NIW Bearings
dismissedMAY092024_06B52032024-05-09 · appeal · 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, an automation technician with experience in electrical, robotics, and PLC systems in the automotive industry, proposed to continue working in industrial automation in the U.S., developing and improving automation processes for American companies.

Field: industrial automation / electromechanics · Read the decision (uscis.gov)

EB-2 threshold — not met

AAO agreed with Director that Petitioner did not establish exceptional ability; membership evidence lacked proof of organizational membership requirements, and letters/article did not show expertise significantly above that ordinarily encountered.

Prong 1 — national importancenot established · dispositive

“the Petitioner has not sufficiently described his proposed endeavor.”
“He has not identified a particular industry in which he proposes to work, nor claimed that his skills differ from or improve upon those already available and in use in the United States.”
“a shortage of qualified workers in an occupation is not sufficient, in and of itself, to establish that workers in that occupation should receive a waiver of the job offer requirement.”
“It also does not quantify what economic benefits the endeavor will generate, particularly in a depressed area”
“the importance of an endeavor is determined not by the industry or occupation it involves, but by what its specific impact will be.”

AAO decision text

How the evidence was treated

  • certification membership · discounted
    “Without detailed information about the membership requirements for either the IEEE or the SBA, we are precluded from determining that these associations are professional”
    AAO decision text
  • recommendation letter · discounted
    “neither the letter from Mr. nor other evidence in the record explains the "Z1 project" in detail or discusses the Petitioner's roles and responsibilities”
    AAO decision text
  • media · discounted
    “the article does not discuss the Petitioner's achievements in any detail. Nor does the Petitioner provide independent, objective evidence of the website's readership or reputation.”
    AAO decision text
  • resume experience · discounted
    “the evidence does not identify or describe how the Petitioner's professional accomplishments demonstrate that he has a degree of expertise significantly above that ordinarily encountered.”
    AAO decision text
  • other · discounted
    “the advisory opinion is of little probative value as it does not meaningfully address the details of the Petitioner's specific proposed endeavor”
    AAO decision text
All 6 evidence items
  • business plan · discounted
    “the purpose of the national interest waiver is not to facilitate a petitioner's U.S. job search.”
    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
  • 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
  • Occupational shortage argument rejected · p1 — argues a labor shortage — the labor-certification question, not Dhanasar
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Notable

Decision addresses both threshold exceptional-ability eligibility and NIW prong 1 as independent, each-sufficient bases for dismissal; includes a footnote alternative holding that even if all three Dhanasar prongs had been reached, the appeal would still be dismissed based on the same previously submitted evidence.

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.

  • Flores v. Garland
  • Kazarian v. USCIS
  • Matter of L-A-C-
  • Visinscaia v. Beers

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