EB-2 NIW petitions under Matter of Dhanasar must satisfy three prongs: substantial merit and national importance, well-positioned to advance the endeavor, and balance of benefits favoring a waiver.
The petitioner, a production engineer and entrepreneur, sought an EB-2 National Interest Waiver to run a consulting firm serving small and medium-sized manufacturers. The AAO reversed SCOPS's denial of advanced degree status, finding that employer letters and credentials established the equivalent of a master's degree. However, the AAO upheld the denial on national importance grounds, finding the petitioner's business plan projections were unsupported, his RIMS II job-creation analysis lacked specificity, and his claims of broad economic impact were too generalized and conclusory. Because Dhanasar prong one was not met, the AAO declined to analyze prongs two and three, and dismissed the appeal.
The petitioner, a treasurer and controller with over 30 years of experience in Brazil's construction industry, sought an EB-2 National Interest Waiver to work in the U.S. construction sector and eventually start his own residential development company. SCOPS denied the petition finding insufficient national importance, and the AAO agreed on appeal. The AAO found the petitioner's two materially different proposed endeavors (working for U.S. companies vs. starting his own company to build 10 homes) raised credibility concerns. The economic projections for the pilot project were unsupported, the claimed replicability and scalability were vague, and the wide-ranging assertions of impact on housing, sustainability, and global competitiveness were conclusory and lacked specific documentation. Because the first Dhanasar prong was not met, the AAO declined to address the second and third prongs.
An urban planner and nonprofit founder seeking a national interest waiver was denied by SCOPS, which found her proposed endeavor lacked national importance and that waiving the job offer requirement would not benefit the U.S. On appeal, the AAO found that SCOPS' decision was legally insufficient because it ignored specific evidence in the record — including DC Office of Planning documents, real estate development records, and platform impact evidence — without explanation. SCOPS also incorrectly labeled the petitioner's field as 'petroleum engineering' and attributed arguments to her that she never made. Because the AAO could not conduct meaningful appellate review, it withdrew the decision and remanded for a new, fully reasoned determination on all three Dhanasar prongs.
The Petitioner, a COO of an NSF-funded fire suppression technology company, sought an EB-2 National Interest Waiver, arguing that his work advancing wildfire response solutions was of national importance. While SCOPS and the AAO both agreed the fire suppression field has substantial merit, neither found that the Petitioner's specific COO duties — sales, marketing, operational management, and business development — demonstrated a broad prospective impact on the field itself. The AAO emphasized that national importance must be tied to the individual's own endeavor, not the employer's technology or reputation. Evidence of company-level adoption by government agencies and firefighter testimonials failed because it did not connect to the Petitioner's individual contributions. The appeal was dismissed after analysis of only the first Dhanasar prong.
The petitioner, a franchise owner with over 20 years of operations management experience, sought a national interest waiver based on his proposed endeavor to develop and install EV charging stations and solar energy solutions in the southeastern United States. SCOPS denied the petition and the AAO affirmed, finding the petitioner failed to establish the national importance prong of the Dhanasar framework. Although the AAO accepted that the broader EV and solar fields have substantial merit and national priority, the petitioner's evidence—consisting of general industry articles, a business plan with unsubstantiated projections, and conclusory support letters—did not demonstrate how his specific endeavor would extend beyond his own company and customers to impact the field or economy more broadly. The AAO also flagged unresolved concerns about the petitioner's franchise agreement, including intellectual property and non-competition clauses that could affect his ability to pursue the claimed innovations.
A Brazilian industrial engineer and manufacturing optimization consultant filed an EB-2 NIW petition, claiming eligibility through a bachelor's degree plus five or more years of progressive post-baccalaureate experience equivalent to a master's degree. SCOPS denied the petition, stating the petitioner lacked the required credentials, but failed to acknowledge or analyze employer letters from Brazil and Argentina documenting his experience from 2014 to 2022. The AAO found this analysis inadequate and remanded the case, instructing SCOPS to fully evaluate the degree and experience evidence. If EB-2 eligibility is confirmed, SCOPS must also separately evaluate the national interest waiver claim.
