dismissedMAY022025_03B52032025-05-02 · appeal

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 music instructor, cellist, and vocalist, proposed to increase representation of diverse identities in orchestral music by performing, teaching, and researching, and by showcasing local and under-represented composers.

Field: orchestral music / music education and performance · Read the decision (uscis.gov)

Prong 1 — national importancenot established · dispositive

“the record does not show it has national importance”

“the relevant question is not the importance of the industry or profession in which the individual will work”

“the alleged shortage of occupations or occupational skills does not render his proposed endeavor nationally important under the Dhanasar framework”

“the letters do not explain how these activities have broader implications for our country”

“she has not shown how her proposed endeavor stands to sufficiently extend beyond her students to lead to "national or even global implications"”

AAO decision text

How the evidence was treated

recommendation letter · discounted
“The letters repeat the same arguments addressed above pertaining to the importance of various topics and subjects without showing the wider effect”
AAO decision text
media · discounted
“the matter here is not whether these... are nationally important. Rather, the Petitioner must demonstrate the national importance of her specific, proposed endeavor”
AAO decision text
other · discounted
“such shortages of qualified workers are directly addressed by the U.S. Department of Labor through the labor certification process”
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
Letters conclusory · p1 — letters praise skills in general terms without tracing specific impact
Occupational shortage argument rejected · p1 — argues a labor shortage — the labor-certification question, not Dhanasar

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Notable

AAO agreed the endeavor had substantial merit but found no national importance, explicitly analogizing to Dhanasar's own facts (teaching activities not impacting field more broadly). Declined to reach prongs 2 and 3 citing Bagamasbad and Matter of L-A-C- for the proposition that agencies need not make advisory findings.

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-

What this case teaches

Analyst reading of the decision text.

Decisive factor

Petitioner failed to show the specific endeavor's impact extended beyond her own students/local community to the broader music field at a national or global scale.

Transferable lesson

Tie endeavor's impact to demonstrable field-wide or national-scale effects, not just the value of the profession or local shortage/teaching benefits.

Endeavor framing

moderate

National-importance theory

field_advancement · geographic_or_shortage_area · other

Evidence targeting

person_focused

Cases in adjacent profiles

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