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 fashion designer, sought to continue operating her own sustainable, bespoke fashion design studio using an 'end-to-end' production model with novel sewing techniques and materials, and to open a Washington, D.C. showroom for design, production, retail, and community events.
Field: sustainable fashion design · Read the decision (uscis.gov)
EB-2 threshold — addressed
The Director did not decide this issue; the AAO concluded the petitioner qualifies as an advanced degree professional based on a foreign equivalent bachelor's degree plus at least five years of progressive experience.
Prong 1 — national importancenot established · dispositive
“the record does not clearly establish how the Petitioner's model or methods are sufficiently innovative or distinct from those in other similar custom design studios”
“this is primarily an impact on the Petitioner's individual clients and collaborators”
“the letter writer does not establish their expertise to assert this claim”
“the Petitioner has not shown that her proposed endeavor stands to sufficiently extend beyond her clients to impact the fashion industry at a level commensurate with national importance”
AAO decision text
How the evidence was treated
- recommendation letter · discounted
“the submission of expert letters is not presumptive of eligibility”
AAO decision text - media · discounted
“we conclude that this evidence does not sufficiently establish the national importance of the proposed endeavor”
AAO decision text - business plan · discounted
“the record does not clearly establish how the Petitioner's model or methods are sufficiently innovative or distinct”
AAO decision text - degree · credited
Where this case turned
- Economic claims unsupported · p1 — job/revenue projections with no corroborating basis
- 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
The petitioner argued her sustainable production model qualified as an 'improved manufacturing process' under Dhanasar's national-importance examples; the AAO rejected this analogy for lack of evidence of innovation or distinctiveness compared to other custom design studios, and reserved judgment on prongs 2 and 3.
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(g)(1)
- 8 C.F.R. 204.5(k)(2)
- Matter of L-A-C-
- Poursina v. USCIS
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