This is an AAO appeal decision — a case denied once and appealed. It shows how the framework is applied; it is not the filing population.
The Petitioner, a pilot, sought EB-2 classification as an individual of exceptional ability along with a national interest waiver of the job offer requirement; the endeavor itself was never substantively reached.
Field: aviation / commercial piloting · Read the decision (uscis.gov)
EB-2 threshold — not met
Petitioner met only 3 of 6 initial exceptional-ability criteria and, in the final merits determination, failed to show a degree of expertise significantly above that ordinarily encountered in his field; new evidence offered on motion (employment letter, paystubs) did not cure this or pertain to the final merits determination.
How the evidence was treated
- resume experience · discounted
“the Petitioner's new evidence offered on motion to reopen ... does not pertain to the final merits determination”
AAO decision text - other · discounted
“we cannot consider "facts that come into being only subsequent to the filing of a petition"”
AAO decision text - motion resubmission · discounted
“Meeting additional two other criteria does not materially change the outcome of his exceptional ability claim”
AAO decision text
This record is one of thousands, each coded for the reasons it turned. A placement shows where your profile sits in that record, not what it predicts. See where your profile sits — 90 seconds →
Notable
Case never reached the NIW national-interest prongs; it turned entirely on whether the Petitioner met the threshold exceptional-ability classification. Petitioner raised an implicit ineffective-assistance-of-counsel argument (attorney failure to submit evidence) but the AAO found it did not satisfy the Matter of Lozada framework (no affidavit, no notice to prior counsel, no bar complaint), so the motion to reconsider failed on that basis as well.
Authorities this decision leans on
From the doctrinal survivor set — 187 authority tests across 47 distinct authorities cleared the differential-lift gates. Only those appear here.
- 8 C.F.R. 103.2(b)(1)
- 8 C.F.R. 103.5(a)(1)(ii)
- 8 C.F.R. 103.5(a)(2)
- 8 C.F.R. 103.5(a)(3)
- 8 C.F.R. 103.5(a)(4)
- 8 C.F.R. 204.5(k)(2)
- Kazarian v. USCIS
- Matter of Bardouille
- Matter of Izummi
Cases in adjacent profiles
- The Petitioner, an aircraft mechanic and instructor, proposed to enhance aviation maintenance training programs, support
- The Petitioner seeks EB-2 classification as a member of the professions holding an advanced degree with a national inter
- The petitioner sought an EB-2 national interest waiver of the job offer requirement, but the substance of the proposed e
- The Beneficiary, sponsored by a private airline, sought EB-2 classification as an individual of exceptional ability in a
- The petitioner sought an EB-2 national interest waiver as a member of the professions holding an advanced degree; the sp