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 nurse, sought EB-2 classification with a national interest waiver; the decision does not describe the specific endeavor because it turns on threshold procedural issues.
Field: nursing · Read the decision (uscis.gov)
EB-2 threshold — addressed
The Director found the Petitioner had not shown five years of progressive post-baccalaureate experience as an advanced degree professional, but failed to consider whether she qualified instead as an individual of exceptional ability, and the RFE did not solicit evidence for that alternative pathway. The AAO withdrew this finding and remanded.
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Notable
This is a procedural remand: the AAO found the Director erred by not addressing the exceptional-ability pathway (8 C.F.R. 204.5(k)(3)(ii)) and by issuing an RFE that misdirected the Petitioner toward a different visa classification (203(b)(3)) rather than seeking evidence relevant to exceptional ability. Because the underlying threshold classification finding was withdrawn, the AAO also withdrew the Director's Dhanasar prong one and three findings without independently analyzing the merits, and did not address prong two at all, remanding for a full, properly sequenced determination.
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. 204.5(k)(2)
- 8 C.F.R. 204.5(k)(3)(ii)
- INA 203(b)(2)
- Poursina v. USCIS
What this case teaches
Analyst reading of the decision text.
Director failed to evaluate exceptional-ability criteria and gave a defective RFE conflating classifications, so threshold EB-2 eligibility was never properly assessed before NIW analysis.
Ensure USCIS RFEs and denials properly evaluate all regulatory pathways to underlying EB-2 eligibility before reaching NIW prongs; procedural gaps can force remand regardless of merits.
vague
mixed
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