NIW Bearings
dismissedJUN152021_02B52032021-06-15 · 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 sought to continue running and expanding his Florida-based flight training company and affiliated aviation businesses, including managing pilot training programs and developing a training-management software application.

Field: aviation training / flight school business · Read the decision (uscis.gov)

EB-2 threshold — addressed

Director found Petitioner qualified as an advanced degree professional; this was not disputed on appeal.

Prong 1 — national importancenot established · dispositive

“the record does not show that the company's growth has had, or will have, an economic impact that rises to the level of national importance”
“the record does not show that the company has created a significant number of jobs”
“The Petitioner's vague and uncorroborated claims about the uniqueness of his own company have no evidentiary weight in this proceeding”
“The Petitioner does not establish that trains enough new pilots to have a nationally significant effect on industry staffing trends”
“we find the record does not show that the benefit from the Petitioner's proposed endeavor stands to sufficiently extend beyond his companies to impact the industry more broadly at a level commensurate with national importance”
“The Petitioner does not explain how this system would result in benefits of national importance”

AAO decision text

How the evidence was treated

  • contract revenue · discounted
    “the record does not show that the company's growth has had, or will have, an economic impact that rises to the level of national importance”
    AAO decision text
  • certification membership · discounted
    “the Petitioner has not shown that participation in the program has national importance”
    AAO decision text
  • media · discounted
    “the record indicating that 'airline hiring is booming' undercuts the Petitioner's pilot shortage claim”
    AAO decision text
  • business plan · discounted
    “The Petitioner does not explain how this system would result in benefits of national importance”
    AAO decision text
  • other · discounted
    “New facts cannot establish eligibility as of the filing date”
    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
  • 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
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Notable

The AAO noted the Petitioner's claims evolved substantially between filing, RFE response, and appeal (e.g., new software venture, new pandemic-related academy, new aircraft certifications), and criticized reliance on facts arising after the filing date. It also drew an analogy to EB-5 investment/job-creation thresholds to show the claimed $1,000,000 investment and job creation did not presumptively satisfy the higher EB-2 NIW standard, and noted that training foreign nonimmigrant pilots who return home does not address a U.S. pilot shortage.

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. 103.2(b)(1)
  • Matter of Katigbak
  • Matter of L-A-C-

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