NIW Bearings
dismissedFEB242026_01B52032026-02-24 · 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, an electrical engineer with a claimed Master of Engineering in Information and Communication Engineering, sought an EB-2 national interest waiver to work in the United States. The specific proposed endeavor was not reached by the AAO due to threshold eligibility failure.

Field: electrical engineering / information and communication engineering · Read the decision (uscis.gov)

EB-2 threshold — not met

Petitioner failed to submit an official academic record for the master's degree asserted as the basis for EB-2 eligibility, as required by 8 C.F.R. § 204.5(k)(3). The translation certification submitted was also deficient under 8 C.F.R. § 103.2(b)(3) for not attesting translator competency. A partially completed Ph.D. could not establish eligibility as it was incomplete at filing. The AAO found the threshold failure dispositive and declined to reach the Dhanasar prongs.

How the evidence was treated

  • degree · discounted
    the record still does not contain a copy of an official academic record for the degree with which the Petitioner asserts eligibility for second preference classification
    AAO decision text
  • other · discounted
    The certification does not state whether the individual who translated the document is competent to translate from the foreign language into English
    AAO decision text
  • motion resubmission · discounted
    despite having been on notice of the specific evidentiary requirement, and given a reasonable opportunity to provide the evidence, which was reasonably available to her at the time it should have been submitted
    AAO decision text

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

The case was decided entirely on the threshold EB-2 eligibility question. The Petitioner never submitted an official academic record for her claimed master's degree despite an RFE specifically requesting it; she submitted only transcripts for a different, non-qualifying degree and a partially completed Ph.D. program. The AAO also noted the translation certification was deficient for failing to attest translator competency, but found the missing official academic record alone dispositive. All three Dhanasar prongs were expressly reserved under INS v. Bagamasbad. The decision is processed under SCOPS (Service Center Operations) rather than a named service center.

Cases in adjacent profiles