The petitioner, a longtime banking executive, proposed to create and run a fintech company in Florida developing credit management and capital settlement technology systems for small- and medium-sized U.S. enterprises.

Prong 1 — national importancenot established · dispositive

“he did not show that his specific company and activities would have national or global impacts beyond his own business and its clients”

“claimed nationwide social and economic benefits, job creation, and planned expansion were not supported by adequate evidence or detailed projections”

“the Petitioner's claims and evidence was overly focused on the general importance of the fintech industry”

“The shortcoming here is the Petitioner has not established his specific endeavor will substantially benefit and impact the field more broadly.”

AAO decision text

How the evidence was treated

• business plan · discounted

  “his software products and planned systems were not shown to affect the broader field or economy”

  AAO decision text
• other · discounted

  “the record lacked probative expert or government statements tying his specific work to national initiatives or priorities”

  AAO decision text
• other · discounted

  “simply working or offering services in an area that is adjacent to or aligned with the subject of national initiatives”

  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
• Local, not national scope · p1 — impact confined to clients / a region

Notable

The AAO found the petitioner's claim that USCIS required 'already having widespread impact' was unsupported, noting it could not locate that quoted language anywhere in the underlying denial or the request for evidence, suggesting the petitioner may have misattributed or fabricated a quotation. The decision cites a BIA case dated 2026, the same year as this decision, which is unusual.

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. 103.5
• Flores v. Garland
• Matter of Y-B-

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