National Interest Waivers: Understanding Dhanasar Prong One
What is Prong One of Dhanasar?
Under Prong One of Matter of Dhanansar, a petitioner must show that their proposed endeavor has both substantial merit and national importance. This requires two arguments: why the petitioner’s work has inherent value, and why that value matters at a national level.
Substantial Merit
Substantial merit refers to the inherent value of the proposed work and can often be demonstrated by pointing to the underlying goals of the endeavor. A medical researcher may emphasize how their endeavor addresses a gap in treatment. An engineer might describe how their endeavor will improve efficiency or safety in their industry. And an entrepreneur may explain how their business contributes meaningfully to the economy. USCIS notes that “merit may be established without immediate or quantifiable economic impact” and “endeavors related to research, pure science, and the furtherance of human knowledge may qualify, whether or not the potential accomplishments in those fields are likely to translate into economic benefits for the United States.”
National Importance
By contrast, national importance requires showing that an endeavor will have impact beyond a single employer, project, or locale. Here, USCIS evaluates whether the endeavor has the potential for “broader implications.”
While there is no brightline test to determine when an endeavor’s impact rises to the level of national importance, USCIS has made it clear that benefits confined to a single company, “even an employer with a national footprint,” are insufficient. To overcome this, petitioners working in the private sector must describe how their work has influence beyond their employer.
At the same time, a nationally important endeavor should align with government priorities, such as recent Executive Orders or federal agency regulations and rulemaking. But alignment by itself is not enough. It is necessary to show how the specific endeavor contributes to those national goals. For instance, an AI researcher cannot rely solely on the fact that the federal government promotes AI research; they must demonstrate how their own projects advance the field in a way that has broader implications.
Below are examples of endeavors that are linked to broader implications:
Developing new pharmaceutical therapies that can improve treatment outcomes or reduce costs across the healthcare system
Creating novel manufacturing methods, financial frameworks, or operational processes that can directly benefit the wellbeing of Americans or that are adopted by other companies in industries that benefit the wellbeing of Americans
Building new infrastructure that enhances disaster resilience or energy reliability across multiple states
Creating health and safety standards that protect American workers and are incorporated into industry best practices
Developing autonomous driving technology that will significantly reduce traffic fatalities or that has been adopted or licensed by others in the industry
Conducting research in artificial intelligence that will advance the field’s understanding of how to generate computer code based on natural language input
To meet Prong One, petitioners must substantiate their claims with credible evidence. While objective data from government and industry reports has long been persuasive, USCIS increasingly expects documentation showing that the petitioner’s work has already generated external impact or has been recognized more broadly within the field.