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 former Georgian English teacher, planned to found a U.S. organization offering English classes and vocational training (e.g., bookkeeping, restaurant, home care) to help newcomers assimilate, serving as its education and civic engagement director.
Field: English language education / immigrant assimilation and vocational training · Read the decision (uscis.gov)
EB-2 threshold — addressed
Director and AAO agreed she qualified as an advanced degree professional based on a bachelor's-equivalent degree plus five years of progressive teaching experience.
Prong 1 — national importancenot established · dispositive
“The Director found insufficient evidence that the venture would impact more than the Petitioner's organization, its employees, and its clients.”
“neither the plan nor its addendum indicates that the endeavor would affect the economy on a national level”
“she does not describe the approaches or explain their innovations”
“the addendum to the Petitioner's business plan does not explain the calculations of the business's revenue, profit, and personnel forecasts”
AAO decision text
How the evidence was treated
- business plan · discounted
“does not explain the calculations of the business's revenue, profit, and personnel forecasts”
AAO decision text - recommendation letter · discounted
“Despite evidence of investors and trainers, the Petitioner has not sufficiently demonstrated that her particular endeavor would have enough scope”
AAO decision text - degree · credited
- resume experience · 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
- Endeavor too vague · p1 — described as a job role, not a defined undertaking
- Local, not national scope · p1 — impact confined to clients / a region
Notable
The AAO expressly analogized the case to Dhanasar's own hypothetical STEM-teaching petitioner, noting that endeavor there was found meritorious but lacking demonstrated broader field-wide impact, the same reasoning applied here to deny national importance.
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. 204.5(k)(2)
- INA 203(b)(2)
- Matter of L-A-C-
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