NIW Bearings
dismissedAPR262023_01B52032023-04-26 · 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 language specialist, planned to found her own company, United Academy, to create, develop, and teach Portuguese and English courses to academic institutions, organizations, and businesses, while also recruiting and training other teachers.

Field: language instruction (Portuguese/English) · Read the decision (uscis.gov)

EB-2 threshold — not met

The Petitioner's foreign Titulo de Licenciado was found not to be the equivalent of a U.S. bachelor's degree (per academic records and AACRAO EDGE database showing a 2-4 year teaching qualification), and even if it were, the record did not establish five years of progressive full-time post-baccalaureate experience in the specialty, given inconsistencies between employment letters and the ETA 750 Part B.

Prong 1 — national importancenot established · dispositive

“it is not apparent how this impact rises to the level of national importance”
“in determining national importance, the relevant question is not the importance of the industry or profession in which the individual will work”
“The Petitioner did not sufficiently describe the origin or basis for these projections and as such, they appear to be little more than conjecture”
“she has not suggested she will lessen the shortage of teachers or teach on a scale rising to the level of national importance”
“they did not provide detailed accounts of how the Petitioner's work impacted the field of education or the nation as a whole”

AAO decision text

How the evidence was treated

  • degree · discounted
    “we conclude the evaluation holds little probative value in this matter”
    AAO decision text
  • resume experience · discounted
    “none of which state whether she worked full-time or part-time”
    AAO decision text
  • business plan · discounted
    “they appear to be little more than conjecture”
    AAO decision text
  • recommendation letter · discounted
    “they did not provide detailed accounts of how the Petitioner's work impacted the field of education or the nation as a whole”
    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
  • 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 used the AACRAO EDGE database itself to independently discredit the petitioner's academic equivalency evaluation, finding the foreign credential a 'teaching qualification' possibly awarded after only two years of study rather than a bachelor's equivalent. The decision separately and fully analyzes both threshold EB-2 ineligibility and Dhanasar prong 1 national importance despite stating the latter is technically 'moot,' explicitly declining to reach prongs 2 and 3 as unnecessary.

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)
  • Matter of L-A-C-
  • Poursina v. USCIS

What this case teaches

Analyst reading of the decision text.

Decisive factor

Petitioner failed to establish underlying EB-2 advanced-degree eligibility (foreign credential not equivalent to bachelor's degree), and separately failed to show national importance beyond individual students/clients.

Transferable lesson

Verify foreign degree equivalency rigorously via AACRAO EDGE before filing, and tie endeavor's projected impact explicitly to national-scale economic or field-wide effects, not individual service delivery.

Endeavor framing

vague

National-importance theory

field_advancement · economic_growth_generic · geographic_or_shortage_area

Evidence targeting

person_focused

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