2) (defining "advanced degree"). 
Therefore, the sole issue before us is whether the record establishes that a waiver of the job offer 
requirement, and thus of a labor certification, would be in the national interest. 
At the time of filing, the Petitioner employed the Beneficiary as an embedded systems architect. 4 In 
this capacity, the Beneficiary has been responsible for researching and developing the firmware for 
the Petitioner's the "world's first and only 
The Beneficiary also developed the web-based system, 
used in the and in the Petitioner's growing commercial line of electric vehicle 
(EV) charging stations. 
With regard to his proposed endeavor, the Petitioner's initial submission indicated it intends to have 
the Beneficiary continue his research and development of the company's 
technology in "the fields of motor controls for large industrial and commercial facilities and [EV] 
charging." Within the Petitioner's response to the Director's request for evidence, its representatives 
provided that the focus of the Beneficiary's work will include "commercial fleet/multifamily [EV] 
charging and residential demand response [], and solar energy storage product lines," and that his work 
on these projects will be shared with others in the field through "scientific conferences and meetings." 
For the reasons discussed below, we conclude the Petitioner has established the Beneficiary's 
eligibility for a national interest waiver under the analytical framework set forth in Dhanasar. 
2 See also Flores v. Garland, 72 F.4th 85, 88 (5th Cir. 2023) (joining the Ninth, Eleventh, and D.C. Circuit Courts (and 
Third in an unpublished decision) in concluding that USCIS' decision to grant or deny a national interest waiver is 
discretionary in nature). 
3 See Dhanasar, 26 I&N Dec. at 888-91, for elaboration on these three prongs. 
4 As the Beneficiary 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 will consider information about his 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. 
2 
A. Substantial Merit and National Importance of the Proposed Endeavor 
We withdraw the Director's determination that the Petitioner did not establish the national importance 
of the Beneficiary's proposed endeavor under Dhanasar's first prong. In determining whether the 
proposed endeavor has national importance, we consider its potential prospective impact. Dhanasar, 
26 I&N Dec. at 889. As evidence that the Beneficiary's proposed research has substantial merit and 
national importance, the Petitioner presented information about global and U.S. circuit breaker and EV 
charging technology markets, and research and development in those fields. 5 Its evidence included 
letters of support discussing how the Beneficiary's undertaking contributes to advancements in the 
development of improved renewable energy technologies. Additionally, the Petitioner submitted 
documentation indicating that the benefit of the Beneficiary's proposed research offers broader 
implications for the field of electrical engineering, as the circuit breaker and EV charging technology 
he has been essential in developing has been implemented with commercial and industrial clients 
throughout the United States, and disseminated to others in the field through publication and 
presentation of his work. As the Petitioner has demonstrated both the substantial merit and national 
importance of the Beneficiary's proposed endeavor, it has established that he meets the first prong of 
the Dhanasar framework. 
B. Well-positioned to Advance the Proposed Endeavor 
We agree with the Director's determination that the Petitioner has shown that the Beneficiary satisfies 
the second prong of the Dhanasar framework. 6 
C. Balancing Factors to Determine Waiver's Benefit to the United States 
We withdraw the Director's determination that the Petitioner did not establish that the Beneficiary 
meets Dhanasar' s third prong. As explained above, this prong requires a 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. Id. at 890. In performing this analysis, we may evaluate factors such 
as: whether, in light of the nature of the individual's qualifications or the proposed endeavor, it would 
be impractical either for them to secure a job offer or to obtain a labor certification; whether, even 
assuming that other qualified U.S. workers are available, the United States would still benefit from 
their contributions; and whether the national interest in their contributions is sufficiently urgent to 
warrant forgoing the labor certification process. 
In each case, the factor(s) considered must, taken together, establish 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. 
5 This information included an article about U.S. Government initiatives to build out a national EV charging network as 
an important step to expand our country's EV charging accessibility and support the competitiveness of its EV 
manufacturing industry. 
6 "USCIS considers an advanced degree, pa1iicularly a Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.), in a STEM field tied to the proposed 
endeavor and related to work furthering a critical and emerging technology or other STEM area important to U.S. 
competitiveness or national security, an especially positive factor to be considered along with other evidence for purposes 
of the assessment under the second prong." See 6 USCIS Policy Manual F.5(D)(2), https://www.uscis.gov/policy-manual. 
3 
Dhanasar, 26 I&N Dec. at 890-91. 7 As an embedded systems architect, the Beneficiary possesses 
considerable experience and expertise in his STEM research field. The Petitioner has documented the 
Beneficiary's past successes in circuit breaker and EV charging technology research and advanced 
technology development. In addition, the record demonstrates the widespread benefits associated with 
research progress in the development of next-generation circuit breaker and EV charging technology. 
Finally, on motion and appeal, as further corroborating documentation regarding the significance of the 
Beneficiary's work, the Petitioner cites to the U.S. National Science and Technology Council's updated 
list of critical and emerging technologies and notes the Beneficiary's involvement in projects related to 
the listed critical and emerging technology area of Clean Energy Generation and Storage. Based on the 
Beneficiary's track record of successful research work and the significance of his proposed work to 
advance U.S. interests furthering a critical and emerging technology, we conclude 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. The Beneficiary, therefore, satisfies the third prong of the 
Dhanasar framework. 
ITT. CONCLUSION 
The Petitioner has shown that the Beneficiary meets the requisite three prongs set forth in the Dhanasar 
analytical framework. We conclude that it has established he is eligible for and otherwise merits a 
national interest waiver as a matter of discretion. 
ORDER: The appeal is sustained. 
7 When evaluating the third prong, USCIS considers the following combination of facts contained in the record to be a 
strong positive factor: 
• The person possesses an advanced STEM degree; 
• The person will be engaged in work furthering a critical and emerging technology or other STEM area important 
to U.S. competitiveness; and 
• The person is well positioned to advance the proposed STEM endeavor of national importance. 
See 6 USCIS Policy Manual, supra, at F.5(D)(2). 
4