NIW Bearings
dismissedJUL252024_02B52032024-07-25 · appeal · Texas 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 accountant, proposed to operate her own Florida-based firm providing international accounting, cryptocurrency compliance, tax planning, and forensic tax services to foreign investors and U.S. companies doing business with Latin America.

Field: accounting / forensic tax and financial consulting services · Read the decision (uscis.gov)

Prong 1 — national importancenot established · dispositive

“we conclude that the record does not show the Petitioner's proposed endeavor stands to sufficiently extend beyond her clientele to impact any field”
“she has not offered sufficient evidence that the area where F-T-C- operates is economically depressed”
“it does not demonstrate that benefits to the regional or national economy resulting from the Petitioner's undertaking would reach the level of "substantial positive economic effects"”
“the Petitioner indicates that her proposed endeavor will address an industry shortage, which cannot be addressed by the U.S. workers as demand exceeds supply”

AAO decision text

How the evidence was treated

  • business plan · discounted
    “it does not demonstrate that benefits to the regional or national economy resulting from the Petitioner's undertaking would reach the level of "substantial positive economic effects"”
    AAO decision text
  • recommendation letter · ignored
  • other · discounted

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
  • 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
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Notable

Petitioner cited Ally-shoring, U.S.-Brazilian relations, and the President's Executive Order on America's Supply Chains as national security rationale, but the AAO noted in a footnote that the Petitioner did not discuss this argument further and did not substantively engage with it.

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
  • INA 203(b)(2)
  • Matter of L-A-C-

What this case teaches

Analyst reading of the decision text.

Decisive factor

Petitioner failed to show the endeavor's prospective impact—job creation, tax revenue, FDI, industry effect—would reach a national-importance scale beyond her own clientele/business.

Transferable lesson

Support projected economic/employment claims with concrete, verifiable data tying the endeavor's scale to regional or national significance, not aspirational business-plan projections.

Endeavor framing

vague

National-importance theory

economic_job_creation · economic_growth_generic · national_security · geographic_or_shortage_area · us_competitiveness

Evidence targeting

person_focused

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