The Petitioner, a health and safety engineer, proposed to establish and develop his own consulting company specializing in occupational safety, health, environment, and quality.

Prong 1 — national importancenot established · dispositive

“the record did not demonstrate the Petitioner's proposed endeavor had national importance, as the record lacked details as to what the Petitioner intended to do”

“the potential prospective impact of the Petitioner's specific proposed endeavor to develop his consulting company had implications beyond his own business, its clients, its employees, and the individuals for whom the Petitioner would provide his services”

“the record does not sufficiently establish the Petitioner's specific endeavor to demonstrate the national importance of his proposed endeavor”

AAO decision text

How the evidence was treated

• business plan · discounted

  “the record lacked details as to what the Petitioner intended to do as a health and safety engineer”

  AAO decision text
• other · discounted

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

Notable

Petitioner raised a due process/'arbitrary and capricious' and improper standard-of-proof argument (claiming Director required proof 'beyond any reasonable doubt'), which AAO rejected as unsupported and lacking specificity. AAO adopted and affirmed the Director's decision under the Burbano/Giday/Chen line of authority rather than conducting fully independent 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.

• Chen v. INS
• Matter of L-A-C-

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