The Petitioner, a logistician and entrepreneur in the field of transportation, 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. § 1153(b)(2).
The Service Center Operations (SCOPS) denied the petition, concluding that although the Petitioner qualified as an advanced degree professional, she did not establish 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 ofthe evidence. Matter ofChawathe, 25 l&N Dec. 369, 375-76 (AAO 2010). We review the questions in this matter de novo. Matter of Christa'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.
An advanced degree is any U.S. academic or professional degree or a foreign equivalent degree above that of a bachelor's degree. 8 C.F.R. § 204.5(K)(2). A U.S. bachelor's degree or foreign equivalent degree followed by five years ofprogressive experience in the specialty is the equivalent of a master's degree. Id.
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) ofthe Act. Matter ofDhanasar, 26 I&N Dec. 884, 889 (AAO 2016), provides the framework for adjudicating national interest waiver petitions. Dhanasar states that U.S. p. 2 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.
Analysis
The Petitioner "endeavors to improve the efficiency and reliability of domestic trucking services by leveraging her expertise in routing, schedule management, and cargo handling." She states she will be the head of logistics and co-founder of a long-distance freight trucking business that is wholly owned by her spouse. She explains that the company "provides critical cargo services, specializing in the transportation of time-sensitive shipments across the United States and Canada."
A. EB-2 Classification
The Petitioner submitted her foreign personnel management degree and academic transcripts, along with a credential evaluation stating that she has the foreign equivalent of a U.S. master's degree in management. SCOPS determined that the Petitioner qualified for EB-2 classification as a member of the professions holding an advanced degree. We agree. The only issue on appeal is whether she qualifies for and merits a waiver of the job offer requirement in the national interest.
B. Substantial Merit and National Importance
The first Dhanasar prong, substantial merit and national importance, focuses on the specific endeavor that the individual proposes to undertake. Id. The endeavor's merit may be demonstrated in a range of areas such as business, entrepreneurialism, science, technology, culture, health, or education. Id. SCOPS determined that the Petitioner's proposed endeavor was of substantial merit, and we agree. However, SCOPS concluded the Petitioner did not establish that her proposed endeavor has national importance.
In determining whether the proposed endeavor has national importance, we consider its potential prospective impact. Id. In Dhanasar, we noted that, in assessing national importance, "we look for broader implications" of the proposed endeavor and that "[ a ]n undertaking may have national importance for example, because it has national or even global implications within a particular field." 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.
On appeal, the Petitioner asserts her proposed endeavor satisfies the national importance requirement of the Dhanasar framework and contends SCOPS failed "to account for the totality of the evidence, and imposes an unduly narrow and elevated standard." The Petitioner also claims that SCOPS erred in finding that the "proposed endeavor does not rise to the level of national importance because the projects of future growth were not sufficiently supported by current operations or workforce size." She asserts that in Dhanasar, the focus is on the potential prospective impact of the specific endeavor and not "present-day scale or foll realization of projected outcomes." While we agree with the Petitioner that it is the potential prospective impact of the proposed endeavor, the record does not establish that the work of one logistician and entrepreneur would have broader implications to have a nationally significant impact in the field of transportation.No broader implications shown
Here, the job creation and revenue projections included in the Petitioner's business plan are not supported by details showing their basis or an explanation of how those projections will be realized and therefore do not sufficiently corroborate the national importance of her endeavor.Job creation or economic claims unsupported Even if the Petitioner had established a sufficient basis for these projections, they still do not establish the national importance of the proposed endeavor. While the projected income statement indicates that the Petitioner's transportation business has growth potential, it does not demonstrate that the benefits to the regional or national economy resulting from her undertaking would reach the level of "substantial positive economic effects" contemplated by Dhanasar to establish its national importance. Id. at 890. Moreover, the Petitioner emphasizes that she will establish her yroposed endeavor within a Small Business Administration (SBA) designated HUBZone inl _Florida. We are not persuaded by the Petitioner's intention to operate her proposed endeavor within a HUB Zone since the Petitioner has not adequately established what parameters the SBA considers when it establishes HUBZones. We therefore cannot evaluate whether these SBA-identified underutilized business zones are akin to the types of economically depressed areas within which creating employment could be a potential positive economic effect. 2 Thus, the Petitioner has not provided evidence that the area where her company intends to operate is economically depressed, that it would employ a significant population ofworkers in that area, or that her endeavor would offer the region or its population a substantial economic benefit through employment levels, business activity, or related tax revenue. While her intentions are meritorious, the Petitioner has not provided corroborating evidence to support her claims. The Petitioner must support his assertions with relevant, probative, and credible evidence. Chawathe, 25 I&N Dec. at 376.
