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DismissedNational Interest Waiver · Appeal

Occupation not stated

Other / unclear · decided 2025-11-14 · SCOPS · NOV142025_03B5203

Official PDF on uscis.gov

How each part of the test was decided

Read from the appeals office's own sentences by fixed rules, not from the Director's findings or the petitioner's arguments. Each result shows the sentence it came from. The official PDF controls.

  • Step 0Eligible for EB-2Not met
    Why
    As the Petitioner has not established eligibility for the underlying EB-2 classification, we need not reach, and therefore reserve the Petitioner's appellate arguments regarding his qualification for a national interest waiver. p. 2
    The Director's denial rested on this
    Service Center Operations (SCOPS) denied the petition, concluding the Petitioner had not established eligibility for the underlying EB-2 visa classification and that a waiver of the required job offer, and thus of the labor certification, would be in the national interest. p. 1
  • Prong 1Merit and national importanceNot decided

    No finding on this in the appeals office's own words.

  • Prong 2Well positioned to advance itNot decided

    No finding on this in the appeals office's own words.

  • Prong 3Worth waiving the job offerNot decided

    No finding on this in the appeals office's own words.

The decision in brief

Sentences picked out of the text automatically. Read them in context below; the official PDF controls.

Summary sentence

Service Center Operations (SCOPS) denied the petition, concluding the Petitioner had not established eligibility for the underlying EB-2 visa classification and that a waiver of the required job offer, and thus of the labor certification, would be in the national interest. See in text

What the AAO decided

Main reasons given

  • As the Petitioner has not established eligibility for the underlying EB-2 classification, we need not reach, and therefore reserve the Petitioner's appellate arguments regarding his qualification for a national interest waiver. See in text
Read the full decision (2 pages)

Objections found (0)

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No catalog objection was detected in the analysis section.

    Full decision

    OCR text from the official PDF, reformatted for reading. Scan errors carry over; the PDF controls.

    Highlighted: Outcome (2) AAO finding (1)Matter of X citation
    Decision header
    U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services · Non-Precedent Decision of the Administrative Appeals Office · In Re: 39083790 Date: NOV. 14, 2025 · Appeal of Service Center Operations (SCOPS) Decision · Form 1-140, Immigrant Petition for Alien Workers (National Interest Waiver) The Petitioner, an art, drama, and music teacher/entrepreneur, seeks employment-based second

    preference (EB-2) immigrant classification as an individual ofexceptional ability, 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. § l 153(b)(2).

    Service Center Operations (SCOPS) denied the petition, concluding the Petitioner had not established eligibility for the underlying EB-2 visa classification and that a waiver of the required job offer, and thus of the 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 afChawathe, 25 I&N Dec. 369, 375-76 (AAO 2010). We review the questions in this matter de novo. Matter a/Christa's, Inc., 26 I&N Dec. 537,537 n.2 (AAO 2015). Upon de novo review, we will dismiss the appeal.

    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. In this matter, the Petitioner sought eligibility as an individual of exceptional ability. SCOPs determined that the Petitioner had not met three of the six required initial criteria in order to conduct a final merits determination. 1 Therefore, SCOPs determined that the Petitioner had not established eligibility for the underlying classification, and that further consideration of a national interest waiver would serve no meaningful purpose.

    On appeal, the Petitioner solely argues his eligibility for a national interest waiver. He does not address or contest SCOPS' specific findings regarding the underlying EB-2 visa classification.

    2 Accordingly, we deem this ground to be waived. An issue not raised on appeal is waived. See, e.g., Matter of O-R-E, 28 I&N Dec. 330, 336 n.5 (BIA 2021) (citing Matter ofR-A-M-, 25 I&N Dec. 657, 658 n.2 (BIA 2012).

    As the Petitioner has not established eligibility for the underlying EB-2 classification, we need not reach, and therefore reserve the Petitioner's appellate arguments regarding his qualification for a national interest waiver. See INS v. Bagamasbad, 429 U.S. 24, 25 (1976) (per curiam) (holding that agencies are not required to make "purely advisory findings" on issues that are unnecessary to the ultimate decision).

    ORDER: The appeal is dismissed.

    NOTICE: This constitutes the final decision in this matter. The filing of a motion will not postpone the effect of the decision. 8 C.F.R. § 103.5(a)(l)(iv). Aliens who are not lawfully present, or who are otherwise inadmissible or deportable, may be subject to the commencement of removal proceedings under section 240 ofthe Act through the issuance ofa Form I-862, Notice to Appear. Those proceedings may result in their removal from the United States and possible ineligibility for future visas or other immigration benefits.