dismissedJUN112024_08B52032024-06-11 · 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.
The Petitioner proposed to start his own business as a sales manager, building a platform for sharing 'bounced leads' between businesses, using Lean Startup methodology to develop an MVP and eventually seek seed funding.
Field: sales/business platform development · Read the decision (uscis.gov)
Prong 1 — national importancenot established · dispositive
“This wide-ranging aspiration to "bolster the US GDP and enhance the overall well-being of local American citizens" is vague”
“he did not provide probative evidence sufficient to demonstrate the prospective impact of his endeavor”
“he does not explain how his intention to fill a single position as a sales manager would alleviate an asserted national shortage of sales managers”
“The importance of a purported nationwide issue does not confer national importance on the Petitioner's proposed endeavor to work as a sales manager”
“a degree, alone, does not demonstrate the prospective positive impact of the recipient's proposed endeavor”
“These considerations are essential to an assessment of the proposed endeavor's potential prospective impact, and they do not reflect an endeavor that, more likely than not, would materialize”
AAO decision text
How the evidence was treated
- business plan · discounted
“he did not provide probative evidence sufficient to demonstrate the prospective impact of his endeavor”
AAO decision text - recommendation letter · discounted
“he did not provide evidence to substantiate the interest of any investor in his specific business endeavors”
AAO decision text - other · discounted
“this material provided only general information on these topics”
AAO decision text - degree · discounted
“a degree, alone, does not demonstrate the prospective positive impact of the recipient's proposed endeavor”
AAO decision text
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
- Endeavor too vague · p1 — described as a job role, not a defined undertaking
- Field importance conflated with endeavor · p1 — argues the field matters, not the specific endeavor
- Occupational shortage argument rejected · p1 — argues a labor shortage — the labor-certification question, not Dhanasar
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Notable
The AAO explicitly distinguished the petitioner's STEM-degree argument as belonging to prong 2's analytical framework rather than prong 1, and noted the petitioner failed to address whether similar platforms already existed as evidence undercutting claimed impact.
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
- Flores v. Garland
- Matter of L-A-C-
- USCIS Policy Manual F.5(D)(1)
- USCIS Policy Manual F.5(D)(2)
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