NIW Bearings
dismissedJUN092021_11B52032021-06-09 · 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.

A materials scientist with a PhD in Materials Science and Engineering worked as a Technical Program Manager for a display-technology company, managing and optimizing mass-production processes and researching organic semiconductor materials to advance the company's display technology.

Field: materials science / display technology (organic semiconductors) · Read the decision (uscis.gov)

EB-2 threshold — addressed

Director found, and AAO did not disturb, that the Petitioner qualifies as an advanced-degree professional based on his PhD.

Prong 1 — national importancenot established · dispositive

“the relevant question is not the importance of the industry, field, or profession in which the individual will work”
“the record does not establish how that process improvement will be proportionate to "national or even global implications."”
“the record does not establish the particular number of jobs his research has created in the past, or the anticipated number of jobs the proposed endeavor would create for his employer”
“does not necessarily establish that, "in tum," the United States would gain a substantial share of that market”

AAO decision text

How the evidence was treated

  • other · discounted
    “the record does not indicate whether the Petitioner's research lead to the creation of jobs despite the Petitioner's employer reducing its workforce by 144 workers”
    AAO decision text

Where this case turned

  • Economic claims unsupported · p1 — job/revenue projections with no corroborating basis
  • Employer-specific benefit · p1 — "work furthers my company's product" — value accrues to one firm
  • Field importance conflated with endeavor · p1 — argues the field matters, not the specific endeavor
  • Local, not national scope · p1 — impact confined to clients / a region
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Notable

AAO took administrative notice of a California WARN Act filing showing the Petitioner's employer laid off 144 workers shortly after filing, undercutting the employer's job-creation claims; AAO withdrew the Director's finding of national importance despite the Director having found prongs 1 and 2 satisfied, dismissing solely on prong 1 and expressly declining to reach prongs 2 or 3.

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.

  • INA 203(b)(2)
  • INA 291

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