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 proposed a dual-faceted endeavor combining ICT regulatory/compliance consulting and entrepreneurship (including starting a wireless product and equipment testing laboratory) with part-time teaching and STEM training for underserved youth.
Field: information and communications technology (ICT) regulatory compliance · Read the decision (uscis.gov)
EB-2 threshold — addressed
Director found Petitioner qualified as advanced degree professional based on AACRAO EDGE database equivalency; AAO did not disturb this finding despite lack of formal equivalency evaluation.
Prong 1 — national importancenot established · dispositive
“As the record remains unclear as to how he will allocate his time, we conclude that he has not adequately identified his proposed endeavor”
“The record does not show that the Petitioner's proposed endeavor stands to extend beyond his own clients and students such that it wou Id impact the field or industry, the State of Louisiana, or the nation more broadly.”
“he has offered no analysis or numerical breakdowns to substantiate how his work is tied to increased positive economic activity or market expansion”
“Many authors appear to assume that because the Petitioner's work benefitted his individual employers and clients, that these benefits accrue to the nation or the field as a whole.”
“the letter does not support a finding that the Petitioner's work had a pioneering impact on the field”
“we conclude that while these endeavors do have substantial merit, the record does not establish by a preponderance of the evidence that they would impact the field of ICT”
AAO decision text
How the evidence was treated
- recommendation letter · discounted
“Most of the authors focus on the Petitioner's past work and appear to have little knowledge concerning his proposed endeavor.”
AAO decision text - business plan · discounted
“he has not provided sufficient evidence to substantiate them”
AAO decision text - citations publications · discounted
“We have insufficient evidence of the Petitioner's citation record at the time of filing the petition.”
AAO decision text - degree · credited
- other · discounted
“these reports and articles are insufficient to substantiate the Petitioner's claims concerning the national importance of his proposed endeavor because they do not speak to the specific impact of the Petitioner's work”
AAO decision text
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
- Letters not independent · p1 — letters come from employers and close collaborators, not independent experts
- Local, not national scope · p1 — impact confined to clients / a region
Notable
Petitioner held three concurrent positions (two Nigerian companies plus part-time professorships at two universities) while pursuing a PhD, and AAO found the endeavor inadequately identified due to unclear time allocation across these roles, a threshold problem under Dhanasar's requirement to identify 'the specific endeavor.' AAO also noted, in dicta, that the Petitioner failed to comply with 8 C.F.R. 204.5(k)(3)(i)(A) equivalency evaluation requirements but declined to disturb the Director's favorable threshold finding.
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. 204.5(k)(2)
- 8 C.F.R. 204.5(k)(3)(ii)
- Matter of L-A-C-
- Poursina v. USCIS
What this case teaches
Analyst reading of the decision text.
Petitioner failed to define a specific endeavor with clear time allocation and failed to substantiate that any economic, educational, or health impacts extended beyond his own clients/students to national scale.
Define one concrete endeavor with clear time commitments, and support national-importance claims with quantified, endeavor-specific data—not generic industry importance or personal-praise letters.
vague
economic_job_creation · us_competitiveness · economic_growth_generic · public_health · field_advancement
person_focused
Cases in adjacent profiles
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- The Petitioner proposed to start a project management consultancy in the United States that would help small and mid-siz
- The Petitioner proposed to establish a legal consultancy in the United States focused on alternative dispute resolution