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 proposed to establish and serve as CEO of a software development, video game design, and IT consulting business based in Florida with an office in California, targeting historically underutilized business communities.
Field: video game design / software development / IT consulting · Read the decision (uscis.gov)
EB-2 threshold — addressed
Director found, and AAO did not disturb, that Petitioner established eligibility as an advanced degree professional.
Prong 1 — national importancenot established · dispositive
“the record did not establish that his proposed endeavor has the potential to extend beyond his business and his clients to impact his field more broadly”
“The Petitioner has not provided corroborating evidence to support his claims that his business' activities stand to provide substantial economic benefits”
“the record does not sufficiently detail the basis for its financial and staffing projections, or adequately explain how these projections will be realized”
“merely working in the video game software development field or starting a software development, video game design, and information technology consulting business is insufficient to establish the national importance of the proposed endeavor”
“the opinion claims that the Petitioner would be working in an area of national importance, instead of focusing on the Petitioner's proposed endeavor”
AAO decision text
How the evidence was treated
- business plan · discounted
“the record does not sufficiently detail the basis for its financial and staffing projections, or adequately explain how these projections will be realized”
AAO decision text - recommendation letter · discounted
“the opinion claims that the Petitioner would be working in an area of national importance, instead of focusing on the Petitioner's proposed endeavor”
AAO decision text - resume experience · discounted
“his academic credentials and professional experience relate to the second prong of the Dhanasar framework”
AAO decision text - other · discounted
“The industry reports and articles submitted do not discuss any projected U.S. economic impact or job creation specifically attributable to the Petitioner's proposed endeavor.”
AAO decision text
Where this case turned
- Business plan speculative · p1 — projections without a documented basis or steps
- Economic claims unsupported · p1 — job/revenue projections with no corroborating basis
- Field importance conflated with endeavor · p1 — argues the field matters, not the specific endeavor
- Letters conclusory · p1 — letters praise skills in general terms without tracing specific impact
- Local, not national scope · p1 — impact confined to clients / a region
Notable
AAO expressly declined to reach prongs 2 and 3 because prong 1 failure was dispositive; the Director had not even made a prong 2 finding below.
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)
- Matter of D-R-
- Matter of E-M-
- Matter of L-A-C-
- Poursina v. USCIS
What this case teaches
Analyst reading of the decision text.
Petitioner failed to show the specific business endeavor (not the industry) would have impact beyond his own clients/business, with no corroborated evidence of national-scale economic or field effects.
Support projected economic/job impact with independent, probative evidence tied directly to the specific endeavor, and address why the scale is nationally significant, not just industry growth generally.
moderate
economic_job_creation · economic_growth_generic · us_competitiveness · field_advancement
person_focused
Cases in adjacent profiles
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- The Petitioner proposed to establish and lead as CEO a cybersecurity and crisis management company in Florida, offering
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