NIW Bearings
dismissedAPR082025_02B52032025-04-08 · appeal · Texas Service Center

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 sought to manage a Florida-based company organizing Brazilian-themed cultural events and festivals, which he claimed would promote multiculturalism and drive economic growth.

Field: event planning and cultural festival management · Read the decision (uscis.gov)

Prong 1 — national importancenot established · dispositive

“the submitted evidence did not demonstrate the potential prospective impact of the Petitioner's endeavor would extend beyond his future company and clients”
“the evidence did not establish the Petitioner's endeavor has significant potential to employ U.S. workers or otherwise offers substantial positive economic effects”
“the record does not sufficiently show how the company will pay salaries and other operational expenses”
“the relevant question is not the importance of the field, industry, or profession in which the individual will work”

AAO decision text

How the evidence was treated

  • business plan · discounted
    “The submitted documentation does not contain sufficient details to demonstrate how the Petitioner's company will reach the stated economic impact objectives”
    AAO decision text
  • recommendation letter · discounted
    “the Petitioner's skills, expertise, and abilities relate to the second prong of the Dhanasar framework, which shifts the focus from the proposed endeavor to the foreign national”
    AAO decision text
  • other · discounted
    “the documents and letters fail to establish that the Petitioner's specific endeavor has national implications”
    AAO decision text

Where this case turned

  • Business plan speculative · p1 — projections without a documented basis or steps
  • Economic claims unsupported · p1 — job/revenue projections with no corroborating basis
  • Field importance conflated with endeavor · p1 — argues the field matters, not the specific endeavor
  • Local, not national scope · p1 — impact confined to clients / a region
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Notable

AAO cited Flores v. Garland (5th Cir. 2023) in a footnote to reaffirm that NIW adjudication is discretionary, joining other circuits. The AAO declined to reach prong 2, prong 3, or the underlying EB-2 classification issue after finding prong 1 dispositive, invoking INS v. Bagamasbad and Matter of L-A-C- for the proposition that agencies need not decide unnecessary issues.

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. 103.3
  • Flores v. Garland
  • Matter of L-A-C-

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