sustained EB-2 NIW Case: Petroleum Engineering

MATTER OF B-T-L-
APPEAL OF TEXAS SERVICE CENTER DECISION 
Non-Precedent Decision of the 
Administrative Appeals Office 
DATE: JULY 28,2016 
PETITION: FORM I-140, IMMIGRANT PETITION FOR ALIEN WORKER 
The Petitioner, a petroleum geomechanics engineer, seeks classification as a member of the 
professions holding an advanced degree. See Immigration and Nationality Act (the Act)§ 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 normally attached to this immigrant classification. See § 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, Texas Service Center, denied the petition. The Director found 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 a job offer would be in the national interest. 
The matter is now before us on appeal. In his appeal, the Petitioner argues that he satisfies the 
national interest waiver requirements. 
Upon de novo review, we will sustain the appeal. 
I. LAW 
To establish eligibility for a national interest waiver, a petitioner must first demonstrate his or her 
qualification for the underlying visa classification, as either an advanced degree professional or an 
individual of exceptional ability in the sciences arts or business. Because this classification normally 
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 states, in pertinent part: 
(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 
(b)(6)
Matter of B-T-L-
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) Waiverofjob offer-
(i) National interest waiver. ... the Attorney General
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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. 
Neither the statute nor the pertinent regulations define the term "national interest." Additionally, 
Congress did not provide a specific definition of "in the national interest." The Committee on the 
Judiciary merely noted in its report to the Senate that the committee had "focused on national 
interest by increasing the number and proportion of visas for immigrants who would benefit the 
United States economically and otherwise .... " S. Rep. No. 55, 101 st Cong., 1st Sess., 11 (1989). 
Matter of New York State Department of Transportation, 22 I&N Dec. 215, 2 I 7-18 (Act. Assoc. 
Comm'r I 998) (NYSDOJ), set forth several factors which must be considered when evaluating a 
request for a national interest waiver. First, a petitioner must demonstrate that he or she seeks 
employment in an area of substantial intrinsic merit. Id at 217. Next, a petitioner must show that 
the proposed benefit will be national in scope. !d. Finally, the petitioner seeking the waiver must 
establish that he or she will serve the national interest to a substantially greater degree than would an 
available U.S. worker having the same minimum qualifications. !d. at 217-18. 
While the national interest waiver hinges on prospective national benefit, a petitioner's assurance 
that he or she will, in the future, serve the national interest cannot suffice to establish prospective 
national benefit. !d. at 219. Rather, a petitioner must justify projections of future benefit to the 
national interest by establishing a history of demonstrable achievement with some degree of 
influence on the field as a whole. Jd. at 219, n.6. 
II. ANALYSIS 
The Petitioner received a master of science degree in petroleum engineering from 
in 2011. The Director determined that the Petitioner qualified as a member of the 
professions holding an advanced degree. The sole issue in contention is whether the Petitioner has 
1 Pursuant to section 1517 ofthe Homeland Security Act of2002 ("HSA"), Pub. L. No. 107-296, 116 Stat. 2q5, 2311 
(codified at 6 U.S.C. § 557 (2012)), any reference to the Attorney General in a provision of the Act describing functions 
that were transferred from the Attorney General or other Department of Justice official to the Department of Homeland 
Security by the HSA "shall be deemed to refer to the Secretary" of Homeland Security. See also 6 U.S.C. § 542 note 
(2012); 8 U.S.C. § 1551 note (2012). 
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(b)(6)
Matter of B-T-L-
established that a waiver of the job offer requirement, and thus a labor certification, is in the national 
interest according to the three-pronged analysis set forth in NYSDOT. 
A. Substantial Intrinsic Merit 
The Petitioner submitted documentation showing that his work as a petroleum geomechanics 
engineer is in an area of substantial intrinsic merit. Accordingly, the record supports the Director's 
determination that the Petitioner meets the first prong of the NYSDOT national interest analysis. 
B. National in Scope 
The Petitioner provided evidence indicating that the proposed benefit of his petroleum engineering 
research has national and international scope, as the results from his work are disseminated to others 
in the field through conferences and journals. Therefore, the record supports the Director's 
determination that the Petitioner meets the second prong of the NYSDOTnational interest analysis. 
C. Serving the National Interest 
It remains, then, to determine whether the Petitioner will benefit the national interest to a greater 
extent than an available U.S. worker with the same minimum qualifications. The Director 
determined that the Petitioner's impact and influence on his field did not satisfY the third prong of the 
1VTSDOT national interest analysis. 
