NIW Bearings
dismissedFEB102026_04B52032026-02-10 · 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 senior petroleum engineer, proposed to enhance U.S. energy security by optimizing mature oil and gas fields, developing natural gas resources, and improving well integrity management, first by joining a major U.S. oil and gas company and then by establishing a consulting firm specializing in well integrity, energy optimization, and sustainability solutions.

Field: petroleum engineering / energy security and sustainability · Read the decision (uscis.gov)

EB-2 threshold — addressed

SCOPS found the Petitioner qualifies as a member of the professions holding an advanced degree (Master of Engineering in sustainable energy); not contested on appeal.

Prong 1 — national importancenot established · dispositive

“the record does not establish that the Petitioner's proposed endeavor's impact will be nationally important.”
“the Petitioner does not provide sufficient detail of the basis of these projections or adequately explain how these staffing targets and revenue forecasts will be realized.”
“Benefits to a specific employer alone, even an employer with a national footprint, are not sufficiently relevant to the question of whether a person's endeavor has national importance.”
“the relevant question when determining whether a proposed endeavor would have national importance is not the importance of the field, industry, or profession in which the individual will work”
“the record does not establish that the endeavor will have a measurable impact beyond the Petitioner's employer and business to reach the level of national or even global impact.”

AAO decision text

How the evidence was treated

  • resume experience · discounted
    “Although an individual's experience, qualifications, contributions, and achievements are material, they are misplaced in the context of the first Dhanasar prong.”
    AAO decision text
  • recommendation letter · discounted
    “these assertions are not supported by concrete examples or detailed explanations demonstrating the proposed endeavor's national importance.”
    AAO decision text
  • business plan · discounted
    “the Petitioner does not provide sufficient detail of the basis of these projections or adequately explain how these staffing targets and revenue forecasts will be realized.”
    AAO decision text
  • other · discounted
    “the record does not include adequate corroborating evidence, to show that the Petitioner's specific proposed endeavor offers broader implications in his field”
    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
  • 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
  • Local, not national scope · p1 — impact confined to clients / a region
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Notable

SCOPS had already conceded substantial merit under prong 1, so the AAO's analysis focused exclusively on the national importance sub-element. The AAO explicitly noted that the Petitioner's professional qualifications and recommendation letters, while positive, are 'generally immaterial to the first Dhanasar prong,' drawing a clear line between prong 1 (endeavor-focused) and prong 2 (individual-focused) analysis. The decision declined to reach prongs 2 and 3 as the prong 1 national importance failure was dispositive.

What this case teaches

Analyst reading of the decision text.

Decisive factor

Petitioner failed to show the specific endeavor's impact reaches beyond his employer/firm to a field, region, or national scale; projections lacked evidentiary support.

Transferable lesson

Support job creation/revenue projections with concrete methodology and tie the endeavor's impact explicitly to broader field/regional/national effects, not just employer benefit.

Endeavor framing

moderate

National-importance theory

economic_job_creation · economic_growth_generic · field_advancement · us_competitiveness

Evidence targeting

person_focused

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