The Petitioner, a registered nurse, seeks second preference 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 EB-2 classification. See Immigration and Nationality Act (the Act) section 203(b)(2), 8 U.S.C. § 1153(b)(2).
The Director ofthe Nebraska Service Center denied the petition, concluding that the Petitioner qualified for classification as a member of the professions holding an advanced degree, but had not established that a waiver of the required job offer, and thus of the labor certification, would be in the national interest. The Director confirmed this conclusion in the motion to reconsider decision. The matter is now before us on appeal.
On appeal, the Petitioner submits a brief asserting that she is eligible for a national interest waiver. In these proceedings, it is the petitioner's burden to establish eligibility for the immigration benefit sought. Section 291 of the Act, 8 U.S.C. § 1361; Matter ofChawathe, 25 I&N Dec. 369, 375 (AAO 2010). Upon de nova 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. 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. - p. 2 (A) In general. - Visas shall be made available ... to qualified immigrants who are members of the professions holding advanced degrees or their equivalent or 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 ofthe 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). eligibility for EB-2 classification, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) may, as matter of discretion , 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. See Dhanasar, 26 I&N Dec. at 888-91, for elaboration on these three prongs.
Analysis
The Director determined that, although the Petitioner had demonstrated the substantial merit of her proposed endeavor as a registered nurse, she had not established its national importance under the first prong of the Dhanasar analysis.
As we explained in our precedent decision,
Dhanasar states that after a petitioner has established In determining whether the proposed endeavor has national importance, we consider its potential prospective impact. An undertaking may have national importance for example, because it has national or even global implications within a particular field, such as those resulting from certain improved manufacturing processes or medical advances. But we do not evaluate prospective impact solely in geographic terms. Instead, we look for broader implications. Even ventures and undertakings that have as their focus one geographic area of the United States may properly be considered to have national importance... An endeavor that has significant potential to employ U.S.
See also Poursina v. USCIS, 936 F.3d 868, 2019 WL 4051593 (9th Cir. 2019) (finding USCIS' decision to grant or deny a national interest waiver to be discretionary in nature).
In announcing this new framework, we vacated our prior precedent decision, Matter ofNew York State Department of Transportation, 22 I&N Dec. 215 (Act. Assoc. Comm'r 1998) (NYSDOT). p. 3 workers or has other substantial pos1t1ve economic effects, particularly in an economically depressed area, for instance, may well be understood to have national importance.
Id. at 889-90.
On appeal, the Petitioner generally asserts that her endeavor has national importance because of COVID-19 and the nursing shortage.Proposed endeavor too vague In determining national importance, however, we focus on the "the specific endeavor that the foreign national proposes to undertake." Id. While the record establishes that the Petitioner is an experienced registered nurse who provides a valuable benefit to her employer and her patients, especially during the pandemic, it does not demonstrate that her proposed endeavor would be ofnational importance. In Dhanasar, we determined that the petitioner's teaching activities did not rise to the level of having national importance because they would not impact his field more broadly. Id. at 893. Similarly, the record in this matter does not demonstrate that the Petitioner's proposed endeavor stands to sufficiently extend beyond her immediate employer and patients such that it would impact U.S. healthcare or the field of nursing more broadly at a level commensurate with national importance.No broader implications shown In addition, a nursing shortage in the United States does not render her proposed endeavor nationally important under the Dhanasar framework.Relied on a labor shortage In fact, as acknowledged by the Petitioner, such shortages ofqualified workers are directly addressed by the U.S. Department of Labor through both the labor certification process and its designation of professional nurses as a Schedule A occupation.
Without more, we cannot conclude that the Petitioner meets the national importance portion of the first prong of the Dhanasar analysis. For example, she has not documented that the particular work she proposes to undertake offers original innovations that contribute to advancements in nursing or otherwise has broader implications for the field or the U.S. healthcare industry.
Because the documentation in the record does not establish the national importance of her proposed endeavorasrequired,thePetitionerhasnotdemonstratedeligibilityforanationalinterestwaiver. Since this issue is dispositive of the Petitioner's appeal, we decline to reach and hereby reserve the appellate arguments regarding the remaining issues. See INS v. Bagamasbad, 429 U.S. 24, 25 (1976) ("courts and agencies are not required to make findings on issues the decision of which is unnecessary to the results they reach"); 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
ThePetitionerhasnotmettherequisitefirstprongoftheDhanasaranalyticalframework. Accordingly, we conclude that she has not established she is eligible for or otherwise merits a national interest waiver as a matter of discretion. The appeal will be dismissed for the above stated reasons.
ORDER: The appeal is dismissed.