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 restaurant owner in a small Alaska town, sought to continue owning and operating her restaurant, with plans to hire five to ten additional employees.
Field: restaurant/food service business · Read the decision (uscis.gov)
EB-2 threshold — addressed
AAO found Petitioner qualified as a member of the professions holding an advanced degree based on her foreign baccalaureate plus more than five years of progressive experience as a restaurant owner/CEO.
Prong 1 — national importancenot established · dispositive
“This evidence does not sufficiently establish that the employment of 20 workers, or even potentially 30 workers, at the demonstrated rate of pay would have substantial positive effects in a community of approximately 14,000.”
“it does not demonstrate that the proposed endeavor offers benefits which extend beyond the community to impact the restaurant industry more broadly.”
“she did not explain or support the business need for additional employees.”
AAO decision text
Prong 2 — well positionednot established · dispositive
“Without the complete tax returns, along with evidence that they have been filed, this evidence is not verifiable and thus does not sufficiently support the Petitioner's assertions regarding the success of her restaurant.”
“the Petitioner's degree in communication has not been shown to be directly related to her proposed endeavor”
“the record includes conflicting and incomplete information regarding her previous experience as a restaurant owner and operator.”
AAO decision text
Prong 3 — balance of factorsnot established
“further discussion of the balancing factors under the third prong would serve no meaningful purpose.”
AAO decision text
How the evidence was treated
- recommendation letter · discounted
“This evidence does not sufficiently establish that the employment of 20 workers... would have substantial positive effects in a community of approximately 14,000.”
AAO decision text - business plan · discounted
“she did not explain or support the business need for additional employees.”
AAO decision text - contract revenue · discounted
“Without the complete tax returns, along with evidence that they have been filed, this evidence is not verifiable”
AAO decision text - degree · credited
- resume experience · discounted
“The Petitioner has not explained how she apparently worked two full-time jobs during this period”
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
- Local, not national scope · p1 — impact confined to clients / a region
- degree endeavor mismatch · p2 — the advanced degree is in a different field from the endeavor
- experience not progressive or unrelated · p2 — claimed equivalency experience is not progressive, or sits outside the field
- Record of success insufficient · p2 — a claimed track record the documents do not establish
- Derivative of Prong 1/2 failure · p3 — prong three fails only because prongs one or two did — no independent ground
Notable
Petitioner succeeded in establishing threshold EB-2 eligibility as an advanced-degree professional (foreign bachelor's degree plus five years' progressive restaurant-management experience), but the AAO found she failed all three Dhanasar prongs, expressly treating the prong 1 and prong 2 failures as independent alternate bases for dismissal, and declining to separately analyze prong 3 as moot.
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. 204.5(k)(2)
- INA 203(b)(2)
- Section 291 of the Act
Cases in adjacent profiles
- The Beneficiary proposed to establish an asset investment management and compliance advisory firm in New York offering c
- The Petitioner proposed to develop and commercialize zeolite-based products in the United States, including agricultural
- The Petitioner proposed to operate a medical billing and healthcare revenue cycle management firm in the United States,
- The Petitioner proposed to establish and lead as CEO a cybersecurity and crisis management company in Florida, offering
- The Petitioner proposed to establish and operate an IT consultancy company in Michigan providing cloud migration, cybers