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 operate a consultancy company providing energy efficiency optimization through automation system design, industrial equipment installation, and electrical system maintenance for small and medium-sized businesses, along with technical training programs in North Carolina, Michigan, and Pennsylvania.
Field: industrial maintenance, technical automation, and electrical systems consulting · Read the decision (uscis.gov)
Prong 1 — national importancenot established · dispositive
“The Petitioner has not provided sufficient evidence to demonstrate that his individual company's consultancy services would have an impact at a level of national importance.”
“the asserted national importance of his proposed endeavor relies on the general significance of automation in driving economic growth and competitiveness.”
“the business plan does not explain how these forecasts were calculated or adequately clarify how these projections will be realized”
“shortages of qualified workers are directly addressed by the U.S. Department of Labor through the labor certification process and are therefore not a justification for a waiver of that process.”
“It is not clear how a business of the size and scope described in the business plan would have national or global implications”
AAO decision text
How the evidence was treated
- business plan · discounted
“the business plan does not explain how these forecasts were calculated or adequately clarify how these projections will be realized”
AAO decision text - recommendation letter · discounted
“much of the content of the expert opinion letter lacks relevance and probative value with respect to the national importance of the Petitioner's proposed endeavor.”
AAO decision text - other · discounted
“it is not the overall importance of the industry, field, or profession in which an individual intends to work, but the particular endeavor on which an individual intends to embark”
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
- Occupational shortage argument rejected · p1 — argues a labor shortage — the labor-certification question, not Dhanasar
Notable
SCOPS had already found prongs 1 (substantial merit) and 2 (well positioned) satisfied, leaving only national importance under prong 1 and the prong 3 balancing at issue on appeal; AAO found national importance lacking and declined to reach prong 3. The expert letter from a manufacturing engineering professor was faulted for focusing on the 'home automation landscape' rather than the Petitioner's specific industrial/commercial consultancy endeavor, suggesting a possible mismatch between the letter's framing and the actual business described. The Petitioner's appeal arguments were also faulted for failing to specify how SCOPS misapplied the preponderance standard or erred legally, per 8 C.F.R. § 103.3(a)(1)(v).
What this case teaches
Analyst reading of the decision text.
A single consultancy's unsupported revenue and job projections, and training framed as addressing labor shortages (which the labor-certification process handles), did not show national-scale impact; prong-1 national importance failed.
A single consultancy's unsupported revenue and job projections do not establish national importance; and framing training as filling labor shortages backfires, since the labor-certification process already addresses those.
moderate
economic_growth_generic · economic_job_creation
mixed
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