The Petitioner, an accounting, financial, and tax consultant, seeks employment-based second preference (EB-2) immigrant classification as a member of the professions holding an advanced degree. See section 203(b )(2) of the Act, 8 U.S.C. § l l 53(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 denied the petition, concluding that the record did not establish that a waiver of the classification's job offer requirement would be in the national interest. The matter is now before us on appeal. 8 C.F.R. § 103.3.
The Petitioner bears the burden ofproof to demonstrate eligibility by a preponderance of the evidence. Matter ofChawathe, 25 I&N Dec. 369, 375-76 (AAO 2010). We review the questions in this matter de novo. Matter of Christo 's, Inc., 26 l&N Dec. 537, 537 n.2 (AAO 2015). Upon de novo review, we will dismiss the appeal.
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. 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).
If 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 I&N Dec. 884, 889 (AAO 2016), provides the framework for adjudicating national interest waiver petitions. Dhanasar states that U.S. Citizenship p. 2 and Immigration Services (USCIS) may, as matter of discretion, 1 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. 2
Analysis
The Petitioner earned a bachelor's degree in accounting from a Colombian university in 2004. According to the Petitioner's resume, she has worked in Colombia as an accounting, financial, and tax consultant and owner of since 2007. The record shows that in July 2022, shortly before filing the instant petition, the Petitioner formed __________ based inl IFlorida.
The Director determined that the Petitioner qualifies for the underlying EB-2 classification as a member of the professions holding an advanced degree. Therefore, the primary issue before us on appeal 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.
Regarding the national interest waiver, the first prong of the Dhanasar framework, "substantial merit and national importance," focuses on the specific endeavor that the individual 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. Dhanasar, 26 I&N Dec. at 889.
The Petitioner's initial cover letter stated:
[The Petitioner], a certified public accountant with extensive practical and academic experience in economics, accounting, and finance, endeavors to strengthen the American economy by providing accounting, financial and tax consulting services for small and medium enterprises (SMEs).
SMEs constitute a significant part of the American economy and are a key engine of economic growth and job creation. The proposed endeavor has, therefore, the express objective of enhancing business and entrepreneurial opportunities for American society, as well as contributing to the overall economic health ofthe state.
In addition, the Petitioner submitted a "Personal Statement" indicating:
My passion is to work with and for entrepreneurs, promoting the implementation of practices that are legal for the State and that allow improving their results, income, and quality of life for their partners, their families, and employees, while complying with the increasingly demanding requirements of the current market, and the tax laws of each country. For this reason, I wish to use my experience and my expertise to support the SME sector in the United States. 3
In response to the Director's request for evidence, the Petitioner's cover letter claimed that her proposed endeavor has substantial merit and is nationally important because it addresses the importance of SMEs to the overall health of the American economy, a matter that she argues has been explicitly supported by federal government initiatives such as "the [2021] American Jobs Plan ... and the Made in America Tax Plan," aimed at "bettering the financial capabilities of SMEs." However, the fact that a petitioner is qualified for and performs in a position in an industry or sector that is the subject of national initiatives is not sufficient, in and of itself, to establish the national importance of a specific endeavor. The Petitioner must still demonstrate the potential prospective impact of her specific endeavor in that area of national importance.
Further, the Petitioner provided a "Statement on the Action Plan in the United States" providing: My proposal is to take advantage of my extensive work experience in Public Accounting and the studies carried out in financial analysis and taxes which has helped me to obtain professional criteria when making decisions or in guiding organizations to make appropriate decisions not only of investment, but also in the ideas to develop and the consequences that a wrong decision entails towards third parties.No interest from users, customers or investors In addition to this, that they do not incur through ignorance in money laundering.
Moreover, the Petitioner submitted what she described as a "National Interest Statement" indicating: [M]y focus residing in the United States is to advise and support medium and small businesses that are 65% of the U.S. economy so that they are permanently aligned with the laws and regulations, as well as the natural persons who own these companies, because this guarantees the line of fiscal and tax execution, as well as the collection of the U.S. treasury.
The Director concluded that the Petitioner established the substantial merit of the proposed endeavor. However, for the reasons discussed below, the Director determined, and we agree, that the Petitioner has not sufficiently demonstrated the national importance of her proposed endeavor under the first prong of the Dhanasar analytical framework. On appeal, the Petitioner asserts that the Director 3 The Petitioner's initial documentation also included letters from clients of her firm in Colombia, praising her services as an accounting and tax consultant. But the authors of the letters do not address the national importance ofher proposed endeavor. In addition, the Petitioner's experience and abilities in her field relate to the second prong of the Dhanasar framework, which "shifts the focus from the proposed endeavor to the foreign national." Id. at 890.
