NIW Bearings
dismissedFEB102026_03B52032026-02-10 · 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, a sustainable design consultant, proposed to establish a modular housing enterprise in Florida that constructs affordable, energy-efficient homes from recycled shipping containers, aiming to transform U.S. urban housing through innovative sustainable design.

Field: sustainable design / sustainable architecture and urban planning · Read the decision (uscis.gov)

Prong 1 — national importancenot established · dispositive

“Much of the Petitioner's evidence relates to affordable housing supply and access generally, rather than her specific proposed endeavor.”
“the evidence does not suggest that the Petitioner's skills differ from or improve upon those already available and in use in the United States.”
“Nor does the evidence demonstrate that the use of the Petitioner's experience will reach beyond benefitting her own company and clients or have broader implications within the field.”
“The Petitioner does not explain how her company's revenue ($1.9 million) and job creation (13 employees) as stated in the business plan support her claim that her 'business model will make a significant impact not only on Florida's housing sector but also on the U.S. economy at large.'”
“the Petitioner does not elaborate on the 31 indirect jobs the RIMS II calculation anticipates her company will create, such as the type of jobs those would be, a breakdown of part-time versus full-time positions, and where they would be created.”
“It is not the importance of the field that determines an endeavor's national importance, but rather how the specific endeavor will impact the field on a level commensurate with national importance.”

AAO decision text

How the evidence was treated

  • business plan · discounted
    “the Petitioner does not elaborate on the 31 indirect jobs the RIMS II calculation anticipates her company will create, such as the type of jobs those would be”
    AAO decision text
  • recommendation letter · discounted
    “This conclusion ignores the requirements of Dhanasar. It is not the importance of the field that determines an endeavor's national importance”
    AAO decision text
  • other · discounted
    “these reports are not specific to the Petitioner's proposed endeavor”
    AAO decision text
  • degree · discounted
    “the diploma issued by [redacted] is illegible and does not reflect the Petitioner's name, the date of issuance, or the diploma's title.”
    AAO decision text
  • resume experience · credited
All 6 evidence items
  • certification membership · credited

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
  • 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
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Notable

SCOPS made a notable factual error in both the RFE and denial decision by referencing a different petitioner's proposed endeavor ('providing comprehensive HR services with a specific focus on addressing domestic violence in the workplace') before correctly identifying the Petitioner's actual endeavor. The AAO found this error harmless and non-material. The business plan was dated May 2025, approximately one year after the petition filing date, raising an eligibility-at-time-of-filing issue under 8 C.F.R. § 103.2(b)(12). The AAO also flagged that an illegible diploma may undermine the advanced degree finding and directed the Petitioner to submit proper academic records in any future filings, though the threshold EB-2 determination was formally reserved.

What this case teaches

Analyst reading of the decision text.

Decisive factor

Petitioner's evidence (articles, business plan, expert letter) showed importance of affordable housing generally, not that her specific endeavor's impact reached national-level significance.

Transferable lesson

Tie concrete metrics (jobs, revenue, geographic reach) directly to the specific endeavor's national-scale impact, not to the general importance of the industry or field.

Endeavor framing

moderate

National-importance theory

economic_job_creation · economic_growth_generic · field_advancement

Evidence targeting

person_focused

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