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 general and operations manager, proposed to continue working as a regional director for a franchise brand, provide external management consulting services to small and medium-sized U.S. companies, and launch her own chain of healthy fast-food restaurants in the United States.
Field: general and operations management / business and financial systems · Read the decision (uscis.gov)
EB-2 threshold — addressed
Director found Petitioner qualified as an advanced degree professional based on a U.S. master's degree; not disputed on appeal.
Prong 1 — national importancenot established · dispositive
“the Petitioner has not shown how the healthy fast-food services she intends to provide to her restaurant patrons would have broader implications in the quick service restaurant industry”
“The job creation and revenue projections included in the Petitioner's Impact Analysis are not supported by details showing their basis”
“the relevant question is not the importance of the industry, sector, or profession in which the individual will work; instead, we focus on "the specific endeavor that the foreign national proposes to undertake."”
“she has not suggested that her proposed endeavor would lessen the shortage of general and operations managers on a scale rising to the level of national importance”
“the author does not offer any analysis of the Petitioner's business plan; the specific proposed endeavor and its prospective substantial economic impact”
“the record does not sufficiently show that such benefits, either individually or cumulatively, would rise to the level of national importance”
AAO decision text
How the evidence was treated
- business plan · discounted
“not supported by details showing their basis or an explanation of how those projections will be realized”
AAO decision text - recommendation letter · discounted
“much of the content of the expert opinion letter lacked relevance and probative value with respect to the national importance”
AAO decision text - media · discounted
“the relevant question is not the importance of the industry, sector, or profession in which the individual will work”
AAO decision text - resume experience · discounted
“cannot be inferred based on the Petitioner's past accomplishments, just as it cannot be inferred based on general claims”
AAO decision text - degree · credited
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
- 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
- Letters conclusory · p1 — letters praise skills in general terms without tracing specific impact
- 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 expressly declines to reach the third prong (which the Director had also found unmet), dismissing solely on prong 1 as an independent and alternate basis; case involves a hybrid endeavor combining consulting/management work with a speculative fast-food restaurant business plan tied to obesity-reduction claims.
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 Caron Int'l
- Matter of D-R-
- Matter of L-A-C-
- Poursina v. USCIS
What this case teaches
Analyst reading of the decision text.
Petitioner failed to show her specific proposed endeavor (unclear among franchise work, consulting, or fast-food chain) had national-level implications beyond clients, unsupported by substantiated projections.
Define one concrete endeavor and substantiate scale/impact projections with methodology; tie evidence directly to prong-1 national importance, not personal credentials.
vague
economic_job_creation · economic_growth_generic · public_health · geographic_or_shortage_area · us_competitiveness
person_focused
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