NIW Bearings
dismissedAPR302025_04B52032025-04-30 · appeal

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 software engineer, proposed to create an open-source communication/video-conferencing platform with AI-assisted scripted consultations, offering secure video conferencing, multi-device compatibility, and integration with tools like Google Calendar, Outlook, PayPal, and other scheduling/billing services.

Field: software engineering · Read the decision (uscis.gov)

Prong 1 — national importancenot established · dispositive

SCOPS noted that the relevant question is not the importance of the industry in which the Petitioner would work, rather it is whether the specific proposed endeavor has national importance.
SCOPS mentioned that the Petitioner did not provide evidence of how the proposed endeavor would address significant challenges, advance critical technologies, or contribute to the U.S. economy
The record does not establish, by a preponderance of the evidence, that the proposed endeavor has national importance.

AAO decision text

How the evidence was treated

  • business plan · discounted
    did not provide sufficient evidence of the prospective endeavor's potential prospective impact, including broader implications, or national or global implications
    AAO decision text
  • motion resubmission · discounted
    he makes the same and similar arguments as made previously
    AAO decision text

Where this case turned

  • Economic claims unsupported · p1job/revenue projections with no corroborating basis
  • Endeavor too vague · p1described as a job role, not a defined undertaking
  • Field importance conflated with endeavor · p1argues the field matters, not the specific endeavor
2,501coded decisions carry the failure named in this record. A placement shows where your profile sits among them, not what it predicts.See where your profile sits — 90 seconds

Notable

AAO adopts and affirms the SCOPS decision in full rather than conducting independent analysis, citing Matter of Burbano and Giday v. INS as authority for that practice.

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
  • INA 203(b)(2)

Cases in adjacent profiles