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AAO precedent on EB-2 NIW test

Updated: Author: Alina Kanametova

Example Guides 21 pages Anonymized

DeepL machine translation of the landmark AAO decision (27 December 2016) that established the Dhanasar three-prong test for EB-2 NIW. Helps Russian-speaking...

EB-2 NIW Petition After filing

Official source of the document ↗verified 2026-09-09

About this document

A Russian translation of the AAO precedent decision Matter of Dhanasar, published at 26 I&N Dec. 884 (AAO 2016). It explains the NIW framework, overturns Matter of New York State Dept. of Transportation, and states a new three-part test for waiving the job offer and labor certification requirements under EB-2. The text also summarizes the case outcome: the appeal was sustained and the petition approved.

Key points

  • AAO states a new NIW test with three prongs: substantial merit and national importance, strong position to advance the endeavor, and benefit to the U.S. overall.
  • The decision overturns Matter of New York State Dept. of Transportation as the prior NIW framework.
  • It explains that EB-2 normally requires a U.S. job offer and a labor certification from the Department of Labor.
  • The text describes labor certification as showing no sufficient, willing, qualified, and available U.S. workers at the worksite.
  • It says the labor certification filing must use the real minimum job requirements, not requirements tailored to the foreign national.
  • USCIS may waive the job offer and labor certification if the agency finds it is in the national interest.
  • The case outcome stated here is that the appeal was sustained and the petition approved.
  • The applicant in the case was a self-petitioning researcher and teacher in aerospace engineering.

What is inside

  1. Citation and decision date
  2. Holding and case result
  3. I. Legal framework
  4. EB-2 and labor certification
  5. NIW waiver authority
  6. NYSDOT framework analysis
  7. II. New analytical framework

When it helps

This serves as precedent-level authority for the EB-2 NIW standard. It shows the legal test USCIS uses to evaluate whether the job offer and labor certification requirements should be waived.

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Source: USCIS / official source. The material opens on the site. Reference material, not legal advice.

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