The Petitioner, employed by an oilfield services company, proposed to continue working as a 'Digital Transformation, Automation and Operations Manager,' building on prior reservoir characterization and integration management work in the oil and gas industry.

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”

“the writer's description and citation of the governmental initiatives were aspirational, broad, and general”

“The writer did not explain the Petitioner's proposed endeavor's potential prospective impact by identifying its broader implications or any positive economic effects”

AAO decision text

How the evidence was treated

• recommendation letter · discounted

  “The Petitioner's employment verification and employment letters did not reflect how the proposed endeavor implicates national importance because the letters focused on the Petitioner's past work.”

  AAO decision text
• certification membership · discounted

  “The certificates earned by the Petitioner relate to them as an individual and their own personal development of their core skills.”

  AAO decision text
• resume experience · discounted

  “The Petitioner's contentions about their successful career-to-date...are irrelevant to an examination of their eligibility under the first prong”

  AAO decision text
• citations publications · credited
• other · discounted

  “when the advisory opinion does evaluate the endeavor's national interest, it speaks of it in vague or generalized conclusions”

  AAO decision text

Where this case turned

• Economic claims unsupported · p1 — job/revenue projections with no corroborating basis
• Field importance conflated with endeavor · p1 — argues the field matters, not the specific endeavor

Notable

The Petitioner alleged the Director's RFE and denial violated the APA as 'boilerplate and contradictory'; AAO rejected this, finding individualized consideration. The Petitioner's employer changed mid-proceedings via a joint venture, but AAO found the endeavor unchanged. AAO found substantial merit met but national importance not met, emphasizing that evidence of past career success and personal certifications, while potentially relevant to prong two, do not establish prospective national importance under prong one.

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
• Matter of Caron Int'l
• Matter of Izummi
• Matter of Katigbak
• Matter of L-A-C-
• Matter of Y-B-
• Poursina v. USCIS

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