dismissedJUN142021_03B52032021-06-14 · 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 legal consultant, planned to work as an international legal/tax consultant advising U.S. and foreign companies and investors on cross-border commercial activities between the United States and Brazil/Latin America, including through her own consulting company.
Field: international legal/tax consulting (cross-border Brazil/Latin America business) · Read the decision (uscis.gov)
Prong 1 — national importancenot established · dispositive
“the record does not show that the Petitioner' s proposed endeavor stands to sufficiently extend beyond her company and clientele to impact the tax planning field, international investment services industry, business consulting field, or U.S. economy more broadly”
“the Petitioner has not demonstrated that the specific endeavor she proposes to undertake has significant potential to employ U.S. workers or otherwise offers substantial positive economic effects”
“The issue here is whether the specific endeavor that she proposes to undertake has national importance under Dhanasar's first prong.”
AAO decision text
How the evidence was treated
- business plan · discounted
“the record does not show that the Petitioner's proposed endeavor stands to sufficiently extend beyond her company and clientele”
AAO decision text - contract revenue · discounted
- other · discounted
“the record does not show that benefits to the U.S. regional or national economy resulting from the Petitioner's projects would reach the level of "substantial positive economic effects"”
AAO decision text - resume experience · ignored
“The Petitioner's knowledge, skills, and experience in her field relate to the second prong”
AAO decision text
Where this case turned
- 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
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Notable
AAO explicitly declined to reach prongs 2 and 3 after finding prong 1 dispositive; extensive general country-condition/FDI evidence about Brazil-U.S. trade was treated as establishing 'substantial merit' but not national importance, illustrating the merit/importance distinction.
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