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 ordained minister and pianist, proposed to work as a religious education director and pastor and to start a musical church in Pennsylvania, including plans for a food bank and a faith-based addiction recovery center.
Field: religious ministry/music (pastor, church director) · Read the decision (uscis.gov)
EB-2 threshold — not met
Petitioner holds a U.S. baccalaureate degree but failed to show five years of progressive experience in the specialty after obtaining that degree, as required to be deemed equivalent to a master's degree under 8 C.F.R. 204.5(k)(2).
Prong 1 — national importancenot established · dispositive
“they do not demonstrate how hiring an administrative assistant and an accountant will offer substantial positive economic effects for our nation.”
“the Petitioner has not shown how her proposed endeavor to establish a food bank or organize food drives and distribute food to those in need in the community would make a significant impact on the environment more broadly”
“in determining national importance, the relevant question is not the importance of the industry or profession in which the individual will work.”
“The Petitioner has not shown that her proposed endeavor would impact the mental health industry more broadly or would provide a solution to the current drug and substance abuse problems in the United States rather than benefiting her patients or clients”
AAO decision text
How the evidence was treated
- degree · credited
- resume experience · discounted
“This certificate does not show that the Petitioner has progressive experience in the specialty after obtaining her bachelor's degree in 2022.”
AAO decision text - business plan · discounted
“the Petitioner has not shown that her proposed endeavor would impact the mental health industry more broadly or would provide a solution to the current drug and substance abuse problems”
AAO decision text - other · discounted
“they do not demonstrate how hiring an administrative assistant and an accountant will offer substantial positive economic effects for our nation.”
AAO decision text
Where this case turned
- 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
The AAO expressly treated the threshold EB-2 classification failure (lack of five years' progressive experience) and the NIW prong-one national-importance failure as two independent and alternate bases for dismissal, reserving prongs two and three entirely. The endeavor included unusually varied components (church, food bank, addiction recovery center) each separately analyzed and rejected for lacking broader-than-local impact.
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)
- Flores v. Garland
- Matter of L-A-C-
- USCIS Policy Manual F.5(B)(2)
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