NIW Bearings
dismissedJUL052024_05B52032024-07-05 · motion_reconsider · 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 form his own IT consulting firm providing medium-to-large enterprises with comprehensive IT management and governance solutions, including cybersecurity services, IT strategy, project management, and portfolio management.

Field: information technology / cybersecurity · Read the decision (uscis.gov)

Prong 1 — national importancenot established · dispositive

the relevant question is not the importance of the field, industry, or profession in which the individual will work; instead, we focus on the "the specific endeavor that the foreign national proposes to undertake."
we considered the claimed broader implications within the particular field and agreed with the Director that the record did not adequately demonstrate that these benefits would rise to the level of national importance.
the record does not sufficiently explain how the Petitioner's cybersecurity services would "broadly implicate" the field of cybersecurity.
the record does not adequately support the Petitioner's assertion that his proposed endeavor in IT governance services will broadly implicate "matters in the field of IT governance as a whole."

AAO decision text

How the evidence was treated

  • business plan · discounted
    the record does not sufficiently explain how the Petitioner's cybersecurity services would "broadly implicate" the field of cybersecurity.
    AAO decision text
  • recommendation letter · discounted
    the record did not adequately demonstrate that these benefits would rise to the level of national importance.
    AAO decision text
  • certification membership · discounted
    the record did not adequately demonstrate that these benefits would rise to the level of national importance.
    AAO decision text
  • citations publications · discounted
    the record did not adequately demonstrate that these benefits would rise to the level of national importance.
    AAO decision text
  • resume experience · discounted
    the record did not adequately demonstrate that these benefits would rise to the level of national importance.
    AAO decision text

Where this case turned

  • Employer-specific benefit · p1"work furthers my company's product" — value accrues to one firm
  • Field importance conflated with endeavor · p1argues the field matters, not the specific endeavor
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Notable

This is a motion to reconsider with no new evidence submitted; the Petitioner argued purely that the prior AAO decision misapplied Dhanasar by focusing on the endeavor's effect on specific enterprises rather than the broader IT/cybersecurity field, an argument the AAO rejected as resting on a misreading of the national-importance standard.

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(a)(1)(ii)
  • 8 C.F.R. 103.5(a)(3)
  • 8 C.F.R. 103.5(a)(4)
  • Poursina v. USCIS

Cases in adjacent profiles