NIW Bearings
dismissedDEC182023_05B52032023-12-18 · 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, a Portuguese teacher at a Brazilian learning center in Florida, proposed to continue teaching while creating educational programs and materials for Brazilian immigrant children, training other educators, and eventually opening her own learning center.

Field: early childhood / elementary education (Portuguese teacher) · Read the decision (uscis.gov)

EB-2 threshold — not met

AAO withdrew the Director's finding that Petitioner qualifies as an EB-2 advanced degree professional, concluding her Brazilian credentials (Licenciada em Pedagogia and Diploma de Professor de Educacao Infantil) were not shown to be equivalent to a U.S. baccalaureate degree; the evaluator's opinion was rejected as unsupported and inconsistent with EDGE. This finding did not form the basis of the denial since Petitioner lacked notice/opportunity to address it.

Prong 1 — national importancenot established · dispositive

“the relevant question when assessing an endeavor's importance is the impact that will be specifically attributable to it”
“she does not state what format those programs will have, what they will teach, how many children they will serve, or any other information about what these programs will entail”
“The Petitioner has provided no documentation quantifying any specific economic impact her individual endeavor will have”
“she does not provide evidence explaining how her individual work as a teacher will resolve these shortages or impact them on a level rising to national importance”

AAO decision text

How the evidence was treated

  • recommendation letter · discounted
    “the letters do not document any impact the Petitioner has had or will have on the fields of education or childcare beyond her immediate professional circle”
    AAO decision text
  • degree · discounted
    “we will not accept his evaluation or grant it any evidentiary weight”
    AAO decision text
  • resume experience · discounted
    “The Petitioner's resume indicates that she attended her degree program from January 2009 to December 2011, or three years”
    AAO decision text
  • other · discounted
    “a shortage of qualified workers in an occupation is not sufficient, in and of itself, to establish that workers in that occupation should receive a waiver of the job offer requirement”
    AAO decision text

Where this case turned

  • Economic claims unsupported · p1 — job/revenue projections with no corroborating basis
  • Endeavor too vague · p1 — described as a job role, not a defined undertaking
  • Field importance conflated with endeavor · p1 — argues the field matters, not the specific endeavor
  • Occupational shortage argument rejected · p1 — argues a labor shortage — the labor-certification question, not Dhanasar
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Notable

AAO withdrew the Director's threshold EB-2 advanced-degree finding (finding the foreign credentials not equivalent to a U.S. baccalaureate) but declined to make this the basis of denial because Petitioner lacked notice; it nonetheless proceeded to analyze the NIW prongs and denied on prong 1 alone, reserving prongs 2 and 3.

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
  • 8 C.F.R. 204.5(k)(2)
  • Matter of Caron Int'l
  • Matter of Ho
  • Matter of L-A-C-
  • USCIS Policy Manual F.5(D)(1)

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