transportation safety
EB-2 National Interest Waiver — Merits Decision
Underlying petition: DENIED · Texas Service Center
Legal elements discussed — Matter of Dhanasar
Prong 1 — Substantial Merit & National Importance
NOT_DISCUSSEDPetitioner argued: The proposed endeavor has substantial merit and national importance.
Evidence type: Petitioner's statement and supporting documentation
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) finding: ACCEPTED
“Based upon the Petitioner's statement and other supporting documentation, we conclude that the proposed endeavor is of substantial merit.”
Decision PDF, p. 2Open source PDF
Petitioner argued: The proposed endeavor has national importance.
Evidence type: Not specified
USCIS finding: INSUFFICIENT
“the Director did not explain the reasons behind their conclusion that the Petitioner's proposed endeavor is not of national importance.”
Decision PDF, p. 3Open source PDF
Prong 2 — Well Positioned to Advance the Endeavor
NOT_DISCUSSEDPetitioner argued: The Petitioner is well positioned to advance the proposed endeavor.
Evidence type: Evidence of education and experience
USCIS finding: NOT_DISCUSSED
“the Director stated that the evidence of the Petitioner's education and experience was sufficient to establish that the Petitioner was well positioned to advance their endeavor, and thus met the second prong of the Dhanasar framework. However, the Director then reached the opposite conclusion in their decision.”
Decision PDF, p. 3Open source PDF
Prong 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 discussed transportation safety. Describe your own work and see which decisions discussed the same issue.
Describe your situation →Related decisions
Questions this raises for your lawyer
- This decision was resolved before reaching the Dhanasar merits analysis. What does my case need to establish first — the underlying EB-2 classification itself — before the national-interest question is even reached?
- 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?