Last updated: October 2026. Checked against Matter of Dhanasar and the USCIS Policy Manual, Volume 6, Part F, Chapter 5 (current as of October 2, 2026).
EB2 NIW national importance is the harder half of Dhanasar prong 1. USCIS asks whether your specific proposed endeavor has “potential prospective impact” with broader implications for a field, a region or the public at large. Benefit to your employer alone does not count. Officers look at the nature of the endeavor, not just how much of the map it covers. The importance of your field, a national shortage in your occupation, or the size of your employer will not prove it on their own. What does prove it is a specific endeavor statement backed by independent evidence of those broader effects.
Our overview of the three prongs of EB-2 NIW explains the whole test. This guide covers prong 1 only: USCIS’s own examples, an evidence table, typical RFE concerns and hypothetical framings.
Key takeaways
- Prong 1 has two parts: substantial merit (does the endeavor have value?) and national importance (does its prospective impact reach beyond you and your employer?).
- The Policy Manual says the analysis “focuses on what the person will be doing rather than the specific job title or occupational classification.”
- Benefits to a specific employer, “even an employer with a national footprint,” are not enough.
- A national shortage, the general importance of teaching or of entrepreneurs, and the importance of an industry overall are each insufficient “alone.”
- A local or regional endeavor can still qualify. Dhanasar replaced the old “national in scope” test to avoid overemphasis on geographic breadth.
Substantial merit and national importance are two different tests
Matter of Dhanasar, 26 I&N Dec. 884 (AAO 2016) puts both requirements into one prong, but officers decide each one separately. In Dhanasar itself, both the research and the teaching had merit, and only the teaching failed national importance. That is why national importance deserves most of your prong 1 effort.
| Substantial merit | National importance | |
|---|---|---|
| The question | Does the endeavor have value? | Does its prospective impact have broader implications? |
| Where it can come from | Business, entrepreneurship, science, technology, culture, health or education | National or even global implications within a field, significant potential to employ U.S. workers, or other substantial positive economic effects, “particularly in an economically depressed area” |
| Economic impact | Helpful but not required. Merit “may be established without immediate or quantifiable economic impact.” | One possible route, not the only one. Advancing “a valuable technology or field of study” can also qualify. |
| What does not establish it | USCIS gives no failing example. In Dhanasar, even the teaching had merit. | Employer-only benefit, the general importance of the occupation, a national shortage, broad job-creation claims |
How USCIS tests EB2 NIW national importance
The Policy Manual describes four habits officers bring to this question.
- The endeavor, not the occupation. “The term ‘endeavor’ is more specific than the general occupation.” In the Policy Manual’s example, an engineer’s petition should describe “the specific projects and goals, and the area of engineering,” not list an engineer’s duties. It should also say whether the endeavor will be furthered through a particular employer or “some other way.”
- Prospective impact. Officers consider the endeavor’s “potential prospective impact.” Your past work belongs mainly to prong 2. Prong 1 is about what the endeavor stands to do.
- Nature before geography. Officers “should focus on the nature of the proposed endeavor, rather than only the geographic breadth.” Dhanasar notes that “certain locally or regionally focused endeavors” may be of national importance “despite being difficult to quantify with respect to geographic scope.”
- Substance, not labels. Officers ask whether the petition “contains substance that explains and substantiates” the claim. Under Dhanasar’s preponderance standard (footnote 8), USCIS weighs the “quality (including relevance, probative value, and credibility)” of evidence, not just its quantity.
The Policy Manual sums up the target this way: an endeavor may rise to national importance if it has “the significant potential to broadly enhance societal welfare or cultural or artistic enrichment, or to contribute to the advancement of a valuable technology or field of study.”
