NIW Bearings
dismissedAUG222024_01B52032024-08-22 · 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 own and serve as IT project manager for a startup developing a parking-finder mobile application that would guide drivers to available parking spots in real time.

Field: information technology / mobile application development · Read the decision (uscis.gov)

EB-2 threshold — addressed

Director and AAO agreed Petitioner qualified for EB-2 as an advanced degree professional based on bachelor's equivalent plus five years of progressive IT experience.

Prong 1 — national importancenot established · dispositive

“The Director determined that the Petitioner did not establish that his proposed endeavor would sufficiently extend beyond an organization and its clients to impact the industry or field more broadly.”
“The Petitioner does not specify what evidence supports these claims.”
“The plan does not explain the basis for these projections but states the smartphone application development industry revenue was estimated to be $176.6 billion in 2023.”
“The record also does not establish that the Petitioner's company would operate in economically depressed areas.”
“none ofthe articles mention the Petitioner or address his company and they do not demonstrate the potential prospective impact of his proposed endeavor.”
“the record does not show that the Petitioner's proposed endeavor stands to sufficiently extend beyond his company's clients to impact his field more broadly”

AAO decision text

How the evidence was treated

  • business plan · discounted
    “The plan does not explain the basis for these projections”
    AAO decision text
  • other · discounted
    “none ofthe articles mention the Petitioner or address his company”
    AAO decision text

Where this case turned

  • Business plan speculative · p1 — projections without a documented basis or steps
  • Economic claims unsupported · p1 — job/revenue projections with no corroborating basis
  • 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
1,312coded 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 cites Flores v. Garland (5th Cir. 2023) to affirm that NIW grant/denial is a discretionary determination, aligning with Ninth, Eleventh, and D.C. Circuits.

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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