The Petitioner sought to operate an IT business providing customized software services to individual clients, based on existing and operational tools.

Prong 1 — national importancenot established

“We acknowledge the importance of IT and STEM fields, and also of addressing the nation's shortage of IT professionals; however, the Petitioner has not sufficiently explained how his work as an entrepreneur would resolve the shortage or produce an impact rising to the level of national importance.”

“The Petitioner's proposed endeavor entails provision of IT services to individual clients, which has a more limited impact, and his business plan does not indicate that the Petitioner is engaged in developing new business intelligence technology.”

AAO decision text

How the evidence was treated

• business plan · discounted

  “his "customized software ... [is] based on existing and operational tools."”

  AAO decision text

Where this case turned

• Field importance conflated with endeavor · p1 — argues the field matters, not the specific endeavor
• Local, not national scope · p1 — impact confined to clients / a region
• Occupational shortage argument rejected · p1 — argues a labor shortage — the labor-certification question, not Dhanasar

Notable

This decision is procedural: it dismisses an untimely motion to reconsider on timeliness grounds (8 C.F.R. 103.5(a)(1)(i) provides no discretion to excuse untimely motions to reconsider, unlike motions to reopen). The footnote additionally addresses the merits in the alternative, rejecting the Petitioner's argument that STEM policy guidance (6 USCIS Policy Manual F.5(D)(2)) should have changed the national importance finding, distinguishing between advancing STEM technologies/research versus providing IT services to individual clients using existing tools.

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. 103.5

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