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 proposed to open her own business-consulting company in California, offering general consulting services and a five-week 'critical thinking and business strategy' training program to entrepreneurs.
Field: business consulting · Read the decision (uscis.gov)
EB-2 threshold — addressed
Director found, and AAO did not disturb, that Petitioner qualifies as a member of the professions holding an advanced degree.
Prong 1 — national importancenot established · dispositive
“the Petitioner's references to generalized information regarding "the U.S. business coaching industry" do not establish how the proposed endeavor may have national importance”
“The services the Petitioner's company would provide appear to benefit the company's potential clients and customers.”
“the record does not establish how employing three or even 10 workers in California... demonstrates a "significant potential to employ U.S. workers or ... other substantial positive economic effects"”
“the record does not establish how the 20 indirect, unspecified jobs in unspecified locations the business plan anticipates will result from the proposed endeavor”
AAO decision text
How the evidence was treated
- business plan · discounted
“the record does not establish how the proposed endeavor may have national or even global implications”
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
- Field importance conflated with endeavor · p1 — argues the field matters, not the specific endeavor
- Local, not national scope · p1 — impact confined to clients / a region
Notable
AAO explicitly distinguishes the importance of the 'business coaching industry' generally from the importance of the specific endeavor, reiterating Dhanasar's focus on the individual endeavor rather than the field; appeal dismissed solely on prong 1 with prongs 2 and 3 expressly reserved.
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
- Flores v. Garland
- Matter of L-A-C-
What this case teaches
Analyst reading of the decision text.
Petitioner failed to show the small consulting business's projected hiring (3-10 workers) and indirect jobs had national-level significance beyond local clients/company.
Quantify and contextualize projected job creation/economic effects against a national or regionally depressed benchmark, not just industry-wide generalities.
moderate
economic_job_creation · economic_growth_generic
mixed
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