NIW Bearings
dismissedAPR252023_03B52032023-04-25 · 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 Brazilian entrepreneur with a business administration degree and supermarket experience, proposed to establish and expand a network of supermarkets in Florida selling Latin American food products, and separately mentioned expanding an existing U.S. auto dealership business.

Field: retail/supermarket business (Latin American food products), also auto dealerships · Read the decision (uscis.gov)

EB-2 threshold — addressed

Director found Petitioner qualifies as advanced degree professional; not disputed on appeal.

Prong 1 — national importancenot established · dispositive

“the studies and articles cited by the Petitioner on appeal, as well as the ones already in the record, do not discuss the Petitioner or his proposed endeavor”
“the relevant question is not the importance of the industry or profession in which the individual will work; instead, we focus on the "specific endeavor"”
“the Petitioner's business plan projects that by year five of operations, his supermarket business will have created 80 jobs”
“Without an actual or proposed location for the business, the projected expenses for rent, utility, and insurance do not have a clear basis”
“the Petitioner's unsupported assertions alone are not sufficient for the Petitioner to meet his burden of proof to establish the national importance”

AAO decision text

How the evidence was treated

  • business plan · discounted
    “the Petitioner's business plan for his supermarket endeavor relied on flawed and misleading calculations and did not provide reasonable projections”
    AAO decision text
  • funding · discounted
    “the Petitioner still does not provide on appeal documentation of his claimed $500,000 in personal savings”
    AAO decision text
  • other · discounted
    “the evidence relates to entrepreneurship and the economy in general, not to the Petitioner's proposed endeavor”
    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
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Notable

Petitioner raised a due process claim alleging denial without RFE, which AAO rejected as factually incorrect since an RFE had been issued; also raised a novel claim that entrepreneurs are 'inherently nationally important' per 2022 USCIS Policy Manual update, which AAO rejected as unsupported by the actual policy text.

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
  • Poursina v. USCIS

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