NIW Bearings
dismissedJUL232024_07B52032024-07-23 · appeal · Nebraska 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, an environmental scientist, sought to expand her residential composting company into Illinois, Texas, and Missouri, converting food waste into organic fertilizer via compost bins for residential customers.

Field: environmental science / waste management · Read the decision (uscis.gov)

EB-2 threshold — addressed

Director found and AAO agreed Petitioner qualified for EB-2 classification as an advanced degree professional based on her master's degree.

Prong 1 — national importancenot established · dispositive

“The Petitioner has not established that the full-time employment of one to four individuals full-time, one to three individuals part-time, and one to two contractors demonstrates significant potential to employ U.S. workers even in economically depressed areas.”
“The Petitioner's business plan also does not show that the company's projected net income is significantly higher than similar businesses or would otherwise have a substantial positive economic effect indicative of national importance.”
“Here, none of the articles mention the Petitioner, or otherwise address the potential prospective impact of her proposed endeavor.”
“Although they attest to the Petitioner's past achievements at their workplaces, A-P-, B-B-, D-B-, and C-Y-H- do not address her proposed endeavor.”
“Without an assessment of her specific proposed endeavor and its potential prospective impact, the support letters lack probative value in an assessment of national importance.”
“B-B- does not specify, however, how the work of the Petitioner's company would extend beyond its clientele to impact her field more broadly.”

AAO decision text

How the evidence was treated

  • business plan · discounted
    “does not show that the company's projected net income is significantly higher than similar businesses or would otherwise have a substantial positive economic effect”
    AAO decision text
  • recommendation letter · discounted
    “do not address her proposed endeavor”
    AAO decision text
  • media · discounted
    “none of the articles mention the Petitioner, or otherwise address the potential prospective impact of her proposed endeavor”
    AAO decision text
  • resume experience · discounted
    “do not address her proposed endeavor”
    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
  • 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
  • Letters not independent · p1 — letters come from employers and close collaborators, not independent experts
  • Local, not national scope · p1 — impact confined to clients / a region
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Notable

AAO cited Flores v. Garland (5th Cir. 2023) in a footnote confirming NIW decisions are discretionary in nature, joining other circuits on this point.

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 L-A-C-

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