The petitioner, an HR change-management specialist, proposed to leave employment and establish her own consultancy providing diversity, equity, and inclusion and change-management advisory services to small and medium-sized businesses nationwide.

Prong 1 — national importancenot established · dispositive

“The business plan does not provide the origins of these presumptive calculations, nor are the numbers corroborated by probative evidence to demonstrate the plausibility of the projected scale of the company's growth.”

“the Petitioner has not demonstrated that her proposed endeavor has significant potential to employ U.S. workers or otherwise offers substantial positive economic effects for the nation.”

“Neither the business plan nor the remaining evidence in the record demonstrate that the Petitioner's endeavor to operate a small business rises to the level of national importance.”

“We note that the record does not include-and the Petitioner does not reference-experience forming or operating a business, nor does any of the evidence of record contemplate fonding to finance the business.”

AAO decision text

How the evidence was treated

• business plan · discounted

  “the numbers corroborated by probative evidence to demonstrate the plausibility of the projected scale of the company's growth”

  AAO decision text
• recommendation letter · credited
• resume experience · ignored

  “evidence of the Petitioner's job experience and performance generally relates to the second prong of Matter of Dhanasar.”

  AAO decision text
• media · ignored

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
• Funding absent · p1 — no documented funding or resources behind the plan
• Local, not national scope · p1 — impact confined to clients / a region

Notable

AAO reversed the Director's application of Matter of Katigbak, holding that a business plan submitted post-filing in response to an RFE could still be considered because the endeavor was already contemplated pre-filing; nonetheless the appeal was dismissed on prong 1 national importance grounds, with prongs 2 and 3 expressly reserved though footnote 4 previewed concerns about lack of business experience and funding.

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
• Matter of Katigbak
• Matter of L-A-C-
• Poursina v. USCIS

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