EB2 NIW national importance examples from USCIS
Rather than inventing examples, start with the ones USCIS has published in the Policy Manual and in its NIW filing tips.
| USCIS example | What falls short | What USCIS points to instead |
|---|---|---|
| Classroom teaching | Teaching “without broader implications for a field or region,” or citing the general importance of teaching | Activities that would impact the field of education more broadly (Dhanasar) |
| Shortage occupations | Working in a shortage occupation, or consulting for people who do, “alone” | No alternative given. The general rule applies: your own endeavor’s broader implications. |
| Startups and entrepreneurs | General assertions about entrepreneurs and job creation | Showing “in detail how this specific endeavor” meets the standard |
| Drug development for a pharmaceutical company | Projecting only the profits that will accrue to the employer | Demonstrating the drug’s prospective public health benefits |
| Technology built for one company | Benefits to the company or its clients alone | “Widespread interest in adoption or licensing,” “a novel and important manufacturing or operational process,” or impact on “similar technology by other companies” |
| Software engineer adapting the employer’s code for clients | Client-by-client adaptation work | “Additional broader impacts supported by specific evidence” |
| Consulting firm for a nationally important occupation | Opening the firm “solely” for that purpose | No alternative given. The general rule applies: your own endeavor’s broader implications. |
| Car dealership | Evidence about the importance of the car dealership industry overall | No alternative given. Industry-wide importance does not transfer to one business. |
What Dhanasar itself shows: one endeavor passed, one did not
Dr. Dhanasar proposed two things: research on hypersonic propulsion systems, and teaching. For the research, the AAO relied on “probative expert letters from individuals holding senior positions in academia, government, and industry.” It also relied on media articles documenting the House Committee on Armed Services’ interest in hypersonic technologies and other countries’ advances. On that record, the research had national importance.
The teaching was a different story. The AAO accepted that STEM teaching “has substantial merit in relation to U.S. educational interests.” It found no evidence that the petitioner would engage in activities affecting “the field of STEM education more broadly,” so the teaching activities failed national importance. The AAO granted the waiver based on the research. The lesson: each part of a multi-part endeavor needs its own evidence.
Evidence that typically supports national importance
Neither the regulation nor the Policy Manual gives a prong 1 checklist. The regulation on the job-offer exemption, 8 CFR 204.5(k)(4)(ii), asks only for “evidence to support the claim that such exemption would be in the national interest.” The types below come from Dhanasar and the Policy Manual.
| Evidence | What it can show | What gives it weight |
|---|---|---|
| Detailed endeavor statement | What you will do, where, how, and the direct impacts | Written “in a straightforward manner,” specific projects and goals, consistent with every exhibit |
| Expert letters | Why this line of work matters beyond your employer | Senior authors in academia, government or industry who explain the endeavor’s significance (Dhanasar) |
| Evidence of government or policy interest | That the problem your endeavor addresses is a national priority | Tied to your specific endeavor, as with the congressional committee interest documented in Dhanasar |
| Letters from interested U.S. government agencies or quasi-governmental entities | That an agency with expertise sees the endeavor as advancing a critical and emerging technology or U.S. technological prominence | Not required, but the Policy Manual says these letters “can be relevant to all three prongs” |
| Adoption, licensing or industry uptake | Broader commercial implications beyond one company | Third-party documents, not your own description |
| Job creation and economic data | Significant potential to employ U.S. workers | Significant “with respect to the population and economic circumstances of the relevant region,” or located in an economically depressed area |
| Awards or grants from government or research entities | Independent validation of merit, national importance or both | Funders “with expertise in economic development, research and development, or job creation” |
| Authoritative sources on a STEM field | That the endeavor sits in a critical and emerging technology or another area important to U.S. competitiveness or security | Officers consider “governmental, academic, and other authoritative and instructive sources.” The Policy Manual names certain areas of AI and quantum information science as examples. |
The Policy Manual says many STEM research and technology endeavors “have sufficiently broad potential implications to demonstrate national importance,” but the evidence must still show it. STEM classroom teaching alone generally does not. Engineers can find field-specific framing in our EB-2 NIW guide for engineers.
Not sure whether your endeavor reads as national importance or as a job description? Send it through our free EB-2 NIW profile evaluation, and our petition team will flag where the prong 1 evidence looks thin.
