financial engineering
EB-2 National Interest Waiver — Merits Decision
Underlying petition: DENIED · Service Center Operations
Legal elements discussed — Matter of Dhanasar
Prong 1 — Substantial Merit & National Importance
FAILPetitioner argued: The proposed endeavor has substantial merit and national importance.
Evidence type: reports and articles on financial literacy
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) finding: INSUFFICIENT
“they provide a general overview of the field and do not discuss the specific nature of the Petitioner's endeavor or the details of his personalized financial strategies or models that would broadly impact the field.”
Decision PDF, p. 2Open source PDF
Petitioner argued: The proposed endeavor has national importance due to its economic impact.
Evidence type: business plan with financial projections
USCIS finding: INSUFFICIENT
“the record lacks independent and corroborating evidence to support the basis of the financial and staffing projections in his business plan.”
Decision PDF, p. 4Open source PDF
Petitioner argued: The proposed endeavor has national importance due to expert opinion.
Evidence type: expert opinion letters
USCIS finding: INSUFFICIENT
“the expert opinion letters in the record do not provide sufficient details on the Petitioner's financial strategies or models that would widely impact the field; instead, the letters discuss the significance of financial management and education in general and reiterate the Petitioner's education background or the information in the business plan already in the record.”
Decision PDF, p. 3Open source PDF
Prong 2 — Well Positioned to Advance the Endeavor
NOT_DISCUSSEDProng 3 — Balancing the Waiver's Benefits
NOT_DISCUSSEDWhat this decision can’t tell you
This decision comes from a case that was denied and then appealed. Every case here is in that position — it cannot be used to estimate an overall approval rate, and it cannot predict the outcome of any individual case, including yours. USCIS officers exercise discretion on facts that are never fully captured in a written decision.
This decision turned on national importance. Describe your own work and see which decisions discussed the same issue.
Describe your situation →Related decisions
Questions this raises for your lawyer
- On Prong 1 (substantial merit & national importance), USCIS found the petitioner's reports and articles on financial literacy insufficient to establish that the proposed endeavor has substantial merit and national importance.. What would make comparable evidence in my own case more persuasive?
- What in my own case most resembles the specific facts USCIS focused on in this decision?
- Would additional expert-opinion evidence have changed the outcome here, based on what USCIS said was missing?