In Dhanasar, we determined 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. Likewise, the 2 The HUBZone program's goal is to promote business growth in underutilized business zones by awarding 3% of federal contract dollars to HUBZone-certified companies. That ce1iification makes a business eligible to compete for ce1iain federal contracts in the "set-aside" category. There are several required qualifications to participate in the program, but the most dispositive one for our analysis today is that the business seeking to participate in the HUBZone program must be at least 51 % owned by U.S. citizens, a community development corporation, an agricultural cooperative, an Alaska Native corporation, a Native Hawaiian organization, or an Indian tribe. While it is unknown and the record is silent as to whether any federal programs exist in the "set-aside" category for endeavors like the one the Petitioner proposes, it appears as though the Petitioner's proposed endeavor would be wholly owned and controlled by the Petitioner's spouse and the record does not show that the Petitioner's spouse is a U.S. citizen, a community development corporation, an agricultural cooperative, an Alaska Native corporation, a Native Hawaiian organization, or an Indian tribe. We therefore question whether the Petitioner would even be eligible to participate in the HUBZone program.
Petitioner has not established how providing her logistic management services stands to sufficiently extend beyond her clients to impact the field more broadly at a level commensurate with national importance. We acknowledge that the Petitioner's endeavor has already conducted a vast number of deliveries, cross-border shipments to Canada, and transportation for numerous clients including ~------~and~-------~ On appeal, the Petitioner submits copies of the bills of lading as proof of the company's business activities. The Petitioner, however, has not provided evidence demonstrating that her proposed business activities would operate on such a scale as to rise to a level of national importance. It is insufficient to claim an endeavor has national importance or would create a broad impact without providing evidence to substantiate such claims. Furthermore, while any basic economic activity has the potential to positively affect the economy to some degree, the Petitioner has not demonstrated how the asserted potential prospective impact of her proposed endeavor stands to offer broader implications in her industry or to generate substantial positive economic effects in the region where her company will operate or in other parts of the United States. Finally, we reviewed the Petitioner's letters of recommendation. However, the letters of recommendation add little probative value in establishing the Petitioner's eligibility under Dhanasar 's first prong. While the authors praise the Petitioner's skills, personal attributes, and past accomplishments, factors which relate more to the second prong, they do not discuss the Petitioner's specific proposed endeavor or the impact thereof
Conclusion
Because the Petitioner has not established eligibility under the first prong of the Dhanasar test, we need not address her eligibility under the remaining prongs, and we hereby reserve them. 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 alternate issues on appeal where an applicant is otherwise ineligible). The burden of proof is on the Petitioner to establish that she meets each eligibility requirement of the benefit sought by a preponderance of the evidence. Matter ofChawathe, 25 I&N Dec. at 375-376. The Petitioner has not done so here and, therefore, we conclude that she has not established eligibility for a national interest waiver as a matter of discretion.
ORDER: The appeal is dismissed.
NOTICE: This constitutes the final decision in this matter. The filing of a motion will not postpone the effect ofthe decision. 8 C.F.R. § 103.5(a)(l)(iv). Aliens who are not lawfully present, or otherwise inadmissible or deportable, may be subject to the commencement of removal proceedings under section 240 of the Act through the issuance of a Form 1-862, Notice to Appear. Those proceedings may result in their removal from the United States and possible ineligibility for future visas or other immigration benefits.