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 sought to develop and optimize personalized financial strategies for retirement and pension planning in the U.S., advancing this through his own consulting business that he projected would eventually hire 49 full-time employees.
Field: financial engineering / retirement and pension planning · Read the decision (uscis.gov)
EB-2 threshold — addressed
AAO agreed with SCOPS that Petitioner qualifies as an advanced degree professional based on his bachelor's degree and progressive employment experience.
Prong 1 — national importancenot established · dispositive
“they provide a general overview of the field and do not discuss the specific nature of the Petitioner's endeavor or the details of his personalized financial strategies or models that would broadly impact the field.”
“Merely working in an important field is insufficient to establish the national importance of the proposed endeavor.”
“the letters discuss the significance of financial management and education in general and reiterate the Petitioner's education background or the information in the business plan already in the record.”
“the record lacks independent and corroborating evidence to support the basis of the financial and staffing projections in his business plan.”
“the Petitioner has not established his proposed endeavor in this case will sufficiently extend beyond his clientele and employees to affect the regional or national economy or impact the field broadly at a level commensurate with national importance.”
AAO decision text
How the evidence was treated
- recommendation letter · discounted
“the letters discuss the significance of financial management and education in general and reiterate the Petitioner's education background”
AAO decision text - business plan · discounted
“the record lacks independent and corroborating evidence to support the basis of the financial and staffing projections in his business plan.”
AAO decision text - resume experience · credited
- degree · credited
- other · discounted
“None of the articles and reports specifically mention the Petitioner's endeavor or discuss the government's interest in promoting the use of the Petitioner's innovation or solutions.”
AAO decision text
Where this case turned
- Business plan speculative · p1 — projections without a documented basis or steps
- 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
Notable
Petitioner argued SCOPS abused its discretion by mischaracterizing evidence and misapplying Dhanasar (citing Buletini v. INS); AAO rejected this, holding SCOPS need not address every piece of evidence individually and that its use of terms like 'cultural' impact was consistent with USCIS Policy Manual guidance. AAO explicitly declined to reach prongs two and three, citing INS v. Bagamasbad, and stated its prong-one holding as an independent and alternate basis for dismissal.
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
- Buletini v. INS
- Flores v. Garland
- Matter of E-M-
What this case teaches
Analyst reading of the decision text.
Petitioner failed to show his specific financial strategies/methodologies had broad field or economic impact beyond his own clientele and employees, unsupported by expert or government letters tying his endeavor to national interest.
Support economic/impact projections with independent corroboration and expert/government letters tied to the specific endeavor, not general field importance or personal credentials.
vague
economic_job_creation · economic_growth_generic · field_advancement
person_focused
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