dismissedAUG142024_01B52032024-08-14 · 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, an accountant/senior business associate in financial services, proposed to research financial institutions' readiness for AI-driven credit risk assessment, share findings with the U.S. Treasury Department, and join the Treasury as a financial analyst focused on responsible AI integration in the financial sector.
Field: financial services / accounting, AI in credit risk assessment · Read the decision (uscis.gov)
EB-2 threshold — addressed
Director found, and AAO agreed, Petitioner qualified for EB-2 classification as an advanced degree professional based on his US MBA.
Prong 1 — national importancenot established · dispositive
“Our assessment of national importance does not focus on the importance of issues affecting a field or our nation in general, but "focuses on the specific endeavor that the foreign national proposes to undertake."”
“none of the documents mention the Petitioner or address the potential prospective impact of his proposed endeavor”
“these letters praise the Petitioner's research and past work and express confidence in his ability to contribute to the financial sector in the United States, they do not specifically address the potential prospective impact of his proposed endeavor”
“he did not submit evidence that his article has been cited or otherwise relied upon by other researchers or professionals in his field”
“the record does not show that the Petitioner's proposed endeavor stands to sufficiently extend beyond his work with a single government entity to impact his field more broadly”
AAO decision text
How the evidence was treated
- recommendation letter · discounted
“they do not specifically address the potential prospective impact of his proposed endeavor”
AAO decision text - citations publications · discounted
“he did not submit evidence that his article has been cited or otherwise relied upon by other researchers or professionals in his field”
AAO decision text - other · discounted
“these documents address the importance of responsible use of AI, but do not address the Petitioner's proposed endeavor”
AAO decision text - degree · credited
Where this case turned
- Citations insufficient · p1 — citation counts without qualitative account of impact
- 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
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Notable
AAO withdrew the Director's finding on substantial merit (prong 1 part 1) but still affirmed denial on national importance (prong 1 part 2), illustrating that substantial merit and national importance are analyzed as distinct sub-components within prong 1.
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
- Flores v. Garland
- Matter of L-A-C-
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