NIW Bearings
dismissedMAR252022_03B52032022-03-25 · 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 bioethicist, proposed to conduct research and academic work in clinical bioethics, including postdoctoral fellowship and related scholarly activities.

Field: bioethics · Read the decision (uscis.gov)

Prong 2 — well positionednot established · dispositive

his training and experience was incomplete or had yet to occur at the time he filed the petition
None of the evidence submitted on motion to reopen may establish eligibility because all of that evidence presents sets of facts that did not exist when the Petitioner filed the petition in 2018.
The Petitioner possesses education consistent with the proposed endeavor, bu this training was stillincompletewhenhefiled thepetition.
a petitioner must establish that they are well positioned to advance the endeavor at the time of filing

AAO decision text

How the evidence was treated

  • recommendation letter · discounted
    presents sets of facts that did not exist when the Petitioner filed the petition
    AAO decision text
  • citations publications · discounted
    presents sets of facts that did not exist when the Petitioner filed the petition
    AAO decision text
  • motion resubmission · discounted
    Reasserting previously stated facts or resubmitting previously provided evidence does not constitute "new facts."
    AAO decision text
  • degree · discounted
    this training was still incomplete when he filed the petition
    AAO decision text

Where this case turned

  • motion resubmission · p2the filing repeats the prior record rather than meeting the motion standard
  • No progress evidence · p2no documented movement toward the endeavor since filing
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Notable

The case turns entirely on the eligibility-at-time-of-filing rule: all new evidence (postdoc fellowship, citations, invitations) postdated the 2018 filing and was categorically rejected under Matter of Katigbak, regardless of its substantive strength. AAO explicitly declined to reach prong 3 under Bagamasbad.

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. 103.2(b)(1)
  • 8 C.F.R. 103.5
  • Matter of Katigbak
  • Matter of L-A-C-

Cases in adjacent profiles