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 brand consultant and chief executive, sought to continue work in brand consulting in the United States, though the specifics of the endeavor were not analyzed due to the procedural remand.
Field: brand consulting · Read the decision (uscis.gov)
EB-2 threshold — addressed
The Director failed to resolve whether the Petitioner qualified as an advanced degree professional or as an individual of exceptional ability before proceeding to the Dhanasar analysis; the Director's RFE mischaracterized the criterion under which the Petitioner sought eligibility, and the denial provided no analysis of either basis of eligibility.
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Notable
This is a procedural remand: the AAO found the Director's decision 'insufficient for review' because the Director conducted a Dhanasar national interest waiver analysis without first determining whether the Petitioner met the threshold EB-2 classification (advanced degree professional or exceptional ability). The Director's RFE mischaracterized the Petitioner's claimed eligibility category, addressing exceptional ability when the Petitioner had claimed eligibility as an advanced degree professional. The AAO expressed no opinion on the ultimate merits and remanded for a new decision addressing the threshold issue first.
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.
- INA 203(b)(2)
What this case teaches
Analyst reading of the decision text.
Director skipped the threshold determination of EB-2 eligibility (advanced degree or exceptional ability) and jumped straight to Dhanasar analysis, making the decision unreviewable.
Ensure the underlying EB-2 classification (advanced degree or exceptional ability) is expressly adjudicated before any Dhanasar national-interest analysis; procedural sequencing errors can force remand regardless of merits.
vague
mixed
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