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 registered nurse, sought to continue working as a nurse for her employer, citing the value of her services to patients and the broader nursing shortage, particularly during COVID-19.
Field: nursing · Read the decision (uscis.gov)
EB-2 threshold — addressed
The Director found she qualified as a member of the professions holding an advanced degree; this was not in dispute.
Prong 1 — national importancenot established · dispositive
“it does not demonstrate that her proposed endeavor would be of national importance”
“a nursing shortage in the United States does not render her proposed endeavor nationally important under the Dhanasar framework”
“such shortages of qualified workers are directly addressed by the U.S. Department of Labor through both the labor certification process and its designation of professional nurses as a Schedule A occupation”
“she has not documented that the particular work she proposes to undertake offers original innovations that contribute to advancements in nursing”
AAO decision text
Where this case turned
- Endeavor too vague · p1 — described as a job role, not a defined undertaking
- 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
The Petitioner's argument invoking COVID-19 and general nursing shortages was explicitly rejected as insufficient to establish national importance, with the AAO noting that labor shortages are addressed through the labor certification process and Schedule A designation rather than the NIW national-importance analysis.
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.
- Matter of L-A-C-
- Poursina v. USCIS
Cases in adjacent profiles
- The Petitioner, a pharmacist, proposed to work in the United States through her own company providing pharmaceutical reg
- The Petitioner, a Brazilian-trained physiotherapist, proposed to work as a physical therapist and entrepreneur in the Un
- The Petitioner, a resident physician in New York holding a Chinese bachelor of medicine (MBBS) degree found equivalent t
- The Petitioner, a music therapist, proposed to establish and expand music therapy services and community music programs
- The Petitioner, a physical therapist, proposed to work as a physical therapist in the United States while operating his