Date of Decision: APR. 14, 2023
Service Center: Texas Service Center
Form Type: Form I-140
Case Type: EB-2 National Interest Waiver (NIW)
Field of Expertise: Pharmacy
Petitioner Information
Profession: Pharmacist
Field: Telepharmacy and Medication Delivery Innovations
Nationality: Not specified
Summary of Decision
Initial Decision: Denied
Appeal Outcome: Dismissed
Evidentiary Criteria Analysis
Criteria Met:
Substantial Merit: The Petitioner has demonstrated the potential myriad benefits of increased access to telepharmacy, establishing the substantial merit of her proposed endeavor.
Well-Positioned to Advance: The Petitioner is well-positioned to advance her proposed endeavor, which was not contested in the appeal.
Criteria Not Met:
National Importance: The evidence does not establish that the Petitioner’s specific proposed endeavor has national importance. The evidence provided pertains to the field of telepharmacy in general, rather than the Petitioner’s specific project.
Benefit to the United States: Due to the lack of national importance, it is unnecessary to address whether waiving the job offer requirement would benefit the United States.
Key Points from the Decision:
The Director’s decision does not discuss every piece of evidence but is sufficient and specific enough for a fair opportunity to contest the decision.
The Petitioner must demonstrate the national importance of her specific endeavor, not just the importance of the telepharmacy industry.
Proposed Endeavor
The Petitioner intends to work as a pharmacist providing telepharmacy and medication delivery innovations, a subspecialty of telemedicine using telecommunications to deliver pharmaceutical services to patients living far from traditional services.
Substantial Merit and National Importance:
The Petitioner has established the substantial merit of her proposed endeavor through detailed evidence illustrating the economic burden of health disparities and the benefits telepharmacy can provide to rural and underserved communities. However, the national importance of the proposed endeavor has not been established, as the evidence provided pertains to the field of telepharmacy in general, rather than the Petitioner’s specific project.
Supporting Evidence:
The Petitioner submitted job offer letters from two pharmacies offering part-time employment as a pharmacy consultant. The evidence provided does not establish the national importance of the specific proposed endeavor.
Inconsistencies in Proposed Endeavor
The evidence related to the telepharmacy industry overall, not to the Petitioner’s specific proposed endeavor of starting a consulting business and offering telepharmacy consulting services to two pharmacies.
Supporting Documentation
Letters of Intent:
The Petitioner provided job offer letters from two pharmacies offering part-time employment.
Business Plan:
The Petitioner proposed a telepharmacy consulting service but did not provide sufficient evidence to establish the national importance of the specific proposed endeavor.
Advisory Letter:
Several letters of support describe the Petitioner’s work as impactful in the Texas area but do not establish the national importance of the specific proposed endeavor.
Conclusion
Final Determination:
The appeal is dismissed.
Reasoning:
The Petitioner has not demonstrated the national importance of her proposed endeavor, and thus she has not established her eligibility for a national interest waiver.
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