The Petitioner proposed to found and operate her own human resources and talent management consulting company serving the U.S. hotel industry.

Prong 1 — national importancenot established · dispositive

“the Petitioner provided only generalized information about the hotel industry, employment, human resources, and the U.S. economy, and not the specific endeavor she proposed to undertake”

“her proposed endeavor of founding a hotel human resources consulting company might benefit her as the company owner and operator, her potential clients, and those clients' employees and customers, the record did not otherwise establish its national importance”

AAO decision text

How the evidence was treated

• motion resubmission · discounted

  “the Petitioner does not submit any additional evidence or information that might establish the requisite national importance of her proposed endeavor”

  AAO decision text
• other · discounted

  “both contained identical fuzzy and pixelated signature images in rectangular gray boxes that may have been affixed to these documents by any person using a word processor”

  AAO decision text

Where this case turned

• Employer-specific benefit · p1 — "work furthers my company's product" — value accrues to one firm
• Endeavor too vague · p1 — described as a job role, not a defined undertaking
• Local, not national scope · p1 — impact confined to clients / a region

Notable

AAO's prior decision had questioned the authenticity of signatures on RFE-response documents (fuzzy/pixelated signature images in gray boxes suggesting word-processor insertion); on motion, Petitioner argued USCIS's COVID-era signature waiver policy applied, but AAO clarified the policy requires the copy be of an original handwritten signature and does not cover word-processor-generated signatures, and in any event the national importance determination stood independent of the signature issue.

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. 103.5
• Matter of Coelho

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