The Petitioner, a psychiatrist, proposed to conduct research on reducing the social stigma of substance use and alcohol use disorders, using various research methods and developing educational programs to address stigma.

Prong 1 — national importancenot established · dispositive

“the nature of the Petitioner's proposed endeavor is unclear”

“she did not explain whether she would do this by partnering with, being employed by, or consulting with existing institutions”

“The Petitioner has also not provided sufficient details about her intended projects, such as an operational plan, a timeline, or quantifiable business metrics”

“Merely working in an important field is insufficient to establish the national importance of a proposed endeavor without evidence documenting the "potential prospective impact"”

“she has largely submitted articles and reports about U.S. interest and efforts to address the same topics her endeavor seeks to address, which do not discuss the Petitioner or her particular endeavor”

“These letters do not offer specific detail about how the Petitioner's endeavor would be achieved”

AAO decision text

How the evidence was treated

• recommendation letter · discounted

  “These letters do not offer specific detail about how the Petitioner's endeavor would be achieved.”

  AAO decision text
• media · discounted

  “she has largely submitted articles and reports about U.S. interest and efforts to address the same topics her endeavor seeks to address, which do not discuss the Petitioner or her particular endeavor”

  AAO decision text
• resume experience · discounted

  “these are more relevant to an analysis of whether she is well-positioned to advance her proposed endeavor under Dhanasar's second prong”

  AAO decision text
• degree · credited
• citations publications · ignored

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 not independent · p1 — letters come from employers and close collaborators, not independent experts

Notable

AAO explicitly agreed with the Petitioner that Dhanasar does not require a showing of economic impact for research endeavors, correcting the Director's denial rationale on that point, but still found national importance unestablished due to vagueness of the endeavor itself and reliance on field-level importance rather than endeavor-specific 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.

• 8 C.F.R. 103.3
• 8 C.F.R. 204.5(k)(2)
• INA 203(b)(2)
• USCIS Policy Manual F.5(D)(1)

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