sustained EB-2 NIW Case: Music

U.S. Citizenship 
and Immigration 
Services 
Non-Precedent Decision of the
Administrative Appeals Office 
Date: MAR. 14, 2024 In Re: 29241487 
Appeal of Texas Service Center Decision 
Form 1-140, Immigrant Petition for Alien Workers (National Interest Waiver) 
The Petitioner, a researcher of I I choir conductor, and music instructor seeks second 
preference immigrant classification, 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 record did not 
establish that the Petitioner is eligible for or otherwise merits a national interest waiver as a matter of 
discretion. The matter is now before us on appeal. 8 C.F.R. § 103.3. 
The Petitioner bears the burden of proof to demonstrate eligibility by apreponderance of the evidence. 
Matter of Chawathe, 25 l&N Dec. 369, 375-76 (AAO 2010). We review the questions in this matter 
de nova. Matter of Christa's , Inc., 26 l&N Dec. 537, 537 n.2 (AAO 2015). 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. Section 203(b)(2)(B)(i) of the Act. 
Once a petitioner demonstrates eligibility for the underlying EB-2 classification, they 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 of Dhanasar, 26 l&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, 1 grant a national interest waiver if 
1 See Flores v. Garland, 72 F.4th 85, 88 (5th Cir. 2023) Uoining the Ninth, Eleventh, and D.C. Circuit Courts (and Third 
Circuit Court in an unpublished decision) in concluding that USCIS ' decision to grant or deny a national interest waiver 
to be discretionary in nature). 
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. 
11. ANALYSIS 
The Director concluded that the Petitioner qualifies as a member of the professions holding an 
advanced degree.2 The record supports that conclusion. 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 choir instructor, music performer, and researcher ofl Iwho 
proposes to continue her research, documentation, and preservation of I I Her 
research would focus on developing a guide to speak and perform the Assyrian and Syriac languages 
in order to provide a scholarly understanding of the rarely studied music, culture, and ethnic history 
of the Assyrian community. For the first prong of the Dhanasar framework, the Director determined 
that the Petitioner's proposed endeavor to conduct research on I I has substantial merit and 
is of national importance. Upon review of the record, we agree that the Petitioner has established that 
she meets the first prong of the Dhanasar framework. 
A. Well Positioned to Advance the Proposed Endeavor 
The second prong shifts the focus from the proposed endeavor to the individual. To determine whether 
an individual is well positioned to advance the proposed endeavor, we consider factors including, but 
not limited to 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. Matter of Dhanasar, 
26 l&N Dec. at 890. 
The Director determined that, after consideration of these factors, the evidence submitted did not 
establish that the Petitioner meets Dhanasar's second prong. Upon de nova review, we conclude that 
the record does establish by a preponderance of the evidence that the Petitioner is well positioned to 
advance her proposed endeavor. 
The record includes the following: the Petitioner's curriculum vitae; academic records and 
achievements; recommendation letters from her colleagues, former professors, and Assyrian 
community leaders; correspondence relating to her future proposed research work and its funding; 
documentation relating to her choir conducting and conference speaker presentations; published 
journal papers; citation records and peer review for her journal papers; and her Ph.D. dissertation 
research paper. 
2 The record shows that the Petitioner received a degree of doctor in musical arts from in 
2021. 
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The Petitioner com leted both a master of music education and a doctor of musical arts at The 
For her doctorate degree, she was awarded the 
__________ for her research work with historical The record 
shows that the Petitioner grew up inl Iraq and later worked as a music instructor and an 
assistant dean at thel I having previously received a bachelor's degree 
from the university in 2008. She is trained in both Western and Middle Eastern music, with a specialty 
in Ancient and Assyrian Church of the East. 
Multiple letters from international and national scholars emphasize the significance of 
I Ito the cultural heritage of the Assyrian communities in the United States. Articles explain 
that the Assyrian community adheres to the Syriac Christian faith, which has encountered challenges 
in studying its history due to lack of resources from the destruction of libraries and private collections. 
Since many Assyrians have been displaced from their home countries of Iraq and in the Middle East, 
the letters explain that it is rare to find scholars in the United States who are knowledgeable of and 
wi 11 ing to research and preserve,_______ 
Several scholars and Assyrian community leaders who have a history of interest in the Petitioner's 
work explain in meaningful detail that the Petitioner is a rare scholar who is well versed in theoretical 
aspects of her field and who has extensive experience in Middle Eastern choirs in multiple faiths, 
languages, and subcultures. For instance, a professor of modern Middle Eastern history atl II I in Ohio points out that thel Iare an ancient type of music largely unknown 
to academics in the United States due to the lack of published resources and experts in Assyrian music. 
