dismissedAPR212025_06B52032025-04-21 · 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 sought to continue working as a mathematics teacher at a charter school in Florida, asserting this would improve education quality and address STEM/mathematics teacher shortages.

Field: mathematics education · Read the decision (uscis.gov)

EB-2 threshold — addressed

Director and AAO agreed Petitioner qualifies as an advanced degree professional; not disputed on appeal.

Prong 1 — national importancenot established · dispositive

“Rather, the Petitioner must demonstrate the national importance of her specific, proposed endeavor of providing her services as a mathematics teacher through her employment in the Florida area.”

“However, the national shortage of mathematics teachers is not, in and of itself: sufficient to establish the national importance of the Petitioner's endeavor.”

“It is insufficient to claim an endeavor has national importance or would create a broad impact without providing evidence to substantiate such claims.”

“These are broad and general issues, well beyond the scope of the Petitioner's proposed endeavor to work as a mathematics teacher at a charter school in Florida.”

“While they evidence the high regard the Petitioner's colleagues have for her and her work, they do not offer persuasive detail concerning the impact of her proposed endeavor.”

AAO decision text

How the evidence was treated

recommendation letter · discounted
“they do not offer persuasive detail concerning the impact of her proposed endeavor”
AAO decision text
other · discounted
“Assertions about the industry do not establish the national importance of the specific proposed endeavor within that industry.”
AAO decision text

Where this case turned

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
Letters conclusory · p1 — letters praise skills in general terms without tracing specific impact
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

AAO noted one expert opinion letter described a different proposed endeavor (tutoring through the Petitioner's own company) inconsistent with her stated intent to work as a charter school teacher, and declined to consider it further.

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-

What this case teaches

Analyst reading of the decision text.

Decisive factor

Petitioner failed to show her specific teaching endeavor (not the profession or STEM shortage generally) had impact extending beyond her students/employer to a nationally important scale.

Transferable lesson

Tie evidence and expert letters directly to the specific proposed endeavor's broader, quantifiable impact—not to general credentials or industry-wide shortages.

Endeavor framing

vague

National-importance theory

stem_positive_factor · economic_growth_generic · geographic_or_shortage_area · field_advancement

Evidence targeting

person_focused

Cases in adjacent profiles

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