The Petitioner 
filed the Form 1-140, Immigrant Petition for Alien Worker, on October 15, 2014. At the 
time of filing, he was working as a petroleum geomechanics engineer for The 
Petitioner seeks to continue his research in the petroleum engineering field. He provided letters of 
support from experts in the field discussing his research findings and how his work has influenced 
the field. For example, an associate professor in the Department of Energy Resources 
Engineering at stated: 
Once a well is positioned properly, hydraulic fracturing is hypothesized to assist 
naturally occurring fractures in oil and gas production. (The Petitioner] completed a 
parametric study of well configuration, in-situ stress conditions, in-situ pressure, and 
mechanical properties to determ'ine hydraulic fracturing's ability to test this theory in 
multi-well completions. In doing so, he made the major discovery of a trend in pore 
pressure that led him to the astute conclusion that proper hydraulic fracturing 
(completion) scheme with optimal pore pressure can be helpful to oil and gas 
production in multi-well competitions. 
In addition, professor emeritus at and a member of the 
indicated that the Petitioner "created a simulation tool to 
test the effects of injection of fluid and extraction of fluid in [ ] fractured reservoirs" and described 
his work as a "groundbreaking" method for improving energy extraction from geothermal reservoirs. 
Similarly, Chair Professor in the 
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(b)(6)
Matter of B-T-L-
at the mentioned that the 
Petitioner's "simulation method provides a much-needed tool that can characterize the activity of 
geothermal reservoirs, increasing the field's ability to cultivate the use of geothermal reservoirs as 
energy sources." Furthermore, professor emeritus at the 
noted that the Petitioner "has perfected his technique for drilling event analysis and is 
one of the most precise analysts in the country in this area." 
professor and head of the department of energy and mineral engineering at 
stated that the Petitioner's "research has provided the petroleum 
engineering field with cutting edge information on the geomechanical process of hydraulic fracture 
propagation in a naturally fractured rock mass" and that "[h ]is guidelines have proved to be helpful 
and beneficial to increases in shale gas production not only across the United States but the entire 
world." Additionally, a geomechanics manager in reservoir development services 
at indicated that the Petitioner's "research revealed for the first time, the crucial 
parameters affecting shale gas production and provided useful information as to the optimization of 
hydraulic fracture simulation in low permeability of shale oil/gas reservoirs." also noted 
that "[ r ]esearchers have since been able to use this information to optimize shale oil and gas 
production and ensure the highest concentrations of shale resources are extracted from reservoirs." 
Furthermore, pointed to the "unprecedented stability" of the Petitioner's model, explaining 
that it "can attain higher uniaxial compressive strength to tensile strength ratios and larger friction 
coefficients than other models have been able to achieve." 
The record included documentation of numerous articles that the Petitioner has written or co-written, 
and evidence demonstrating that his published and presented work has been frequently cited by 
independent researchers. A substantial number of favorable independent citations for an article is an 
indication that other researchers are familiar with the work and may have been influenced by it. 
According to citation indices that the Petitioner provides on appeal, his research 
articles have garnered 68 independent citations by others in the field. For example, the Petitioner's 
article entitled ' 
Ill 
has been independently cited to 19 times. The Petitioner also submits 
information from database reflecting average rates of 
citation for journal articles in the engineering field as a basis for comparison with his citation record. 
This information, which reflects a 1 0-year average for the engineering field of 4. 76 citations, sets the 
Petitioner's citation record apart 
from that of other engineering researchers. 
The submitted documentation, including reference letters and the frequent citation of the Petitioner's 
work by other researchers, is sufficient to demonstrate that his work has had a degree of influence on 
his field. The record establishes the significance of this Petitioner's research, as opposed to the general 
area of research, and identifies specific benefits attributable to his work that have influenced the field as 
a whole. We therefore find that the Petitioner's past record of achievement justifies a projection that 
he will serve the national interest to a significantly greater degree than would an available U.S. 
worker having the same minimum qualifications. 
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Matter of B-T-L-
III. CONCLUSION 
As discussed above, the record demonstrates that the benefit of retaining this petitioner's services 
outweighs the national interest that is inherent in the labor certification process. Therefore, on the basis 
of the evidence submitted, the Petitioner has established that a waiver of the requirement of a job offer, 
and thus of a labor certification, will be in the national interest of the United States. 
In visa petition proceedings, it is the Petitioner's burden to establish eligibility for the immigration 
benefit sought. Section 291 ofthe Act, 8 U.S.C. § 1361; Matter ofOtiende, 26 I&N Dec. 127, 128 
(BIA 2013). Here, the Petitioner has met that burden. 
ORDER: The appeal is sustained. 
Cite as Matter of B-T-L-, ID# 17396 (AAO July 28, 2016) 
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