NIW Bearings
dismissedJUL282021_03B52032021-07-28 · 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, a software developer, proposed to continue working in IT—developing, maintaining, and engineering websites and software systems for U.S. companies, including a university's continuing-education division.

Field: software development / IT · Read the decision (uscis.gov)

Prong 1 — national importancenot established · dispositive

he has not offered sufficient information and evidence to demonstrate that the prospective impact of his proposed endeavor rises to the level of national importance
the record does not show that the Petitioner's proposed endeavor stands to sufficiently extend beyond his employer and its IT systems' users to impact the field or the U.S. higher education system more broadly
a shortage alone does not demonstrate that waiving the requirement of a labor certification would benefit the United States
Without sufficient information or evidence regarding any projected U.S. economic impact or job creation attributable to his future work
the relevant question is not the importance of the field, industry, or profession in which the individual will work

AAO decision text

How the evidence was treated

  • recommendation letter · discounted
    the record does not show that the Petitioner's proposed endeavor stands to sufficiently extend beyond his employer and its IT systems' users
    AAO decision text
  • resume experience · discounted
    The Petitioner's skills and knowledge in his field relate to the second prong of the Dhanasar framework
    AAO decision text
  • other · discounted
    he has not offered sufficient information and evidence to demonstrate that the prospective impact of his proposed endeavor rises to the level of national importance
    AAO decision text

Where this case turned

  • Economic claims unsupported · p1job/revenue projections with no corroborating basis
  • Endeavor too vague · p1described as a job role, not a defined undertaking
  • Field importance conflated with endeavor · p1argues the field matters, not the specific endeavor
  • Local, not national scope · p1impact confined to clients / a region
  • Occupational shortage argument rejected · p1argues a labor shortage — the labor-certification question, not Dhanasar
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Notable

The decision includes a footnote rejecting the Petitioner's IT-worker-shortage argument by noting that shortages are properly addressed through the labor certification process rather than a national interest waiver.

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.

  • Poursina v. USCIS

Cases in adjacent profiles