The Petitioner, an entrepreneur with prior experience running a STEM coding academy in Mexico, sought an EB-2 National Interest Waiver to open a Computer Science Coding Academy in Texas. SCOPS denied the petition on national interest grounds, and the AAO dismissed the subsequent appeal. On this motion to reconsider, the AAO again found the Petitioner failed to establish the national importance prong of Dhanasar, as his business plan and supporting letters were too generalized and lacked independent expert or government corroboration of the academy's broader impact. The motion was dismissed because the Petitioner could not show the AAO misapplied law or policy in its prior decision, and the case did not proceed to analysis of the second or third Dhanasar prongs.
The petitioner, a business executive proposing to start a behavioral biometrics fraud-detection software company, sought an EB-2 National Interest Waiver. SCOPS denied the petition, finding the proposed endeavor lacked national importance. On appeal, the AAO agreed: the business plan's revenue projections (200%+ annual growth against a 2% industry growth rate), flat overhead costs despite tripling staff, and conflicting address information across multiple documents collectively undermined the record's reliability. The supporting evidence consisted almost entirely of generalized cybersecurity industry articles and an expert letter that spoke to the field broadly rather than the petitioner's specific venture. Because the record failed the first Dhanasar prong (national importance), the AAO dismissed the appeal without reaching the second or third prongs.
The petitioner, a business manager from Brazil, sought EB-2 immigrant classification as an individual of exceptional ability and a national interest waiver. Although SCOPS had found she met five evidentiary criteria, it denied the petition at the final merits stage. On appeal, the AAO agreed with SCOPS's ultimate conclusion, noting that meeting threshold criteria is not enough on its own. The AAO also reversed SCOPS's findings on two criteria — membership in a professional association and recognition for significant contributions — finding those were not actually met. Because the petitioner's education, licenses, and recommendation letters reflected ordinary qualifications rather than expertise significantly above the norm, she failed the final merits determination and was consequently ineligible for the national interest waiver.
The petitioner, an education professional from the Philippines with doctoral credentials and experience in school-based emergency preparedness, sought an EB-2 National Interest Waiver to establish a U.S.-based educational consulting company. SCOPS denied the petition on national interest grounds, and the AAO previously dismissed her appeal. On combined motions to reopen and reconsider, the AAO again dismissed both motions: the reopen motion failed because no new facts or evidence were submitted, and the reconsider motion failed because the petitioner did not demonstrate that the prior decision rested on an incorrect application of law or policy. The AAO upheld its earlier finding that the petitioner's teaching background and local Philippines emergency coordination experience did not establish she was well-positioned to advance a U.S.-based national consulting enterprise, and that her business plan and Model Plan lacked independent corroboration of financial feasibility and expansion plans.
The petitioner, an architectural designer working on panelized/prefabricated housing systems, sought a national interest waiver arguing his work addressed the U.S. housing crisis and aligned with federal housing priorities. The AAO agreed that the proposed endeavor had substantial merit but found the petitioner failed the first Dhanasar prong — national importance. The AAO found the petitioner's claimed impacts (housing shortage, sustainability, disaster recovery, solar power, economic equity) too numerous, non-specific, and unsupported by concrete evidence. Critically, the petitioner could not show how his innovations, which appeared to be owned by and confined to his employer's private operations, would disseminate beyond the company to have broader national implications. Because the first prong was dispositive, the AAO declined to address the third prong.
An industrial product company filed an EB-2 NIW petition for a product engineering team leader with a master's degree in mechanical engineering. SCOPS denied the petition and the AAO dismissed the appeal, finding that the petitioner inconsistently described the beneficiary's proposed endeavor between the initial filing and the RFE response, and failed to demonstrate that the endeavor had substantial merit and national importance under the first Dhanasar prong. The letters of support praised the beneficiary's skills but did not provide specific, corroborated evidence of how his particular work would produce nationally important impacts. The AAO declined to reach the remaining two Dhanasar prongs, as failure on the first prong was dispositive.
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