dismissedMAY122025_04B52032025-05-12 · 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 structural engineer, proposed to provide civil/structural engineering consultancy and project management services through his own company in the United States, focusing on public safety and challenging environments.

Field: civil/structural engineering · Read the decision (uscis.gov)

EB-2 threshold — addressed

SCOPS determined the Petitioner established eligibility as an advanced degree professional; not contested.

Prong 1 — national importancenot established · dispositive

“it is not apparent how the Petitioner's services would have global or national implications to the field beyond the individuals or entities using them.”

“merely working in an important field or in an area a government entity has described as a priority is insufficient to establish the national importance of the proposed endeavor.”

“we do not focus on the importance of the field, industry, or profession in which the individual will work but on "the specific endeavor that the foreign national proposes to unde1iake".”

“The Petitioner has not established the extent to which his proposed endeavor's methods or strategies improve upon those already available and in use in the United States”

AAO decision text

How the evidence was treated

business plan · discounted
“the Petitioner was put on notice and given a reasonable opportunity to provide this evidence. We will therefore not consider it for the first time on appeal.”
AAO decision text
recommendation letter · discounted
“the Petitioner's expert letters did not address his specific endeavor and therefore did not establish its national importance.”
AAO decision text
other · discounted
“merely working in an important field or in an area a government entity has described as a priority is insufficient to establish the national importance”
AAO decision text

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
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

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Notable

AAO declined to consider a business plan submitted for the first time on appeal, citing Matter of Furtado and the RFE notice rule; Petitioner's procedural argument that SCOPS erred by not analyzing prong two was rejected as unnecessary given the dispositive prong-one failure.

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
Matter of L-A-C-

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