The Petitioner seeks employment-based second preference (EB-2) immigrant classification as a member of the professions holding an advanced degree, as well as a national interest waiver of the job offer requirement attached to this classification. See Immigration and Nationality Act (the Act) section 203(b )(2), 8 U.S.C. § 1l 53(b )(2).
The Director of the Texas Service Center denied the petition, concluding that the record did not establish that a waiver of the job offer requirement, and thus of a labor certification, would be in the national interest. The matter is now before us on appeal pursuant to 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 I&N Dec. 537, 537 n.2 (AAO 2015). Upon de novo review, we will dismiss the appeal.
Law
To qualify for the underlying EB-2 visa classification, a petitioner must establish they are an advanced degree professional or an individual of exceptional ability in the sciences, arts, or business. Section 203(b)(2)(A) of the Act.
If a petitioner establishes eligibility for the underlying EB-2 classification, they must then demonstrate 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 (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 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.
Id.
The first prong, 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. Id. at 889. See id. at 888-91 for elaboration on these three prongs.
Analysis
The Director concluded that the Petitioner qualifies as a member of the professions holding an advanced degree. The remaining issue to be determined is whether the Petitioner has established that a waiver of the requirement of a job offer, and thus of a labor certification, would be in the national interest. For the reasons discussed below, the Petitioner has not established that a waiver of the requirement of a job offer is warranted.
The Petitioner described the endeavor as a plan to continue operating his "wholesale distributor and on line retailer offering a diverse array ofimported Turkish beauty care products and candies," already operating at a location in Florida. The record contains a copy of a historically underutilized business zone (HUBZone) Qualification Report that indicates the physical address of the Petitioner's company is located in an area designated as a qualified HUBZone until July 2026. The record also contains a business plan that asserts the Petitioner's company's wholesale and retail operation "not only preserves and promotes Turkish culture within the U.S. but also fosters cultural exchange and understanding among a broader audience." The business plan indicates that its customers and clients include "[ d]irect-to-consumer sales ... facilitated throu h rominent online platforms" and wholesale distribution to
The Petitioner also submitted vanous documents containing generalized information regarding business, commerce, and similar topics.
The Director determined that the proposed endeavor has substantial merit, as required in part by the first Dhanasar prong. See Matter of Dhanasar, 26 I&N Dec. at 889-90. The Director also acknowledged the business plan and other documentation in the record. However, the Director determined that the record does not establish that the proposed endeavor may have the type of broader implications indicative of national importance, such as certain improved manufacturing processes or medical advances.No broader implications shown See id. The Director also observed that the record does not establish that the proposed endeavor may have significant potential to employ U.S. workers or other substantial positive economic effects, particularly in a depressed area.Job creation or economic claims unsupported See id. Based on those and similar issues, the Director concluded that the record does not establish that the proposed endeavor may have national importance, as required in part by the first Dhanasar prong. See id. The Director further determined that the record does not satisfy the second and third Dhanasar prongs. See id. at 888-91. On appeal, the Petitioner reasserts that his proposed endeavor has national importance because it "will broadly enhance cultural enrichment in the United States." The Petitioner also reasserts that his company's warehouse is located in an economically depressed area, and that, by operating a warehouse in that area, the proposed endeavor "will offer substantial economic benefits to an economically depressed area." More specifically, the Petitioner reasserts that he plans "to employ at least 12 workers in the first five years of operation," thereby employing more workers than 79% of small businesses, and "equat[ing] to a substantial positive economic benefit to an economically depressed area." In determining national importance, the relevant question is not the importance of the industry, field, or profession in which an individual will work; instead, to assess national importance, we focus on "the specific endeavor that the [ noncitizen] proposes to undertake" and "we consider its potential prospective impact," looking for "broader implications." Id. at 889. Dhanasar provided examples of endeavors that may have national importance, as required by the first prong, having "national or even global implications within a particular field, such as those resulting from certain improved manufacturing processes or medical advances" or those with "significant potential to employ U.S. workers or ... other substantial positive economic effects, particularly in an economically depressed area." Id. at 889-90.
We first note that the various documents containing generalized information regarding business, commerce, and similar topics do not address the Petitioner or the potential prospective impact of the specific endeavor he proposes to undertake. See id. Therefore, they do not establish how the proposed endeavor may have national importance, as contemplated by the first Dhanasar prong, and we need not address the further. See id.
The record supports the conclusion that the proposed endeavor may benefit the Petitioner as the beauty care products and candy distributor's president, his company, its employees, and its customers and clients. However, the record does not establish how the Petitioner's company's continued business operations have national importance. For example, neither the business plan nor the remainder of the record establishes how the company's continued operations may have national or even global implications within the field of beauty care products retail and wholesale, candy retail and wholesale, p. 4 retail and wholesale in general, or any other particular field, such as those resulting from certain improved manufacturing processes or medical advances. See id.
Although the proposed endeavor aspires to employ more total workers than 79% of other small businesses within the next five years of operations, the record does not establish how the proposed endeavor's plan to continue employing four preexisting employees-including the Petitioner-and hiring three warehouse workers; two customer service representatives; and one sales and marketing manager, supply chain and logistics coordinator, and procurement specialist, respectively, with the wages noted above, demonstrates significant potential to employ U.S. workers, particularly in the context of existing workforce demographics, either within the particular locale or more generally in the United States. See id. That an endeavor may employ more workers than a typical small business does not categorically make such potential employment significant.
We acknowledge that the physical address ofthe Petitioner's company is located in an area designated as a qualified HUBZone. However, whether a proposed endeavor is located in an economically depressed area is not a factor in isolation contemplated by the first Dhanasar prong. Rather, the first Dhanasar prong considers whether a specific endeavor may have significant potential to employ U.S. workers or have other substantial positive economic effects, particularly in an economically depressed area. See id. If, as in this case, the record does not establish the proposed endeavor has significant potential to employ U.S. workers or other substantial positive economic effects, whether the endeavor is in an economically depressed area is incidental.
We also acknowledge that the Petitioner's distribution of"imported Turkish beauty care products and candies" for profit may "enhance cultural enrichment in the United States" to some extent, as he asserts on appeal. However, as noted above, the proposed endeavor's benefits appear to be limited to the Petitioner, as the beauty care products and candy distributor's president, his company, its employees, and its customers and clients. Moreover, the Petitioner's business plan establishes that, like retail and wholesale in general, the proposed endeavor's main purpose is to sell certain goods at a price higher than the cost of creating or procuring them, to generate a profit, not to enhance cultural enrichment.Proposed endeavor too vague Even to the extent that the proposed endeavor may enhance cultural enrichment, the record does not establish how the Petitioner's company's beauty care products and candy distribution activities may have national or even global cultural enrichment implications, as contemplated by the first Dhanasar prong. See id.
In summation, the Petitioner has not established that the proposed endeavor has national importance, as required by the first Dhanasar prong; therefore, he is not eligible for a national interest waiver. We reserve our opinion regarding whether the record satisfies the second or third Dhanasar prong. See INS v. Bagamasbad, 429 U.S. 24, 25 (1976) (stating that agencies are not required to make "purely advisory findings" on issues that are unnecessary to the ultimate decision); see also Matter ofL-A-C-, 26 I&N Dec. 516, 526 n. 7 (BIA 2015) ( declining to reach alternative issues on appeal where an applicant is otherwise ineligible).
Conclusion
As the Petitioner has not met the requisite first prong of the Dhanasar analytical framework, we conclude that the Petitioner has not established eligibility for, or otherwise merits, a national interest waiver as a matter of discretion.
ORDER: The appeal is dismissed.