dismissedAUG162024_01B52032024-08-16 · appeal · Nebraska 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 develop climate models predicting groundwater depletion rates and assessing broader climate-change impacts on groundwater resources.
Field: geoscience / climate and groundwater modeling · Read the decision (uscis.gov)
EB-2 threshold — addressed
Director found Petitioner qualified as an advanced degree professional; this was not contested and was not revisited by AAO.
Prong 1 — national importancenot established · dispositive
“he has not sufficiently explained or demonstrated how his specific models offer original innovations to advance, or otherwise have broader implications in, the field of groundwater conservation”
“the letters of recommendation, while speaking highly of the Petitioner, do not specifically address the Petitioner's proposed endeavor or discuss in sufficient detail the impact”
“the Petitioner makes no claim and submits no evidence regarding whether his endeavor has significant potential to employ U.S. workers or would have substantial positive economic effects”
“our focus is on the specific endeavor that the Petitioner proposes to undertake rather than the importance of the industry or profession in which the individual will work”
AAO decision text
How the evidence was treated
- recommendation letter · discounted
“do not specifically address the Petitioner's proposed endeavor or discuss in sufficient detail the impact”
AAO decision text - citations publications · discounted
“relates to whether the Petitioner is well positioned to advance his proposed endeavor rather than whether his proposed endeavor is nationally important”
AAO decision text - resume experience · discounted
“relates to whether the Petitioner is well positioned to advance his proposed endeavor rather than whether his proposed endeavor is nationally important”
AAO decision text - other · discounted
“our focus is on the specific endeavor that the Petitioner proposes to undertake rather than the importance of the industry or profession”
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
2,589coded 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 noted an unaddressed inconsistency between two recommendation letters describing conflicting purposes for the endeavor (oil/gas exploration vs. energy industry petrophysical analysis), which undermined the national importance claim.
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.
- Matter of L-A-C-
- Poursina v. USCIS
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