The Petitioner, a graduate teaching assistant, proposed to conduct research on converting waste into activated carbon materials for energy storage applications.

Prong 2 — well positionednot established · dispositive

“Simply submitting proof of publications without sufficient evidence to describe how those publications show progress towards achieving the goals ofthe proposed research or a record of success in similar efforts are not sufficient”

“Nor, as the Director stated, is it clear that the citations are self-citations as opposed to independent citations.”

“The letters did not illuminate the Petitioner's proposed endeavor, or as the Director correctly noted, how the Petitioner's past research provides a foundation for their future research”

“In any event, a degree in and of itself is not a basis to determine that a person is well positioned to advance a proposed endeavor.”

“The record does not adequately describe how the Petitioner's proposed endeavor's objectives can be realized through a part time conduit.”

AAO decision text

How the evidence was treated

• citations publications · discounted

  “they do not sufficiently describe how the published articles demonstrated a record of success or how they evidenced a related or similar effort”

  AAO decision text
• recommendation letter · discounted

  “The letters did not illuminate the Petitioner's proposed endeavor... how the Petitioner's past research provides a foundation for their future research”

  AAO decision text
• degree · discounted

  “a degree in and of itself is not a basis to determine that a person is well positioned to advance a proposed endeavor”

  AAO decision text

Where this case turned

• Citations insufficient · p2 — citation counts without qualitative account of impact
• Education alone insufficient · p2 — degrees offered as positioning — credentials are not a track record
• Letters conclusory · p2 — letters praise skills in general terms without tracing specific impact
• No progress evidence · p2 — no documented movement toward the endeavor since filing
• Record of success insufficient · p2 — a claimed track record the documents do not establish

Notable

AAO affirmed denial on prong 2 alone while explicitly withdrawing the Director's adverse EB-2 threshold finding, criticizing the Director for failing to explain why the WES credential evaluation was insufficient, and expressly reserving prongs 1 and 3 and the threshold EB-2 issue as unnecessary to reach; also flagged that the part-time (20 hrs/week) nature of the petitioner's position undermined feasibility of the endeavor.

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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