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 found and operate a trucking/freight transportation company, offering freight hauling, logistics management, and dispatch services across the United States.
Field: freight transportation/logistics · Read the decision (uscis.gov)
EB-2 threshold — addressed
AAO questioned but did not resolve whether petitioner established 5 years of progressive post-baccalaureate experience 'in the specialty'; issue reserved as not dispositive.
Prong 1 — national importancenot established · dispositive
“the Petitioner has not shown that his proposed endeavor stands to sufficiently extend beyond his business and its customers to impact his field more broadly”
“the Petitioner has not demonstrated how the economic activity directly resulting from his proposed endeavor would rise to the level of national importance”
“the Petitioner did not elaborate on how he intended to recruit 16 truck drivers in a five-year period given the stated shortage of truck drivers”
“the expert opinion letter provides conclusory statements discussing the importance of the trucking industry and the logistics field in general”
“the business plan does not provide sufficient explanation for the basis of his financial and employment projections”
AAO decision text
How the evidence was treated
- business plan · discounted
“the business plan does not provide sufficient explanation for the basis of his financial and employment projections”
AAO decision text - recommendation letter · discounted
“much of the content of the expert opinion letter lacks relevance to the national importance of the Petitioner's proposed endeavor”
AAO decision text - contract revenue · discounted
“the actual earnings identified in the tax returns are a third of the amount projected in the business plan”
AAO decision text - resume experience · discounted
“he has not provided evidence to corroborate his statements that he was engaged in business development activities”
AAO decision text - certification membership · ignored
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
- Field importance conflated with endeavor · p1 — argues the field matters, not the specific endeavor
- Letters conclusory · p1 — letters praise skills in general terms without tracing specific impact
- 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
Notable
AAO noted the petitioner's stated COVID-19-inspired motivation for the endeavor was undermined by evidence showing the company was actually established in 2018 and operating since 2019, predating the pandemic. AAO also flagged inconsistency between petitioner's claimed business/marketing experience and his signed DOL ETA 750B stating his prior occupation was solely 'carpet weaver' in the 'artisan' field, though this threshold issue was not reached as dispositive.
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
- 8 C.F.R. 204.5(k)(2)
- Matter of Caron Int'l
- Matter of D-R-
- Matter of L-A-C-
What this case teaches
Analyst reading of the decision text.
Petitioner failed to show his specific trucking company's operations would extend beyond its own customers to impact the broader industry or economy at a national scale.
Tie business plan projections and expert letters to concrete, company-specific broader-field or economic impact, not generic industry-growth narratives.
moderate
economic_job_creation · economic_growth_generic · field_advancement
person_focused
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