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 establish a company providing telecommunications connectivity and cybersecurity solutions to businesses, aiming to modernize network infrastructure and reduce cyber risk.
Field: telecommunications and network engineering · Read the decision (uscis.gov)
EB-2 threshold — addressed
AAO found the record insufficient and inconsistent regarding whether the Petitioner's foreign bachelor's degree equates to a U.S. bachelor's degree (illegible degree copy, conclusory academic evaluation, no transcript, discrepancy with AACRAO EDGE credential name). Because Petitioner had no prior notice on this issue, AAO reserved it for future proceedings rather than deciding it.
Prong 1 — national importancenot established · dispositive
“it is not the overall importance of the industry, field, or profession in which an individual intends to work, but the particular endeavor that we consider in evaluating its national importance”
“These assertions are not accompanied by supporting evidence of the innovations or methodologies his company would utilize”
“The business plan, however, does not explain how these forecasts were calculated or adequately clarify how these projections will be realized”
“He has not explained how his company would have a national-level impact beyond general assertions”
“It is not clear, however, how generalized interest from these companies in making technological improvements demonstrates the potential of his services to have an impact accordant with national importance”
AAO decision text
How the evidence was treated
- business plan · discounted
“The business plan, however, does not explain how these forecasts were calculated or adequately clarify how these projections will be realized.”
AAO decision text - recommendation letter · discounted
“It is not clear, however, how generalized interest from these companies in making technological improvements demonstrates the potential of his services to have an impact”
AAO decision text - degree · discounted
“the evaluation offers little analysis to support the evaluator's conclusion, such as an explanation of how the coursework and academic hours compare”
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
- 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
Notable
AAO reserved the underlying EB-2 threshold classification issue (degree equivalency) for future proceedings rather than resolving it, since the Petitioner had not received prior notice on that point, and instead resolved the appeal solely on Dhanasar prong 1 national importance grounds. Decision includes extended discussion of AACRAO EDGE as a reliable credentialing database and citation to Flores v. Garland regarding the discretionary nature of NIW adjudication.
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. 103.5
- Flores v. Garland
What this case teaches
Analyst reading of the decision text.
Petitioner's national importance claims rested on unsupported, generalized assertions about industry importance and speculative business projections, not evidence tying his specific company's endeavor to a national-scale impact.
Support endeavor's projected scale and impact with concrete, corroborated evidence (methodologies, data, mechanisms) tied specifically to the venture, not industry-wide importance or unverified forecasts.
moderate
critical_emerging_tech · national_security · economic_job_creation · public_health
person_focused
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