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 commercial pilot, sought to continue working as a pilot in the United States, claiming eligibility as an individual of exceptional ability and requesting a national interest waiver of the job offer requirement.
Field: commercial aviation / piloting · Read the decision (uscis.gov)
EB-2 threshold — not met
Petitioner needed to meet at least 3 of 6 regulatory criteria for exceptional ability but the Director found only 2 met; on appeal, AAO found the additional two claimed criteria (ten years full-time experience letters and professional association membership) were not established, leaving him short of the three required.
How the evidence was treated
- resume experience · discounted
“the employment letters lack this specific information, then USCIS cannot determine if the petitioner has the requisite ten years of full-time experience”
AAO decision text - certification membership · discounted
“the Petitioner did not demonstrate how an aircraft owner and pilot association qualifies as a professional association”
AAO decision text
This record is one of thousands, each coded for the reasons it turned. A placement shows where your profile sits in that record, not what it predicts. See where your profile sits — 90 seconds →
Notable
The AAO resolved the appeal entirely at the threshold exceptional-ability stage, expressly declining to reach the Dhanasar national interest waiver analysis, treating the threshold denial as an independent and alternate basis for dismissal. Two specific exceptional-ability criteria (10-year full-time experience letters and professional association membership) were the sole subjects of dispute.
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(g)(1)
- 8 C.F.R. 204.5(k)(2)
- 8 C.F.R. 204.5(k)(3)(ii)
- Matter of L-A-C-
- Poursina v. USCIS
- USCIS Policy Manual F.5(B)(2)
Cases in adjacent profiles
- The Petitioner, an aircraft mechanic and instructor, proposed to enhance aviation maintenance training programs, support
- The Petitioner seeks EB-2 classification as a member of the professions holding an advanced degree with a national inter
- The petitioner sought an EB-2 national interest waiver of the job offer requirement, but the substance of the proposed e
- The Beneficiary, sponsored by a private airline, sought EB-2 classification as an individual of exceptional ability in a
- The petitioner sought an EB-2 national interest waiver as a member of the professions holding an advanced degree; the sp