NIW Bearings
dismissedJAN052024_01B52032024-01-05 · appeal · Texas 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 entrepreneur in nursing, proposed to operate her own company providing nursing home care and assisted housing services to elderly patients, with plans to franchise nationwide and offer telemedicine options.

Field: nursing / home health care · Read the decision (uscis.gov)

Prong 1 — national importancenot established · dispositive

the record does not show how expanding her endeavor through franchising and telemedicine will have an impact that extends beyond her clients to the broader field of nursing or home healthcare
the United States does not have a shortage of nursing jobs, but of qualified workers to fill them
the Petitioner improperly relies upon the importance of the industry as sufficient to establish the national importance of her proposed endeavor
There is no additional evidence to establish the Petitioner's experience in research, there are no detailed plans for the research she proposes

AAO decision text

How the evidence was treated

  • business plan · discounted
    the record does not show how expanding her endeavor through franchising and telemedicine will have an impact that extends beyond her clients
    AAO decision text
  • recommendation letter · discounted
    This evidence shows the Petitioner's extensive experience in the field, but does not demonstrate her proposed endeavor's national importance.
    AAO decision text
  • certification membership · discounted
    This evidence shows the Petitioner's extensive experience in the field, but does not demonstrate her proposed endeavor's national importance.
    AAO decision text
  • other · discounted
    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
    AAO decision text

Where this case turned

  • Business plan speculative · p1projections without a documented basis or steps
  • Field importance conflated with endeavor · p1argues the field matters, not the specific endeavor
  • Local, not national scope · p1impact confined to clients / a region
  • Occupational shortage argument rejected · p1argues a labor shortage — the labor-certification question, not Dhanasar
1,312coded decisions carry the failure named in this record. A placement shows where your profile sits among them, not what it predicts.See where your profile sits — 90 seconds

Notable

AAO faulted the Petitioner for asserting on appeal that the Director 'mistaken the facts' and 'misinterpreted the law' without pointing to specific examples; also declined to reach EB-2 classification and remaining Dhanasar prongs as the first-prong failure was dispositive.

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
  • Matter of L-A-C-
  • Poursina v. USCIS

Cases in adjacent profiles