"fail[ed] to discuss all elements ofthe evidence submitted with the original petition and RFE response" in support of the first prong of the Dhanasar framework. 4 In determining national importance, the relevant question is not the importance of the industry or profession in which the individual will work; instead, we focus on "the specific endeavor that the foreign national proposes to undertake."Argued the field's importance, not the endeavor's See Dhanasar, 26 I&N Dec. at 889. Although she provided evidence relating to a wide range of topics, such as the importance of SMEs to the national and local economies, federal assistance and other sources of capital for SMEs, and national security concerns that impact SMEs, as previously stated, the Petitioner must demonstrate the national importance of her specific, proposed endeavor of owning and operating __________ in I I Florida, rather than the importance of particular industries or fields. 5 In Dhanasar, we noted that "we look for broader implications" of the proposed endeavor and that "[a a ]n undertaking may have national importance for example, because it has national or even global implications within a particular field."Proposed endeavor too vague Id. We also stated that "[a]n endeavor that has significant potential to employ U.S. workers or has other substantial positive economic effects, particularly in an economically depressed area, for instance, may well be understood to have national importance." Id. at 890.
In addition, under the national importance element, the Petitioner emphasized her "more than 20 years of experience . . . . as a consultant and adviser to businesses and companies, advising them in tax, financial, administrative and accounting areas." However, the Petitioner's experience, skills, and abilities in her field relate to the second prong of the Dhanasar framework, which "shifts the focus from the proposed endeavor to the foreign national." Id. at 890. The issue here is whether the specific endeavor she proposes to undertake has national importance under Dhanasar's first prong.
As stated, to evaluate whether the Petitioner's proposed endeavor satisfies the national importance requirement, we look to evidence documenting the "potential prospective impact" of her work. Dhanasar, 26 I&N Dec. at 889. Here, the documentation submitted does not demonstrate how the Petitioner's proposed endeavor largely influences the field and rises to the level of national importance.Past record does not show influence or success In Dhanasar, we determined the petitioner's teaching activities did not rise to the level of having national importance because they would not impact the field more broadly. Id. at 893. Likewise, the record does not show through supporting documentation how the proposed endeavor stands to sufficiently extend beyond its customers, to impact the accounting, financial, and tax consulting industry or the U.S. economy more broadly at a level commensurate with national importance.
Finally, the record contains the Petitioner's business plan for __________However,Job creation or economic claims unsupported
I profit of 162,324, and will generate $153,907 in payroll tax revenue in its fifth year of operations. Here, the Petitioner did not show how these figures translate into "substantial positive economic effects." See Dhanasar, 26 I&N Dec. at 890.
Similarly, although the business plan claims the creation of 13 new jobs within 5 years, the Petitioner did not establish that such future staffing levels would provide substantial economic benefits to the IFlorida area or the U.S. economy more broadly at a level commensurate with national importance. While she submitted evidence indicating that portions of the I IFlorida region are located in distressed areas and classified as opportunity zones, the Petitioner did not demonstrate the significance of the creation of 13 jobs to the unemployment rate or how such jobs would offer substantial positive economic effects for the I IFlorida area or our nation through employment levels, business activity, or related tax revenue.
Further, the business plan indicates that the Petitioner's company would result in indirect employment but these statements are not supported by financial projections. Although the proposed endeavor may benefit the clients that engage the Petitioner's company, the record does not sufficiently show that such benefits, either individually or cumulatively, would rise to the level of national importance.Benefits limited to an employer or its clients In light of the above conclusions, the Petitioner has not met her burden of proof to establish that she meets the first prong of the Dhanasar national interest framework. Although the Director concluded that the Petitioner had demonstrated her eligibility under the second prong6 but not the third prong of the Dhanasar framework, detailed discussion of the remaining prongs cannot change the outcome of this appeal. Therefore, we reserve those issues and will dismiss the appeal as a matter of discretion. 7
Conclusion
As the Petitioner has not met the requisite first prong of the Dhanasar analytical framework, we conclude she has not demonstrated eligibility for or otherwise merits a national interest waiver as a matter of discretion. The appeal will be dismissed for the above stated reasons, with each considered as an independent and alternate basis for the decision.
ORDER: The appeal is dismissed.