NIW Bearings
dismissedAUG122024_03B52032024-08-12 · 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 sought to be the CEO and sole owner of his own IT consulting business providing network infrastructure, cybersecurity, cloud computing, software, and disaster recovery services to small and medium-sized businesses, while also offering IT training to individuals entering the job market.

Field: IT consulting / computer systems networking, cybersecurity · Read the decision (uscis.gov)

EB-2 threshold — addressed

Director found Petitioner met 3 of 6 exceptional ability criteria but not the final merits determination of expertise significantly above the norm; AAO reserved this issue and did not decide it, resolving the case on NIW prong 1 instead.

Prong 1 — national importancenot established · dispositive

“the Petitioner did not demonstrate that his proposed endeavor satisfies the national importance element of Dhanasar's first prong”
“the record does not establish that the Petitioner's proposed endeavor would have national or global implications within a particular field”
“The proposed company which will provide IT consulting services to small and medium sized businesses, could have positive implications to its direct clients, however, the record does not establish broader implications within the IT field”
“the Petitioner improperly relies upon the importance of the industry to establish the national importance of his proposed endeavor”
“working in the field is insufficient to establish the national importance of the proposed endeavor”
“the record does not establish that the proposed endeavor will have broad implications in the field beyond his clients and trainees”

AAO decision text

How the evidence was treated

  • business plan · discounted
    “given the level of details brought by the petitioner's Business Plan, will have the potential prospective impact”
    AAO decision text
  • other · discounted
    “while we recognize the value and importance of the industry, working in the field is insufficient to establish the national importance”
    AAO decision text

Where this case turned

  • 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
  • Local, not national scope · p1 — impact confined to clients / a region
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Notable

AAO expressly reserved the threshold EB-2 exceptional-ability classification issue, resolving the appeal solely on NIW prong 1 national importance grounds despite the Director's denial being based on both classification and discretion. AAO also treated the Petitioner's own cited non-precedent decisions as distinguishable because they involved publicly disseminated research with broader field impact, unlike the Petitioner's client-specific IT consulting work. AAO also noted that issues not raised on appeal are deemed waived, limiting its analysis to the points argued.

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. 103.3(c)
  • Flores v. Garland
  • Matter of L-A-C-
  • Matter of O-R-E-
  • Matter of R-A-M-

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