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 teacher, proposed to establish a company offering ADHD-related courses and training for parents, teachers, and coordinators, drawing on her background in pedagogy and education-related training.
Field: early childhood education / ADHD-related teacher training · Read the decision (uscis.gov)
EB-2 threshold — not met
The Petitioner did not establish she completed a foreign equivalent degree to a U.S. baccalaureate, as her Application for Alien Employment Certification indicated attendance of less than four years, contradicting the diploma evaluation report and EDGE database standards for Brazilian bacharel degrees.
Prong 1 — national importancenot established · dispositive
“the Petitioner has not shown the endeavor has broader implications beyond the Petitioner's business and clients or that it has significant potential to employ U.S. workers”
“the Petitioner did not provide supporting evidence corroborating these purported employment and profit figures”
“these general economic claims do not contain sufficient detail or explanation and are not supported by objective, corroborating evidence”
“in assessing national importance, we focus, not on the specific area or field at issue, but rather on the specific endeavor a petitioner proposes to undertake”
AAO decision text
How the evidence was treated
- degree · discounted
“other documents of record do not support the finding that the Petitioner attended a four-year bacharel program”
AAO decision text - business plan · discounted
“the Petitioner did not provide supporting evidence corroborating these purported employment and profit figures”
AAO decision text - motion resubmission · discounted
“The Petitioner resubmits on appeal a five-year business plan reflecting an intent to hire 13 instructors”
AAO decision text
Where this case turned
- Business plan speculative · p1 — projections without a documented basis or steps
- Economic claims unsupported · p1 — job/revenue projections with no corroborating basis
- Field importance conflated with endeavor · p1 — argues the field matters, not the specific endeavor
- Local, not national scope · p1 — impact confined to clients / a region
Notable
The AAO withdrew the Director's favorable finding on the threshold advanced-degree issue sua sponte, finding the foreign degree equivalency unsupported (contradicted by the Application for Alien Employment Certification showing less than four years of study), then separately and independently dismissed on prong 1 national importance grounds, explicitly stating both bases are independent and alternate grounds for dismissal.
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(k)(2)
- Matter of L-A-C-
- USCIS Policy Manual F.5(D)(2)
Cases in adjacent profiles
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- The Petitioner, an arts, drama, and music teacher and entrepreneur, sought EB-2 classification as an individual of excep
- The petitioner, a mathematics teacher with 17 years of experience, proposed to operate a company offering online math tu