NIW Bearings
dismissedMAY072025_04B52032025-05-07 · 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 Petitioner, a telecommunications engineer, proposed to align his work with the Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) program to help bridge the digital divide and boost nationwide connectivity.

Field: telecommunications engineering · Read the decision (uscis.gov)

Prong 1 — national importancenot established · dispositive

SCOPS correctly found that the Petitioner's description of his proposed endeavor was too ill-defined and vague to establish his eligibility under the Dhanasar prongs.
this generalized description of his endeavor still lacks specificity regarding what the Petitioner is actually proposing to do within this broad objective
simply working in an important field without showing the potential prospective impact of the endeavor itself is insufficient to establish its national importance.
Without a clear description of the proposed endeavor and a baseline understanding of the specific activities that the Petitioner intends to do, there can be no meaningful analysis

AAO decision text

Prong 2 — well positionednot established

as he has not specifically articulated what is endeavor actually entails, including how he plans to accomplish it, he has not demonstrated that he is well positioned to advance the proposed endeavor

AAO decision text

Prong 3 — balance of factorsnot established

he has not demonstrated that he is well positioned to advance the proposed endeavor and that, on balance, it would be beneficial to the United States to waive the job offer requirements

AAO decision text

How the evidence was treated

  • other · discounted
    provided little additional information to cure this deficiency
    AAO decision text
  • recommendation letter · discounted
    provided little additional information to cure this deficiency
    AAO decision text
  • business plan · discounted
    provided little additional information to cure this deficiency
    AAO decision text
  • resume experience · discounted

Where this case turned

  • Endeavor too vague · p1described as a job role, not a defined undertaking
  • Field importance conflated with endeavor · p1argues the field matters, not the specific endeavor
  • Endeavor too vague · p2described as a job role, not a defined undertaking
  • Derivative of Prong 1/2 failure · p3prong three fails only because prongs one or two did — no independent ground
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Notable

Petitioner raised an 'Accardi doctrine' procedural argument claiming SCOPS failed to substantively analyze the record; AAO rejected this and adopted/affirmed the SCOPS decision under Matter of Burbano. AAO also declined to consider new endeavor description raised for first time on appeal per Matter of M-F-O-.

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

Cases in adjacent profiles