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 proposed to operate a chain of hair salons in Florida offering hair and nail products/services, along with workshops and business coaching training aspiring and current beauty professionals.
Field: cosmetology / beauty industry · Read the decision (uscis.gov)
EB-2 threshold — addressed
Director found Petitioner met four of six exceptional ability criteria but failed final merits determination on distinguishing expertise; AAO reserved this issue and did not resolve it, deciding the case on NIW prong 1 instead.
Prong 1 — national importancenot established · dispositive
“these assertions are not supported by objective evidence to demonstrate how her company, one of many operating in the industry, would have a prospective national impact on the field or on an economy of any scale”
“The plan does not, however, provide an objective basis for these projections, nor are the numbers corroborated by probative evidence”
“The Petitioner has not sufficiently demonstrated that RIMS Tl's broad category of "Personal Care Services in Florida" properly captures the potential impact of her proposed endeavor”
“shortages of qualified workers are directly addressed by the U.S. Department of Labor through the labor certification process”
“she does not explain how this would contribute to the industry in a manner that would have a national impact”
AAO decision text
How the evidence was treated
- business plan · discounted
“these assertions are not supported by objective evidence to demonstrate how her company... would have a prospective national impact”
AAO decision text - contract revenue · discounted
“The plan does not, however, provide an objective basis for these projections, nor are the numbers corroborated by probative evidence”
AAO decision text - other · discounted
“leaving the prospective impact of her proposed company uncertain”
AAO decision text - media · discounted
“it does not provide insight into the Petitioner's plan to operate a chain of salons or show how her specific endeavor would have a potential prospective national impact”
AAO decision text - recommendation letter · discounted
“the letters of recommendation do not sufficiently demonstrate the national importance of the Petitioner's proposed endeavor”
AAO decision text
All 7 evidence items
- certification membership · credited
- resume experience · 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
- 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
AAO expressly reserved the threshold EB-2 exceptional-ability determination and the second/third Dhanasar prongs, resolving the appeal solely on prong 1's national importance failure; includes detailed critique of a RIMS II economic modeling analysis submitted in the business plan as insufficiently tailored to the specific endeavor.
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
- 8 C.F.R. 204.5(k)(3)(ii)
- 8 C.F.R. 204.5(k)(3)(iii)
- Matter of L-A-C-
- Poursina v. USCIS
- USCIS Policy Manual F.5(B)(2)
What this case teaches
Analyst reading of the decision text.
Petitioner failed to show her salon chain/training endeavor would have national-scale economic, industry, or workforce impact; projections were speculative and uncorroborated.
Support economic-impact projections with objective, endeavor-specific data (not generic industry stats or misapplied regional multipliers) demonstrating truly national-scale impact.
moderate
economic_job_creation · economic_growth_generic · geographic_or_shortage_area · field_advancement
person_focused
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