NIW Bearings
dismissedAPR092025_01B52032025-04-09 · 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 Beneficiary, an associate in data science at a financial services firm, proposed to use machine learning, modeling, and data analysis to build transaction-monitoring and anti-financial-crime tools and dashboards.

Field: data science applied to financial services / anti-financial crime · Read the decision (uscis.gov)

EB-2 threshold — addressed

Director found Beneficiary qualified as an advanced degree professional; not disputed on appeal.

Prong 1 — national importancenot established · dispositive

“the Director acknowledged that the Beneficiary's employer may benefit from their services and then correctly focused on whether the Petitioner demonstrated whether the benefit rises to the level of national importance”
“we note that the "relevant question is not the importance of the field or profession in which the individual will work."”
“merely working in an important field is insufficient to establish the national importance of a proposed endeavor”
“the alleged shortage of occupations or occupational skills does not render a proposed endeavor nationally important under the Dhanasar framework”
“the submitted letters contain broad, general assertions that the Beneficiary's work impacts the financial and technological sectors at large, but do not provide details of how her specific endeavor will impact the field”
“the Petitioner has not demonstrated the Beneficiary's endeavor ... has significant potential to employ U.S. workers or otherwise offer substantial positive economic effects”

AAO decision text

How the evidence was treated

  • recommendation letter · discounted
    “contain broad, general assertions that the Beneficiary's work impacts the financial and technological sectors at large, but do not provide details”
    AAO decision text

Where this case turned

  • Economic claims unsupported · p1 — job/revenue projections with no corroborating basis
  • Employer-specific benefit · p1 — "work furthers my company's product" — value accrues to one firm
  • Field importance conflated with endeavor · p1 — argues the field matters, not the specific endeavor
  • Letters conclusory · p1 — letters praise skills in general terms without tracing specific impact
  • Occupational shortage argument rejected · p1 — argues a labor shortage — the labor-certification question, not Dhanasar
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Notable

AAO cites Flores v. Garland (5th Cir. 2023) for the discretionary nature of NIW decisions, and Director had found substantial merit and well-positioned prong met but AAO only reached and disposed of the case on national importance.

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
  • Matter of L-A-C-

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