healthcare consulting
EB-2 National Interest Waiver — Merits Decision
Underlying petition: DENIED · Service Center Operations (SCOPS)
Legal elements discussed — Matter of Dhanasar
Prong 1 — Substantial Merit & National Importance
FAILPetitioner argued: The proposed endeavor has national importance due to addressing rural healthcare challenges and creating jobs.
Evidence type: professional plan, recommendation letters, expert opinion letter
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) finding: INSUFFICIENT
“The record does not contain sufficient material, relevant, or probative evidence to demonstrate that the Petitioner's specific endeavor will more likely than not have national, or even global, implications to the field.”
Decision PDF, p. 5Open source PDF
Petitioner argued: The proposed endeavor will have positive economic effects.
Evidence type: professional plan
USCIS finding: INSUFFICIENT
“the Petitioner has not identified how many dollars are being spent on healthcare by and through her specific endeavor so that the economic output can be quantified”
Decision PDF, p. 6Open 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 professional plan, recommendation letters, expert opinion letter insufficient to establish that the proposed endeavor has national importance due to addressing rural healthcare challenges and creating jobs.. 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?