dismissedAPR172023_04B52032023-04-17 · 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, an English language arts teacher, proposed to continue teaching ELA to incarcerated youth (grades 7-12) at a correctional facility while contributing to education research and reducing educational inequalities and teacher shortages.
Field: English language arts education (secondary, correctional facility) · Read the decision (uscis.gov)
Prong 1 — national importancenot established · dispositive
“she did not initially elaborate on what her endeavor of contributing to the education sector in the United States and increasing her dedication to research would entail”
“the endeavor, as articulated in the record, appears to benefit the correctional facility that employs the Petitioner and the children incarcerated at that facility whom she teaches”
“the record does not elaborate on how, as a teacher of children incarcerated at a correctional facility, the Petitioner affects the number of schools with teacher shortages”
“the record does not show how this endeavor would offer substantial economic benefits to the region where it operates or to the nation, as a whole”
“the relevant question is not the importance of the industry, field, or profession in which an individual will work; instead, to assess national importance, we focus on the "specific endeavor"”
AAO decision text
How the evidence was treated
- recommendation letter · discounted
- resume experience · discounted
- certification membership · discounted
“the record does not elaborate on what her referenced "engagement" activities would entail and how those activities will cause broader implications”
AAO decision text
Where this case turned
- Economic claims unsupported · p1 — job/revenue projections with no corroborating basis
- Endeavor too vague · p1 — described as a job role, not a defined undertaking
- 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
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Notable
Unusual fact pattern: Petitioner's teaching endeavor took place at a correctional facility teaching incarcerated youth, which the AAO found undermined claims of national/broader impact since the letter of support described the employer as a correctional facility rather than an academic institution.
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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