The Petitioner, a civil engineer, seeks classification as a member ofthe professions holding an advanced degree. See Immigration and Nationality Act (the Act) section 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 attached to this EB-2 immigrant classification. See section 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 of the Nebraska Service Center denied the petition, concluding that the Petitioner qualifies for classification as a member ofthe 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.
In these proceedings, it is the Petitioner's burden to establish eligibility for the requested benefit. Section 291 ofthe Act, 8 U.S.C. § 1361. Upon de nova review, we will sustain 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. 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 p. 2 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). Dhanasar states that after a petitioner has established eligibility for EB-2 classification, users may, as matter o f discretion, 1 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 foreignnationalproposestoundertake. Theendeavor'smeritmaybedemonstratedinarangeofareas 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, users 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 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) See also Poursina v. USCIS, 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).
A. Substantial Merit and National Importance of the Proposed Endeavor
In denying the petition, the Director acknowledged the substantial merit of the Petitioner's proposed endeavor but concluded that the Petitioner had not established its national importance. Specifically, the Director stated that the Petitioner "did not provide information to show that [his] assistant professorship will impact the field more broadly." The Director also stated that the Petitioner did not establish "the importance ofl Iinfrastructure management" or show how Iresearch "improves or ameliorates ... problems caused by climate, underfunding, or in what applications it can be used." The record shows that the Petitioner's research involves structural engineering principles with broad applications in architecture and transportation infrastructure. Protecting bridges, railroads, and other structures from Idamage is an issue of national importance. Specific projects have changed from one employer to the next, but each job has been consistent with the proposed endeavor described in the initial filing ofthe petition. Also, the Petitioner has not been working on individual construction projects with limited impact. Rather, he has published dozens of articles, disseminating research findingsthroughoutthefield. ThePetitioner'sstatedintentionis"todevelopnewl I 2 See Dhanasar, 26 I&N Dec. at 888-91, for elaboration on these three,....p~r_on~g~s_.- - - - - - - , 3 The Petitioner holds a doctoral degree in "Civil Engineering ~ Ifrom I ~ - - - - ~ University! I considered must, taken together, indicate that on balance, it would be beneficial to the United States The record demonstrates that the Petitioner qualifies as a member of the professions holding an advanced degree. waiver ofthe requirement ofajob offer, and thus a labor certification, would be in the national interest. The Petitioner is a structural engineering researcher who, at time of filing, was a research scholar at the Universit~ IThe Petitioner stated at the time that his "research has been focused on the I !resistance o f structures and bridges and the o f structures." The Petitioner intends to continue researchin~ Istructural safety.
When the Petitioner responded to a request for evidence, he documented a job offer from the University ofl Ifor a research associate position in which he would "work on a project focusing on the development o~ Ifor I Iinfrastructure management" and "evaluate new I Itechnologies."
More recent submissions from the Petitioner indicate that he is now a postdoctoral fellow at the to waive the requirements of a job offer and thus of a labor certification.
Analysis
The remaining issue to be determined is whether the Petitioner has established that a Iwhere "he is expected to develop newl Imonitoring Iin concrete structures, bridges, corrosion stainless steel dry I' As outlined below, we conclude that the Petitioner has University of1 approaches fo~ cask storage systems an~ established eligibility for a national interest waiver under the Dhanasar analytical framework. p. 4 national importance ofhis proposed endeavor.
B. Well Positioned to Advance the Proposed Endeavor
The Director determined that the Petitioner did not establish that he is well positioned to advance the proposed endeavor. This determination rested on details of the job offer letter from the University of ISpecifically, the appointment was for one year, with farther employment contingent on external financial support. The Director determined that the Petitioner had not submitted documentation to show that support. The Director also noted that thq Ijob offer involved research intq Iand that the Petitioner had not shown that "this endeavor allows for I
On appeal, the Petitioner asserts that the Director emphasized the Petitioner "proposed employment instead of his proposed endeavor," which "is independent of his job and not contingent upon any particular employment."
Dhanasar listed "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."Past record does not show influence or success Id. at 890. The Petitioner asserts that his past progress, success in related efforts, and the interest of others are evident from the hundreds of citations that his published work has received. Letters from individuals at various institutions also discuss the significance of the Petitioner's work.
The Petitioner's various employers over the course of this proceeding have been research institutions where the Petitioner has been able to pursue projects that directly relate to the core subjects of his ongoing research inquiry. For example, the position inl Iinvolved research i n t ~ materials "outfitted with a layer ofl [for use i n l _ _ _ J I I' and the development of "novel alrorithms and models for analyzing data collected from Ifor use in the analysis of .. ..L...________________.t' This is consistent with the Petitioner's proposed endeavor, because the data gathered in this way would shed lightonhowl Istructureswithstan ~ --------------~
The Petitioner's voluminous publication record speaks to the productivity of his research, both abroad and then in the United States. The record indicates steady and productive progress with respect to the Petitioner's pursuit of his stated endeavor.
For the above reasons, we conclude that the Petitioner is well-positioned to advance the proposed endeavor. C. Balancing Factors to Determine Waiver's Benefit to the United States Reaching the third Dhanasar prong, the Director concluded that the Petitioner did not explain how obtaining a labor certification would be impractical, or show how his work would be of national design strategies, which are easy to apply guidelines for designing safe structures undeil.__ _ _ _ _ _.Labor certification not shown to be impractical I t We therefore withdraw the Director's conclusion that the Petitioner has not established the significant time in research of structures and their
~--------~ p. 5 benefit. The Director stated that "materials about the need for road and bridge improvements ... do not address [the Petitioner's] endeavor, nor ... show how [his] project(s) will be used to ameliorate these concerns and by whom." We disagree with this conclusion. The record shows that the Petitioner's work is strongly relevant to issues relating to the integrity of buildings and transportation infrastructure, and has already been used in various ways by other research teams. On balance, we conclude that the national interest in that endeavor outweighs the interests protected through the labor certification process, even given the presence ofqualified United States researchers in this field. Based on the Petitioner's productivity and the influence of his research, we conclude that the United States would benefit from a waiver of the job offer requirement, and thus of a labor certification.
Conclusion
Because the Petitioner has met the three prongs ofthe Dhanasar analytical framework, we conclude that he has established eligibility for a national interest waiver as a matter of discretion. The appeal will be sustained for the above stated reasons.
ORDER: The appeal is sustained.