dismissedDEC152021_01B52032021-12-15 · 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, an oil and gas industry consultant with an electrical engineering background, proposed to secure employment with a local oil industry service firm and provide research, development, and consulting services to help oil and gas companies meet increasing U.S. production demands.
Field: oil and gas industry consulting / electrical engineering · Read the decision (uscis.gov)
Prong 1 — national importancenot established · dispositive
“The record does not demonstrate that the [P]etitioner's proposed endeavor in this case stands to sufficiently extend beyond an organization [the company/employer] and its clients to impact he industry or field more broadly.”
“the relevant question is not the importance of the industry, field, or profession in which an individual will work”
“without elaborating on how helping that specific employer would have broader implications to rise to the level of national importance”
“they discuss the Petitioner's prior accomplishments, which is material to the second Dhanasar prong-whether a petitioner is well-positioned to advance a proposed endeavor-not material to the first prong”
AAO decision text
How the evidence was treated
- recommendation letter · discounted
“does not address the prospective endeavor the Petitioner proposes in the petition”
AAO decision text
Where this case turned
- Employer-specific benefit · p1 — "work furthers my company's product" — value accrues to one firm
- Field importance conflated with endeavor · p1 — argues the field matters, not the specific endeavor
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Notable
The Petitioner's description of the proposed endeavor shifted between the initial filing (general oil and gas consulting) and the RFE response (electrical engineering in oil & gas, specifically involving technology), which the AAO implicitly treated as underscoring the lack of a well-defined national-importance showing.
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-
- Section 291 of the Act
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