NIW Bearings
dismissedDEC282018_01B52032018-12-28 · 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.

A sixth grade public school math teacher proposed to continue teaching math and special education while pursuing a master's degree in special education, aiming to develop innovative teaching strategies for special education students.

Field: K-12 math and special education · Read the decision (uscis.gov)

EB-2 threshold — not met

The AAO disagreed with the Director and found the Petitioner had not submitted a diploma or official transcripts proving her baccalaureate degree, but proceeded to analyze the NIW prongs anyway.

Prong 1 — national importancenot established

“the Petitioner has not submitted sufficient evidence to demonstrate that her proposed endeavor is of national importance”
“The Director found that her work as a sixth grade math teacher did not offer benefits beyond her local school district”
“the record does not demonstrate that the potential prospective impact of her mentorship rises to a level of having national importance”

AAO decision text

Prong 2 — well positionedestablished

Prong 3 — balance of factorsnot established

“she did not articulate or provide evidence to support the economic benefit which would be derived from her work”
“a shortage alone does not demonstrate that waiving the requirement of a labor certification would benefit the United States”
“the Petitioner has not asserted that her qualifications or her endeavor as a public school teacher present obstacles to the labor certification process”
“we find that the Petitioner has not established that, on balance, it would be beneficial to the United States to waive the requirements of a job offer and thus of a labor certification”

AAO decision text

How the evidence was treated

  • degree · discounted
    “it does not include a diploma or official transcripts as evidence of her baccalaureate degree”
    AAO decision text
  • resume experience · credited
  • recommendation letter · credited
  • awards · credited
  • funding · discounted
    “could not be considered as they did not exist when her petition was filed on January 14, 2016”
    AAO decision text
All 7 evidence items
  • other · discounted
    “did not provide evidence about this website or how sharing her book on it stands to have an impact”
    AAO decision text
  • certification membership · credited

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
  • Derivative of Prong 1/2 failure · p3 — prong three fails only because prongs one or two did — no independent ground
  • Economic claims unsupported · p3 — job/revenue projections with no corroborating basis
  • Occupational shortage argument rejected · p3 — argues a labor shortage — the labor-certification question, not Dhanasar
  • Urgency not established · p3 — no reason shown why the benefit cannot wait for labour certification
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Notable

AAO found the Petitioner failed to establish underlying EB-2 eligibility due to missing degree documentation, but proceeded to analyze the NIW prongs regardless; instructed that such evidence must be submitted in any further proceedings. Also rejected a national teacher-shortage argument as insufficient to establish either national importance or benefit of waiver, noting shortages are addressed through the labor certification process itself.

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