dismissedAPR192024_04B52032024-04-19 · 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, a vocational counselor and entrepreneur, proposed to provide psychology-based vocational coaching and counseling to American youth and young adults to address and prevent mental health issues related to employment.
Field: vocational counseling / mental health and occupation coaching · Read the decision (uscis.gov)
EB-2 threshold — addressed
Petitioner's Bolivian Licentiate in Psychology plus five years of progressive experience found equivalent to a U.S. advanced degree; EB-2 classification established.
Prong 1 — national importancenot established · dispositive
“the record does not contain any evidence of a broader impact outside of the direct clients the Petitioner will serve.”
“working in an important field is insufficient to establish the national importance of the proposed endeavor.”
“the Petitioner improperly relies upon the importance of the industry to establish the national importance of his proposed endeavor.”
“The proposed endeavor's direct impact is limited to the clients it will serve.”
“there is no information on how the Petitioner's proposed endeavor itself will reach these numbers.”
“The Petitioner has not shown his business operations or staffing levels are substantial enough to establish significant potential to employ U.S. workers”
AAO decision text
How the evidence was treated
- business plan · discounted
“there is no information on how the Petitioner's proposed endeavor itself will reach these numbers.”
AAO decision text - other · discounted
“working in an important field is insufficient to establish the national importance of the proposed endeavor.”
AAO decision text - recommendation letter · ignored
- awards · ignored
- resume experience · credited
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
- 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
1,312coded decisions carry the failure named in this record. A placement shows where your profile sits among them, not what it predicts.See where your profile sits — 90 seconds →
Notable
AAO affirmed EB-2 classification but found first Dhanasar prong (national importance) unmet, declining to reach prongs 2 and 3 as unnecessary under Bagamasbad/L-A-C- doctrine.
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)
- Flores v. Garland
- Matter of L-A-C-
Cases in adjacent profiles
- The Petitioner proposed to work as an IT consultant in the United States, providing cybersecurity and digital transforma
- The petitioner proposed to establish his own company providing specialized business consultancy, auditing, and training
- The petitioner proposed to work as a consultant engineer through his own company, specializing in development projects t
- The Petitioner proposed to start a project management consultancy in the United States that would help small and mid-siz
- The Petitioner proposed to establish a legal consultancy in the United States focused on alternative dispute resolution