He states, "The absence of certain communities from scholarly discussion is largely a function of their 
omission from national archives and libraries, but also reflects a lack of training among scholars in the 
ancient and modern languages used by such communities. [The Petitioner] is a unique exception to 
this troubling trend . . . [L]ess than a handful of [p]rofessors specialize in Syriac language, and it is 
extremely challenging to find specialists in Assyrian music who are also familiar with the 
community's language and culture." 
Additional recommendation letters also emphasize the Petitioner's unique knowledge and background 
making her well positioned to advance her proposed endeavor. A senior research associate at the
I Ipoints out, "I am not aware of any scholar apart from [ the Petitioner] who 
possesses this ability in the East Syriac rite." Another letter from the founder and executive director 
of thel Iwho has worked with the Petitioner explains that she is the only known 
"formally trained! lwho earned her doctorate degree in _____ 
The letter further explains, "[T]he Petitioner's expertise in I I music and her ability to teach and 
lead based on her research knowledge ... is very much needed in order for these I I 
which are considered great antiquity, to be preserved and transferred to the next generation." 
A letter from a professor at _______ in Spain describes assisting the Petitioner with 
her dissertation research stating that it is a "unique source that provides valuable information of the 
history of the composers, the language, and the music analysis of I I Her significant work is 
accessible and beneficial to all scholars." The letter further describes the rarit and value of her work 
by detailing that the Petitioner's work focused on of the 
Church of the East that are "written Assyrian-Syriac, a dialect of Aramaic" and compared 
in different manuscripts where "she provided English translations as well as their melodies." The 
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professor explains that following the Petitioner's graduation, the professor subsequently invited her to 
present her research work to an international research community focused on Assyrian language, 
history, and culture. Although the Petitioner's work has a limited citation history, evidence shows that 
she has been invited to and has presented her work at additional international scholar conferences 
focused on Assyrian culture, including conferences at Ithe ______ 
and the 
In addition, the Petitioner has presented a plan for continuing her research. The Petitioner plans to be 
a postdoctoral fellow researcher at thel I at the I 
School at in Massachusetts. Advancement of her plans through the formal 
acceptance of her visiting scholar application and financial assistance from and an 
Assyrian community organization shows the academic interest and advancement of her initially 
indicated plans. 
The record demonstrates that the Petitioner's education, her experience and accomplishments in her 
Assyrian music field, the significance of her role and unique background in conducting her research, 
and the interest and funding from university and community entities are relevant, probative, and 
material proof of being well positioned to advance the proposed endeavor. Considering the totality of 
this evidence and its support of the nonexclusive second prong factors provided in Dhanasar, we 
conclude that the Petitioner is well positioned to advance her proposed endeavor. 
Accordingly, we withdraw the Director's dete1mination as to the second prong of the Dhanasar 
framework and conclude that the Petitioner has satisfied this requirement. 
B. Whether on Balance a Waiver is Beneficial 
The third 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. 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. 
Matter of Dhanasar, 26 l&N Dec. at 890-91. 
USCIS considers the following combination of facts contained in the record to be strong positive 
factors: possession of an advanced degree in her field of endeavor; her achievements for her work; 
her knowledge and skills in her proposed endeavor; a plan with progress to further her proposed 
endeavor; and the interest and support of national and international members of the academic, 
professional, and community organizations in her field. 
The Director determined that the Petitioner had not satisfied the third prong of the Dhanasar 
framework. Upon de nova review, we conclude that the waiver of the labor certification requirement 
for the Petitioner would, on balance, be beneficial to the United States. 
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The evidence demonstrates that, as a researcher with recognized academic distinction of 
music, the Petitioner has academic knowledge and achievements in her field, published and presented 
work, and peer review activity. Letters from scholars and experts in the field describe in detail the 
importance of preservation of the music, history, and ethnic identity of the Assyrian culture and the 
Petitioner's unique personal background and musical, linguistic, and cultural skills making her 
uniquely qualified to research, document, and preserve the L Itradition. In addition, the 
letters provide a well-reasoned analysis of why the labor certification process is not well suited for 
discovering researchers needed to research, document, and preserve the cultural heritage and ethnic 
identity of the Assyrian communities, specifically tori Imusic. Based on the Petitioner's 
history of successful research; her plans for advancing her proposed endeavor's research; her unique 
skills; and the significance of her proposed work to advance the research, documentation, and 
preservation of the cultural history and ethnic identity of the Assyrian people, we conclude that she 
offers contributions of such value that, on balance, they would benefit the United States even assuming 
other qualified U.S. workers are available. 
Accordingly, we hereby withdraw the Director's decision and find the Petitioner has demonstrated 
that she satisfies the third prong of the Dhanasar framework. 
111. CONCLUSION 
The Petitioner has demonstrated her eligibility for the underlying EB-2 classification and has met the 
requisite three prongs set forth in the Dhanasar analytical framework. We conclude that she has 
established eligibility for, and otherwise merits a national interest waiver as a matter of discretion. 
ORDER: The appeal is sustained. 
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