How prong 1 RFEs are typically worded
Under the Policy Manual (Volume 1, Part E, Chapter 6), every RFE must identify the requirement that has not been established and explain “why the evidence submitted is insufficient.” NIW RFEs tend to borrow the Policy Manual’s phrasing. The concerns below paraphrase it; they are not quotes from any particular RFE.
| Concern, as an RFE typically frames it | What it usually means | Where a response usually goes |
|---|---|---|
| The record does not show the endeavor would have implications beyond the petitioner’s employer and its clients | The petition proves value to a company, not to a field, region or the public | Evidence of broader effects: adoption by others, public health or safety outcomes, influence on other firms’ technology |
| The petition relies on the general importance of the field or occupation | Industry reports were filed with no link to your specific work | A clear line from the national issue to your specific projects, with evidence about the endeavor itself |
| A shortage in the occupation does not establish national importance | The shortage argument was doing too much of the work | Recast the argument around what your endeavor does, not who else is available |
| The endeavor is not described with enough specificity | The statement reads like a list of job duties | Clarify the projects, goals, methods and setting of the endeavor you filed with |
| Claimed economic benefits are not supported | Job creation or revenue figures were asserted without corroboration | Documented basis for projections, scaled to the region’s population and economic circumstances |
RFEs are not issued to “cure” an eligibility deficiency, because eligibility must exist when you file. A response can clarify the endeavor you filed with, not swap in a new one. Since August 5, 2026, PA-2026-05 also lets USCIS deny without an RFE when required initial evidence is missing, which makes a complete prong 1 record at filing more important. Our guide to the EB2 NIW RFE response covers deadlines and structure.
Weak vs strong prong 1 framing (hypothetical)
These examples are hypothetical and simplified. They are not templates and do not predict any outcome; a stronger framing only works if real evidence backs every claim.
| Profile (hypothetical) | Weak framing | Stronger framing | Evidence it would need |
|---|---|---|---|
| Civil engineer | “I will work as a structural engineer, a profession the U.S. needs.” | “I will develop and apply a specific inspection method for aging bridges, used beyond my employer’s own projects.” | Documents showing other agencies or firms adopting the method, plus expert letters on why it matters |
| Data analyst | “I will analyze data to help my company’s clients make better decisions.” | “I will build and publish fraud-detection models for small lenders that other institutions can adopt.” | Evidence of uptake by other institutions and authoritative sources on the problem’s national scale |
| Registered nurse | “I will work as a nurse in a shortage area.” | “I will implement and evaluate a specific care protocol that health systems in the region can replicate.” | Outcome data, letters from health system leaders, regional health data |
| Founder | “My business will create jobs and help the economy.” | “My company will manufacture a specific product in an economically depressed county, with a documented hiring plan.” | Official regional economic data, a corroborated hiring plan, investor or customer commitments |
How to prove national importance for NIW: a working order
- Write the endeavor first: what you will do, in what area, through which employer or entity, and the direct impacts. See how to write a proposed endeavor.
- Argue merit and national importance separately, with separate exhibits for each.
- Name one broader implication your evidence supports (a field, a region or the public) and tie every industry or government source back to your own work.
- Test each component and keep prongs 2 and 3 consistent. The endeavor you prove important must be the one you are well positioned to advance.
How Skycap helps with prong 1
Skycap Consultancy is a petition-preparation consultancy, not a law firm. We do not give legal advice or represent anyone before USCIS. Our EB-2 NIW eligibility assessment reviews your endeavor framing and prong 1 evidence. Our complete I-140 petition package (from $750, payable in installments) prepares the full petition, including the national importance section, for your review. For complex legal questions, consult a licensed immigration attorney.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is substantial merit the same as national importance?
No. Both sit in prong 1, but merit asks whether the endeavor has value, and national importance asks whether its prospective impact has broader implications. In Dhanasar, the STEM teaching had merit but lacked national importance.
Can a local or regional endeavor have national importance?
Yes. Dhanasar says ventures focused on one geographic area “may properly be considered to have national importance.” The Policy Manual’s examples include significant job creation relative to a region’s population and economic circumstances, or substantial economic effects in an economically depressed area.
Does working in a shortage occupation prove national importance?
Not on its own. The Policy Manual says proposing to work in a shortage occupation, or consulting for others who do, “alone, is also insufficient.” Shortage evidence can provide context, but the argument has to rest on what your endeavor does.
Can I change my endeavor in an RFE response?
You can clarify and document it, but you cannot substitute a new one. Eligibility must exist when you file, and USCIS says RFEs are not issued to “cure” a deficiency.
Want an outside read on your prong 1 case before you file? Start with our free profile evaluation. We will tell you whether your endeavor and evidence line up with what USCIS describes.
Related guides
This article is general information, not legal advice. Skycap Consultancy is a petition-preparation consultancy, not a law firm. Requirements and fees change; check the linked USCIS pages before filing.
