NIW Bearings
dismissedMAY072025_03B52032025-05-07 · 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 Beneficiary sought to continue full-time employment as Senior Analyst, Product Analytics for a gaming/streaming platform company, using AI and machine learning to analyze player behavior and optimize product feature design.

Field: AI/machine learning product analytics in the video gaming industry · Read the decision (uscis.gov)

EB-2 threshold — addressed

AAO agreed the Beneficiary qualifies for EB-2 classification as a member of the professions holding an advanced degree.

Prong 1 — national importancenot established · dispositive

“the record did not establish the national importance of the Beneficiary's proposed endeavor as it did not show how it would sufficiently extend beyond the Petitioner and its customers such that it would impact the field more broadly.”
“the record does not establish that the Beneficiary's duties as a Senior Analyst, Product Analytics would impact the gaming or digital entertainment industry more broadly, beyond the Petitioner and its customers.”
“merely working in a STEM field, or in an occupation in which there is a national shortage of workers, is insufficient to establish the national importance of the proposed endeavor.”
“the Petitioner did not include specific, detailed information projecting employment figures, goods produced, or revenue generated directly credited from her Senior Analyst, Product Analytics position.”
“the national interest waiver was not intended to circumvent the labor certification process, and aliens have nearly unfettered access to one or both pathways.”

AAO decision text

How the evidence was treated

  • recommendation letter · discounted
    “the Petitioner's knowledge, skills, and abilities relate to the second prong of the Dhanasar framework”
    AAO decision text
  • media · discounted
    “this evidence does not sufficiently demonstrate how the Beneficiary's employment with the Petitioner would have the broader impacts required to show the proposed endeavor's national importance”
    AAO decision text
  • contract revenue · discounted
    “the Petitioner did not include specific, detailed information projecting employment figures, goods produced, or revenue generated directly credited from her Senior Analyst, Product Analytics position”
    AAO decision text

Where this case turned

  • Economic claims unsupported · p1 — job/revenue projections with no corroborating basis
  • Employer-specific benefit · p1 — "work furthers my company's product" — value accrues to one firm
  • Local, not national scope · p1 — impact confined to clients / a region
  • Occupational shortage argument rejected · p1 — argues a labor shortage — the labor-certification question, not Dhanasar
  • Urgency not established · p1 — no reason shown why the benefit cannot wait for labour certification
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Notable

AAO expressly rejected the Petitioner's argument that lengthy DOL labor certification processing times justified the waiver, stating the NIW is not meant to circumvent the labor certification process. Redacted OCR artifacts throughout (e.g., company name, VP name) did not affect substantive coding.

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
  • Flores v. Garland
  • USCIS Policy Manual F.5(D)(1)
  • USCIS Policy Manual F.5(D)(2)

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