dismissedMAR182024_07B52032024-03-18 · combined · 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, a Chief Information Security Officer (CISO), proposed to operate his own cybersecurity consulting business.
Field: cybersecurity · Read the decision (uscis.gov)
Prong 1 — national importancenot established · dispositive
“the Petitioner's burden is to establish "the national importance of his services as a CISO operating his own consulting business rather than the national importance of cybersecurity technologists, the cybersecurity and information technology industries, or the wide range of business fields or industries impacted by cybersecurity threats."”
“we are not persuaded by the Petitioner's claim that his proposed endeavor has national importance due to the shortage of professionals in his industry, as there is no indication that his proposed endeavor stands to impact or significantly reduce the claimed national shortage.”
“merely working in an important field or profession is insufficient to establish the national importance of the proposed endeavor.”
AAO decision text
Prong 3 — balance of factorsnot established
“shortages of workers are directly addressed by the U.S. Department of Labor through the labor certification process.”
AAO decision text
How the evidence was treated
- business plan · discounted
- other · discounted
“there is no indication that his proposed endeavor stands to impact or significantly reduce the claimed national shortage”
AAO decision text - motion resubmission · discounted
“he has not met his burden to establish this is a new fact within the meaning of the regulation”
AAO decision text
Where this case turned
- Endeavor too vague · p1 — described as a job role, not a defined undertaking
- Field importance conflated with endeavor · p1 — argues the field matters, not the specific endeavor
- Occupational shortage argument rejected · p1 — argues a labor shortage — the labor-certification question, not Dhanasar
- U.S. worker availability · p3 — the impracticality of a labour-market test was asserted, not established
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Notable
AAO notes Petitioner had a subsequently approved separate I-140/NIW petition but declined to consider it, stating that approval may itself have been erroneous and that AAO is not bound by a contradictory service center decision.
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. 103.5
- Matter of Coelho
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