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 decision does not describe the specific endeavor; the case was remanded before any endeavor-related analysis was conducted.
EB-2 threshold — not met
The Director never determined whether the Petitioner qualifies as an advanced degree professional or individual of exceptional ability; the AAO found the record insufficient to establish this threshold issue and remanded for the Director to decide it first.
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Notable
Unusual procedural posture: rather than deciding the NIW merits, the AAO found the Director's decision itself inadequate for review because it applied the Dhanasar framework without first determining whether the Petitioner met the underlying EB-2 classification (advanced degree or exceptional ability). The AAO withdrew the Director's decision and remanded for a proper sequential analysis, expressly rejecting the Petitioner's argument that USCIS had implicitly conceded prong one by not addressing it in the RFE or denial.
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 never determined whether Petitioner qualified as advanced degree professional or exceptional ability alien before applying Dhanasar, making the decision unreviewable; AAO remanded for that threshold finding.
Ensure the decision/record explicitly resolves underlying EB-2 classification eligibility before or alongside Dhanasar analysis; don't assume implicit findings from silence in RFE or denial.
vague
mixed
Cases in adjacent profiles
- The Petitioner, an aircraft mechanic and instructor, proposed to enhance aviation maintenance training programs, support
- The Petitioner seeks EB-2 classification as a member of the professions holding an advanced degree with a national inter
- The petitioner sought an EB-2 national interest waiver of the job offer requirement, but the substance of the proposed e
- The Beneficiary, sponsored by a private airline, sought EB-2 classification as an individual of exceptional ability in a
- The petitioner sought an EB-2 national interest waiver as a member of the professions holding an advanced degree; the sp