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 proposed to open a financial management consultancy office serving financial institutions, hotels, and property management businesses, working as a general and operations manager.
Field: financial management consultancy · Read the decision (uscis.gov)
EB-2 threshold — addressed
Director found Petitioner eligible for EB-2 as an advanced degree professional based on degree and five years progressive experience; not disputed on appeal.
Prong 1 — national importancenot established · dispositive
“the Petitioner does not explain how or why a nominal number ofjobs in a county of more than 18,000 residents would impact the field more broadly”
“The Petitioner's appellate arguments under Dhanasar 's first prong are inadequate to demonstrate his endeavor has national importance.”
AAO decision text
How the evidence was treated
- other · discounted
“the Petitioner does not explain how or why a nominal number ofjobs in a county of more than 18,000 residents would impact the field more broadly”
AAO decision text
Where this case turned
- Economic claims unsupported · p1 — job/revenue projections with no corroborating basis
- Local, not national scope · p1 — impact confined to clients / a region
Notable
AAO also addressed and rejected a discretionary-analysis argument, clarifying the denial was not solely discretionary but based on failure to meet Dhanasar's first and (implicitly) third prongs; AAO explicitly declined to reach prongs 2 and 3 as unnecessary.
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.
- Flores v. Garland
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