The Petitioner, a petroleum drilling engineer specializing in casing and cementing operations for off-shore wells, proposed to continue working in that role for his current employer in the United States.

Prong 1 — national importancenot established · dispositive

“he noted that the benefits of this work would be limited to his employer and would not impact the field more broadly.”

“The record includes substantial evidence regarding the importance of the oil and gas industry, but does not establish that the Petitioner's proposed endeavor to continue working for his current employer as a drilling engineer specializing in casing and cementing would have those same implications.”

AAO decision text

Prong 2 — well positionedestablished

How the evidence was treated

• recommendation letter · discounted

  “the benefits of this work would be limited to his employer and would not impact the field more broadly.”

  AAO decision text
• other · discounted

  “The record includes substantial evidence regarding the importance of the oil and gas industry, but does not establish that the Petitioner's proposed endeavor... would have those same implications.”

  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

Notable

The Petitioner argued that the Director's phrase about the endeavor's benefits needing to 'extend beyond' the employer was 'baseless terminology' not found verbatim in Dhanasar; AAO rejected this, explaining the phrase was consistent with Dhanasar's 'broader implications' analysis. AAO expressly declined to reach the third prong, citing INS v. Bagamasbad for the principle that agencies need not decide issues unnecessary to the result.

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
• Poursina v. USCIS

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