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, a truck driver who also operated his own sole-proprietorship trucking business, sought EB-2 classification and a national interest waiver to continue working in the trucking industry in the United States.
Field: trucking / transportation logistics · Read the decision (uscis.gov)
EB-2 threshold — not met
Petitioner failed to qualify as an advanced degree professional (insufficient evidence of five years of progressive post-baccalaureate experience via employer letters, and truck driver/owner occupation does not meet the regulatory definition of a profession) and failed to qualify as an individual of exceptional ability (salary comparison flawed and recommendation letters were conclusory/employer-specific rather than showing industry-wide recognition). Because the threshold classification failed, no final merits determination or NIW prong analysis was undertaken.
How the evidence was treated
- resume experience · discounted
“he did not list these positions on his U.S. Labor Department's ETA... Form 750 5 (or even on his resume) or provide letters from these two employers”
AAO decision text - recommendation letter · discounted
“While the letters demonstrate the authors' favorable opinions of him, they are insufficient to establish that he meets the plain language of this criterion.”
AAO decision text - other · discounted
“a comparison of the gross profit of his sole proprietorship to the median salary for heavy and tractor-trailer truck drivers is not a proper one”
AAO decision text
This record is one of thousands, each coded for the reasons it turned. A placement shows where your profile sits in that record, not what it predicts. See where your profile sits — 90 seconds →
Notable
The AAO found the threshold EB-2 classification issue dispositive and expressly declined to reach the Dhanasar NIW prongs at all, citing INS v. Bagamasbad and Matter of L-A-C- for the proposition that agencies need not decide unnecessary issues; thus the case turns entirely on failure to establish advanced degree professional or exceptional ability status, not on any NIW prong.
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. 103.2(b)(12)
- 8 C.F.R. 103.3
- Kazarian v. USCIS
- Matter of Katigbak
- Matter of L-A-C-
- Matter of O-R-E-
- Matter of R-A-M-
- Poursina v. USCIS
Cases in adjacent profiles
- The Petitioner, an aircraft mechanic and instructor, proposed to enhance aviation maintenance training programs, support
- The Petitioner seeks EB-2 classification as a member of the professions holding an advanced degree with a national inter
- The petitioner sought an EB-2 national interest waiver of the job offer requirement, but the substance of the proposed e
- The Beneficiary, sponsored by a private airline, sought EB-2 classification as an individual of exceptional ability in a
- The petitioner sought an EB-2 national interest waiver as a member of the professions holding an advanced degree; the sp