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 pelvic physiotherapist, sought to work in the United States in her field, though the specific proposed endeavor was not substantively addressed because the case was resolved on threshold eligibility grounds.
Field: pelvic physiotherapy · Read the decision (uscis.gov)
EB-2 threshold — not met
Petitioner failed to prove her foreign degree was equivalent to a U.S. bachelor's degree (no transcripts submitted with the evaluation) and failed to submit the required employer letters showing five years of progressive post-baccalaureate experience, relying instead on her uncorroborated CV; she also did not contest SCOPS' alternative exceptional-ability denial, waiving that issue.
How the evidence was treated
- degree · discounted
“Absent the transcripts accompanying the Petitioner's undergraduate degree demonstrating four years of study, she has not established”
AAO decision text - resume experience · discounted
“this material essentially amounts to an uncorroborated assertion from the Petitioner”
AAO decision text
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Notable
SCOPS denied the underlying EB-2 classification (advanced degree professional and, alternatively, exceptional ability) and never reached the NIW merits; the AAO affirmed that approach, holding agencies need not make advisory findings on unnecessary issues once a dispositive ground for denial is identified. All three NIW prongs were therefore never analyzed. The decision turns entirely on credential-evaluation deficiencies (missing transcripts) and insufficient experience evidence (reliance on a CV rather than required employer letters), plus a harmless-error/prejudice analysis regarding SCOPS' factual misstatement about the job description.
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. 103.2(b)(8)
- 8 C.F.R. 204.5(k)(2)
- USCIS Policy Manual F.5(B)(2)
Cases in adjacent profiles
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- The Petitioner, a music therapist, proposed to establish and expand music therapy services and community music programs
- The Petitioner, a physical therapist, proposed to work as a physical therapist in the United States while operating his