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 proposes to conduct research as a research scientist developing state-of-the-art network architecture to enhance connectivity and performance of computer applications, including wireless urban networks, high-performance datacenter networks, and IoT security.
Field: computer science / network architecture · Read the decision (uscis.gov)
EB-2 threshold — addressed
AAO noted the Petitioner's master's degree was obtained after the petition filing date and thus could not support EB-2 advanced degree eligibility; the exceptional ability track was not decided and reserved for future consideration. No final finding of EB-2 ineligibility was made.
Prong 1 — national importancenot established · dispositive
“the relevant question is not the importance of the industry or profession in which the individual will work. Instead, we focus on the specific endeavor that the foreign national proposes to undertake.”
“they do not specifically mention the Petitioner's proposed endeavor and its impact rising to the level of national importance.”
“The record lacks sufficient information and evidence to demonstrate how his proposed research activities to develop state-of-the-art network architecture to enhance the connectivity and performance of computer applications will have broader implications within the U.S. wireless industry and its associated infrastructure more broadly rather than benefiting his employer, clients, or their customers.”
“merely working in an important field is insufficient to establish the national importance of the proposed endeavor.”
“the letters do not include persuasive and corroborating information about the Petitioner's proposed endeavor and its impact rising to the level of national importance.”
AAO decision text
How the evidence was treated
- other · discounted
“they do not specifically mention the Petitioner's proposed endeavor and its impact rising to the level of national importance.”
AAO decision text - funding · discounted
“The evidence shows the interest of the federal government in one of the past research projects on decentralized fallback networks that is relevant to the second prong of the Dhanasar framework.”
AAO decision text - recommendation letter · discounted
“the letters do not include persuasive and corroborating information about the Petitioner's proposed endeavor and its impact rising to the level of national importance.”
AAO decision text - citations publications · discounted
“the Petitioner's academic and professional achievements and research contributions to the field of computer science are related to the second prong of the Dhanasar framework.”
AAO decision text
Where this case turned
- Field importance conflated with endeavor · p1 — argues the field matters, not the specific endeavor
- Letters conclusory · p1 — letters praise skills in general terms without tracing specific impact
- Local, not national scope · p1 — impact confined to clients / a region
Notable
SCOPS had already conceded prongs 1 (substantial merit) and 2 at the service-center level, finding only national importance (part of prong 1) and prong 3 lacking; the AAO on de novo review agreed that national importance was not established and declined to reach prong 3. The AAO also noted that the Petitioner's master's degree, obtained after the petition filing date, could not be used to establish EB-2 advanced degree eligibility, though the exceptional ability track was left unresolved. DARPA/NSF funding was redirected to prong 2 relevance rather than credited under prong 1.
What this case teaches
Analyst reading of the decision text.
Evidence (articles, funding, expert letters) showed importance of the wireless/network field generally and petitioner's skill, but never tied his specific proposed research to national-level impact beyond his employer or clients.
Directly link the specific endeavor—not the industry or the petitioner's credentials—to concrete, nationally scaled outcomes with named beneficiaries or evidence of broad deployment.
moderate
critical_emerging_tech · economic_growth_generic · national_security · us_competitiveness · field_advancement
person_focused
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