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, an entrepreneur and CEO, sought an EB-2 national interest waiver, but the decision does not describe the specifics of his proposed endeavor because the appeal was resolved on threshold eligibility grounds.
Field: business administration / entrepreneurship · Read the decision (uscis.gov)
EB-2 threshold — not met
The Petitioner claimed his high school diploma plus 30 years of work experience equated to a U.S. bachelor's degree, relying on a credential evaluation combining education and experience; the AAO held the regulation requires a single degree (U.S. or foreign equivalent) and would not combine education with experience, and separately found no evidence he qualified as an individual of exceptional ability.
How the evidence was treated
- degree · discounted
“we will not grant any evidentiary weight to the evaluation presented on record”
AAO decision text
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Notable
The AAO dismissed the appeal solely on threshold EB-2 eligibility grounds (rejecting a credential evaluation that combined a high school diploma with 30 years of experience to claim bachelor's-degree equivalency, and rejecting an argument that entrepreneurs are exempt from the degree requirement), and expressly reserved judgment on the Dhanasar national interest waiver prongs, citing INS v. Bagamasbad and Matter of L-A-C- for declining to reach unnecessary issues.
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)
- 8 C.F.R. 204.5(k)(3)(ii)
- Kazarian v. USCIS
- Matter of L-A-C-
- USCIS Policy Manual F.5(B)(2)
Cases in adjacent profiles
- The Beneficiary proposed to establish an asset investment management and compliance advisory firm in New York offering c
- The Petitioner proposed to develop and commercialize zeolite-based products in the United States, including agricultural
- The Petitioner proposed to operate a medical billing and healthcare revenue cycle management firm in the United States,
- The Petitioner proposed to establish and lead as CEO a cybersecurity and crisis management company in Florida, offering
- The Petitioner proposed to establish and operate an IT consultancy company in Michigan providing cloud migration, cybers