dismissedMAR132024_03B52032024-03-13 · appeal · Texas Service Center
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 develop and operate her own event planning and travel/tourism business as CEO, aiming to bring international trade shows, conferences, and business visitors from Latin America to the U.S. and serve as a bridge for new international trade.
Field: event planning and travel/tourism industry · Read the decision (uscis.gov)
EB-2 threshold — addressed
Director found, and AAO did not disturb, that Petitioner qualifies as an advanced degree professional.
Prong 1 — national importancenot established · dispositive
“the record does not show it has national importance”
“the pertinent question is not the importance of the field, industry, or profession in which the individual will work”
“the business plan provides no explanation for the basis of these projections and does not elaborate on how the proposed employment numbers will impact the area of intended operations”
“activities which only benefit the Petitioner's clients, like the offerings outlined in the business plan, would not have broader implications in the field”
“the record does not adequately establish that increased employment in these designated underutilized business zones would have positive economic effects commensurate with national importance”
AAO decision text
How the evidence was treated
- business plan · discounted
“the business plan provides no explanation for the basis of these projections and does not elaborate on how the proposed employment numbers will impact”
AAO decision text - recommendation letter · discounted
“it provides little additional explanation to establish the national importance of the Petitioner's proposed endeavor”
AAO decision text - other · discounted
“the Petitioner's reliance on background information and statistics concerning entrepreneurs and business development generally is not persuasive”
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
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Notable
AAO discussed and rejected an SBA HUBZone-based national importance argument, finding the company not yet formed, lacking a physical location, and not shown eligible for the HUBZone program.
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 Caron Int'l
- Matter of D-R-
- Matter of L-A-C-
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