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 business manager, proposed an endeavor in business administration, though the record's academic credentials primarily concerned mechanical engineering.
Field: business administration/mechanical engineering · Read the decision (uscis.gov)
EB-2 threshold — not met
Record does not establish the Petitioner qualifies as a member of the professions holding an advanced degree; the foreign bachelor's degree is in mechanical engineering, dissimilar to the proposed endeavor's field of business administration, and regulations require a single degree plus five years' progressive experience 'in the specialty,' not a mismatched bachelor's degree combined with a post-graduate certificate.
How the evidence was treated
- degree · discounted
“a specialty that appears to be dissimilar to business administration, the focus of the proposed endeavor”
AAO decision text
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Notable
The Director conducted a Dhanasar analysis without first determining threshold EB-2 eligibility; AAO found the Director's decision insufficient for review and remanded solely on the threshold advanced-degree issue (degree/specialty mismatch), expressly declining to reach any Dhanasar prong or express an opinion on the case's ultimate resolution.
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. 204.5(k)(2)
- INA 203(b)(2)
What this case teaches
Analyst reading of the decision text.
Director skipped threshold question of advanced-degree/exceptional-ability eligibility and proceeded directly to Dhanasar; record showed degree mismatch (mechanical engineering vs. business), making decision unreviewable.
Ensure the underlying EB-2 classification (advanced degree/exceptional ability, degree matching the specialty) is clearly established before NIW merits are litigated; mismatched degree-endeavor fields invite remand.
vague
mixed
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