The Petitioner, a Brazilian financial manager, initially proposed to work as a financial professional for U.S. institutions, but on RFE clarified an entrepreneurial intent to form a partnership operating as an independent financial and investment consulting and advisory firm.

Prong 1 — national importancenot established · dispositive

“the argument that labor certification requirements be waived due to a labor shortage is not persuasive, as the purpose of the labor certification process is to identify jobs where there are no qualified, willing, and available U.S. workers”

“the record does not show that the Petitioner's proposed endeavor stands to sufficiently extend beyond her clientele to impact either the financial services industry or international business initiatives more broadly”

“she has not shown that the prospective impact of the business services performed by her company represents a significant share of the financial services market”

“she has not provided evidence to establish that the area in which the company will operate is economically depressed, that she would employ a significant population of workers in that area”

“While the financial outlook provided in the business plan demonstrates the company's growth potential, it does not demonstrate that the benefits to the regional or national economy resulting from the Petitioner's endeavor would reach the level of "substantial positive economic effects"”

AAO decision text

How the evidence was treated

• degree · discounted

  “the record does not contain evidence demonstrating that the Petitioner has at least five years of progressive post-baccalaureate work experience”

  AAO decision text
• resume experience · discounted

  “the letters reference the Petitioner's employment from 2015 to 2017, a period of two years”

  AAO decision text
• recommendation letter · discounted
• business plan · discounted

  “it does not demonstrate that the benefits to the regional or national economy resulting from the Petitioner's endeavor would reach the level of "substantial positive economic effects"”

  AAO decision text
• other · discounted

  “The Petitioner's unsupported statements are insufficient to meet its burden of proof.”

  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
• Occupational shortage argument rejected · p1 — argues a labor shortage — the labor-certification question, not Dhanasar

Notable

AAO disagreed with the Director's rationale on both the advanced-degree finding and the 'material change' national-importance mootness theory, yet still dismissed on an independent national-importance ground; AAO also faulted the Director's material-change reasoning implicitly by reaching its own analysis instead, while noting Petitioner waived the material-change issue by not disputing it on appeal.

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
• 8 C.F.R. 204.5(k)(2)
• Matter of Izummi
• Matter of L-A-C-

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