dismissedJAN292025_02B52032025-01-29 · 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 sought to continue working as an airline pilot and flight instructor while also pursuing sustainable aeronautics initiatives, including instructional programs for pilots and collaborations aimed at reducing aviation emissions through fuel-efficient engineering.
Field: aviation / sustainable aeronautics (pilot and flight instructor) · Read the decision (uscis.gov)
Prong 1 — national importancenot established · dispositive
“the material itself does not provide sufficient insight into any specific plans that the Petitioner has concerning his intent to work in the field of aviation in the United States.”
“it does not explain how the Petitioner's employment as an individual pilot or instrnctor ofpilots would address any national shortage of pilots.”
“he did not provide independent evidence or otherwise explain how he would create jobs at a level that would have a significant impact on a given region or have a prospective national impact on a specific field.”
“The record does not include a plan or other indication of how the Petitioner's individual work would impact the economy at the level of national importance contemplated under the first prong”
AAO decision text
How the evidence was treated
- recommendation letter · discounted
“they do not illuminate any definitive endeavor he intends to pursue in the United States.”
AAO decision text - patents · discounted
“this information does not provide insight into any specific proposed endeavor envisioned by the Petitioner”
AAO decision text - resume experience · discounted
“evidence of work experience generally relates not to the national importance of an endeavor...but to the second [prong]”
AAO decision text - other · discounted
“the material itself does not provide sufficient insight into any specific plans that the Petitioner has”
AAO decision text
Where this case turned
- Economic claims unsupported · p1 — job/revenue projections with no corroborating basis
- Endeavor too vague · p1 — described as a job role, not a defined undertaking
- Field importance conflated with endeavor · p1 — argues the field matters, not the specific endeavor
- Occupational shortage argument rejected · p1 — argues a labor shortage — the labor-certification question, not Dhanasar
2,501coded 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 expressly reserved prongs two and three as unnecessary once prong one was found dispositive, citing INS v. Bagamasbad and Matter of L-A-C- for declining to reach alternative issues.
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
- Flores v. Garland
- Matter of L-A-C-
- USCIS Policy Manual F.5(D)(1)
Cases in adjacent profiles
- The Petitioner, an aircraft mechanic and instructor, proposed to enhance aviation maintenance training programs, support
- The Petitioner seeks EB-2 classification as a member of the professions holding an advanced degree with a national inter
- The petitioner sought an EB-2 national interest waiver of the job offer requirement, but the substance of the proposed e
- The Beneficiary, sponsored by a private airline, sought EB-2 classification as an individual of exceptional ability in a
- The petitioner sought an EB-2 national interest waiver as a member of the professions holding an advanced degree; the sp