The Petitioner, an economist, proposed to establish a consulting company in Florida providing business intelligence, data analytics, and data visualization services to small businesses, later expanding to other states.

Prong 1 — national importancenot established · dispositive

“the record lacks sufficient evidence that the Petitioner's business would have national implications”

“the record does not sufficiently establish the specific proposal's potential to rise to a broad, nationally important level”

“The Petitioner, however, did not submit sufficient evidence to support his purported ability to develop election-fraud safeguards”

“the record lacks evidence that his proposed efforts to fight election fraud in the United States would have national implications”

AAO decision text

How the evidence was treated

• business plan · discounted

  “does not sufficiently demonstrate the consultancy's significant potential to employ U.S. workers or generate other economic benefits on a nationally significant level”

  AAO decision text
• degree · credited
• other · discounted

  “counsel's assertions are not evidence”

  AAO decision text

Where this case turned

• Economic claims unsupported · p1 — job/revenue projections with no corroborating basis
• Local, not national scope · p1 — impact confined to clients / a region
• Occupational shortage argument rejected · p1 — argues a labor shortage — the labor-certification question, not Dhanasar

Notable

AAO affirmed substantial merit (crediting job-creation potential and citing a presidential executive order on immigrant entrepreneurship) but dismissed solely on national importance, declining to reach the well-positioned or balancing prongs. A late-raised election-fraud-safeguards argument, first presented on appeal, was rejected for lack of independent corroborating evidence.

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. 204.5(k)(2)

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