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 automotive-repair franchise operator, proposed to establish and operate a new franchise brokerage and consulting business connecting international investors with U.S. franchise opportunities and mentoring them through launch and early operations.
Field: franchise brokerage and consulting · Read the decision (uscis.gov)
Prong 1 — national importancenot established · dispositive
“it is not sufficiently clear how the specific endeavor the Petitioner proposed supports the initiatives or ideals expressed in the reports in a manner rising to a level of national importance.”
“the record does not contain relevant, material, or probative evidence to demonstrate how the addition of 1,398 "indirect" jobs would address unrealized economic output or employment deficits at a level commensurate with matters of national importance.”
“the same evidence does not adequately describe how the specific endeavor proposed by the Petitioner would elevate the benefits of franchises, small businesses. job creation. tax generation, and foreign direct investment in a manner commensurate with matters of national importance.”
AAO decision text
Prong 2 — well positionedestablished
“it is not sufficiently apparent in the record how the Petitioner's niche qualifications. operations, and kudos as demonstrated in the record in the automotive repair or automobile aftermarket services industry would render them well positioned to operate a franchise brokerage service.”
AAO decision text
How the evidence was treated
- business plan · discounted
“the record does not contain relevant, material, or probative evidence to demonstrate how the addition of 1,398 "indirect" jobs would address unrealized economic output or employment deficits”
AAO decision text - recommendation letter · discounted
“letters and memoranda of intent... contain a nascent intention to utilize franchise brokerage services without any specificity of the letter writer's aspirational franchise's forecasts or objectives”
AAO decision text - resume experience · discounted
“it is not sufficiently apparent in the record how the Petitioner's niche qualifications, operations, and kudos... would render them well positioned to operate a franchise brokerage service”
AAO decision text - other · discounted
“the same evidence does not adequately describe how the specific endeavor proposed by the Petitioner would elevate the benefits of franchises, small businesses... in a manner commensurate with matters of national importance”
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
Notable
AAO found the Director's error in mislabeling the Petitioner's field as 'automotive repair' instead of franchise brokerage to be harmless. In a lengthy footnote, AAO expressed serious doubt about prong 2 (the Petitioner's automotive-repair experience seemingly unrelated to the proposed franchise-brokerage endeavor) but explicitly declined to decide prong 2, prong 3, or the underlying EB-2 exceptional-ability classification because the prong-1 national-importance failure alone was dispositive.
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)
- 8 C.F.R. 204.5(k)(3)(ii)
- 8 C.F.R. 204.5(k)(3)(iii)
- Flores v. Garland
- Matter of L-A-C-
- Matter of Y-B-
What this case teaches
Analyst reading of the decision text.
Petitioner's aspirational job creation, tax revenue, and foreign investment figures were unsupported by probative evidence and not shown to reach a scale of national importance.
Support projected economic impact figures with verifiable, corroborated evidence and explicitly connect magnitude to recognized national benchmarks or deficits.
moderate
economic_job_creation · economic_growth_generic · government_interest
mixed
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