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 helicopter pilot, sought to work in the United States, claiming eligibility as an individual of exceptional ability and a national interest waiver of the job offer requirement.
Field: helicopter aviation · Read the decision (uscis.gov)
EB-2 threshold — not met
AAO agreed with the Director that although three criteria were formally satisfied (with one criterion withdrawn), the totality of evidence did not show a degree of expertise significantly above that ordinarily encountered in the field; the aviation school certificates were not established as an 'official academic record' from a qualifying institution of learning.
How the evidence was treated
- degree · discounted
“the Petitioner has not sufficiently established that [] qualifies as a "college, university, school or other institution of learning"”
AAO decision text - resume experience · discounted
This record is one of thousands, each coded for the reasons it turned. A placement shows where your profile sits in that record, not what it predicts. See where your profile sits — 90 seconds →
Notable
AAO exercised de novo review to withdraw one of the Director's three-criteria findings (the academic-record criterion under 8 C.F.R. 204.5(k)(3)(ii)(A)) as improperly analyzed, but still affirmed the ultimate exceptional-ability denial via the final merits determination using the adopt-and-affirm doctrine (Matter of Burbano). Because threshold classification failed, all three Dhanasar prongs were expressly reserved and not analyzed.
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. 204.5(k)(2)
- 8 C.F.R. 204.5(k)(3)(iii)
- Chen v. INS
- Matter of L-A-C-
- Poursina v. USCIS
Cases in adjacent profiles
- The Petitioner, an aircraft mechanic and instructor, proposed to enhance aviation maintenance training programs, support
- The Petitioner seeks EB-2 classification as a member of the professions holding an advanced degree with a national inter
- The petitioner sought an EB-2 national interest waiver of the job offer requirement, but the substance of the proposed e
- The Beneficiary, sponsored by a private airline, sought EB-2 classification as an individual of exceptional ability in a
- The petitioner sought an EB-2 national interest waiver as a member of the professions holding an advanced degree; the sp