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 contemporary artist and graphic designer, proposed to use artistic design and social activism to raise awareness of environmental and wildlife preservation issues and influence U.S. environmental policy-making.
Field: contemporary art / design (environmental and wildlife advocacy art) · Read the decision (uscis.gov)
EB-2 threshold — addressed
Director found Petitioner qualified as an individual of exceptional ability; not disputed by AAO.
Prong 1 — national importancenot established · dispositive
“they fail to establish how her proposed endeavor will likely impact the field of design nationally or how the potential prospective impact has national implications within the field”
“without specifically explaining how the Petitioner's proposed endeavor - using art to bring awareness to environmental and wildlife preservation issues - rises to the level of national importance”
“she has not included sufficient evidence showing the level of economic impact that her proposed endeavor will likely have, including information on the number ofjobs it will likely create”
“merely working in an important area is insufficient to establish the national importance of the Petitioner's specific proposed endeavor”
AAO decision text
How the evidence was treated
- recommendation letter · discounted
“supports the claim with a general discussion of contemporary art and its impact on society, without specifically explaining”
AAO decision text - contract revenue · discounted
- media · discounted
“the record does not support a finding that the level of public interest she has received confirms national importance”
AAO decision text - certification membership · ignored
- resume experience · ignored
Where this case turned
- 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
- Letters conclusory · p1 — letters praise skills in general terms without tracing specific impact
Notable
AAO expressly reserved reaching prongs 2 and 3 as unnecessary given dispositive prong 1 failure, citing Bagamasbad and Matter of L-A-C- for declining to address alternative issues.
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
- Flores v. Garland
- Matter of L-A-C-
- Poursina v. USCIS
What this case teaches
Analyst reading of the decision text.
Petitioner failed to show her specific endeavor (art raising environmental awareness) had national-scale impact on the design field or economy, beyond working in an important area generally.
Quantify and specifically tie the endeavor's prospective national-scale impact (jobs, field advancement, geographic reach) rather than relying on general praise of talent or field importance.
vague
field_advancement · economic_job_creation · economic_growth_generic
person_focused
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