NIW Bearings
dismissedFEB022026_08B52032026-02-02 · appeal · SCOPS 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 proposed to develop and implement an AI-enabled multimodal interoperable health data platform for chronic disease management, integrating wearable and home diagnostic devices with healthcare institution systems to improve patient outcomes and reduce costs.

Field: digital product technical consulting / health data platform (interoperable chronic disease management) · Read the decision (uscis.gov)

EB-2 threshold — addressed

SCOPS and AAO both agreed the Petitioner qualifies as a member of the professions holding an advanced degree (master's in electrical engineering and information systems).

Prong 1 — national importancenot established · dispositive

“the Petitioner has not shown that her proposed endeavor would impact the U.S. healthcare more broadly rather than benefiting her employer, clients, and users of her health data platform.”
“the letters do not offer sufficient information and evidence to substantiate the claimed impact or establish its impact rising to the level of national importance.”
“the Petitioner's references speculate about how the Petitioner's platform may affect the field of healthcare at some point in the future.”
“the record does not provide sufficient details of the basis for these economic projections, nor does it adequately explain how the targeted number of platform users, Medicare savings, and domestic job creations will be realized.”
“the documents may show that the Petitioner's proposed endeavor indirectly supports the government's initiatives in promoting value-based care and digital health.”

AAO decision text

How the evidence was treated

  • recommendation letter · discounted
    “letters solicited by an alien in support of an immigration petition are of less weight than preexisting, independent evidence that one would expect of an accomplished digital product technical consultant”
    AAO decision text
  • other · discounted
    “the documents may show that the Petitioner's proposed endeavor indirectly supports the government's initiatives in promoting value-based care and digital health.”
    AAO decision text
  • other · discounted
    “lack of supporting details detracts from the credibility and probative value of the projections provided in the Petitioner's future plan.”
    AAO decision text

Where this case turned

  • Economic claims unsupported · p1 — job/revenue projections with no corroborating basis
  • 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
  • Letters conclusory · p1 — letters praise skills in general terms without tracing specific impact
  • Local, not national scope · p1 — impact confined to clients / a region
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Notable

AAO agreed with the Petitioner that SCOPS misquoted her proposed endeavor (erroneously quoting lessons learned from prior employment rather than her actual platform proposal), but nonetheless dismissed the appeal on the same prong 1 national importance ground. SCOPS had already conceded substantial merit (prong 1 first element) and that the Petitioner was well positioned (prong 2), making national importance the sole contested issue. The decision contains an apparent typographical error in the Petitioner's economic projections ('from 2030 to 2025' appears twice, likely meaning 2025 to 2030 and 2030 to 2035).

What this case teaches

Analyst reading of the decision text.

Decisive factor

Petitioner failed to show the platform's impact extended beyond her employer/clients/users to the broader healthcare industry, economy, or field at a nationally significant scale; economic projections lacked evidentiary basis.

Transferable lesson

Tie government-policy alignment and economic projections directly to the specific endeavor with substantiated methodology, and show impact beyond immediate employer/clients to demonstrate true national scale.

Endeavor framing

specific

National-importance theory

government_interest · public_health · economic_job_creation · us_competitiveness · field_advancement

Evidence targeting

mixed

Cases in adjacent profiles

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