NIW Bearings
dismissedMAR192026_01B52032026-03-19 · appeal · SCOPS 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 Beneficiary proposed to continue working as a senior associate at a private equity firm, leading strategic business growth through acquisitions and development of companies in agriculture, construction, and infrastructure sectors.

Field: private equity / business acquisitions (agriculture, construction, infrastructure) · Read the decision (uscis.gov)

EB-2 threshold — addressed

SCOPS and AAO both agreed the Beneficiary qualified as an advanced degree professional holding a U.S. MBA.

Prong 1 — national importancenot established · dispositive

“merely working in an important field or profession is insufficient to establish the national importance of the proposed endeavor.”
“Alignment with general national goals, in and of itself, does not necessarily establish that the Petitioner's endeavor rises to the level of national importance.”
“the Petitioner has not established how the Beneficiary's business services stand to sufficiently extend beyond his employer and clients to impact the field more broadly”
“the letters of recommendation add little probative value in establishing the Beneficiary's eligibility under Dhanasar's first prong.”
“the Petitioner has not provided sufficient evidence demonstrating that the Beneficiary's proposed business activities would operate on such a scale as to rise to a level of national importance.”

AAO decision text

How the evidence was treated

  • recommendation letter · discounted
    “the letters of recommendation add little probative value in establishing the Beneficiary's eligibility under Dhanasar's first prong.”
    AAO decision text
  • recommendation letter · discounted
    “the letter does not contain sufficient information and explanation of the Petitioner's proposed endeavor, nor does the record include adequate corroborating evidence”
    AAO decision text
  • other · discounted
    “Alignment with general national goals, in and of itself, does not necessarily establish that the Petitioner's endeavor rises to the level of national importance.”
    AAO decision text
  • degree · credited

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
  • Letters conclusory · p1 — letters praise skills in general terms without tracing specific impact
  • Local, not national scope · p1 — impact confined to clients / a region
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Notable

The AAO conceded substantial merit (prong 1, first element) but denied on national importance (prong 1, second element). The petitioner's argument that the endeavor aligned with the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act and Executive Order 14017 was explicitly rejected as insufficient without evidence of specific broader impact. The expert opinion letter from a finance/economics professor was discounted for focusing on industry-level importance rather than the Beneficiary's specific proposed work. The CEO recommendation letter regarding a completed equipment dealership deal was noted but found insufficient to demonstrate national-scale impact.

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