dismissedNOV152023_06B52032023-11-15 · 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, a fitness consultant, trainer, and entrepreneur, proposed to open a youth soccer academy in Florida with planned expansion, while also providing business consultancy services to fitness franchises seeking U.S. expansion.
Field: fitness training / sports consultancy · Read the decision (uscis.gov)
Prong 1 — national importancenot established · dispositive
“the relevant question is not the importance of the industry or profession in which the individual will work; instead, we focus on the "the specific endeavor that the foreign national proposes to undertake."”
“the potential for a limited contribution to a proclaimed national cause cannot, itself, be considered national in scope.”
“the financial projections are speculative and are not supported by probative evidence showing how those projections were calculated.”
“the record does not show that the Petitioner's proposed endeavor stands to sufficiently extend beyond his academy's students or his franchises and their clientele to impact youth soccer, the health and fitness industry, or the U.S. economy more broadly at a level commensurate with national importance.”
AAO decision text
How the evidence was treated
- business plan · discounted
“the financial projections are speculative and are not supported by probative evidence showing how those projections were calculated”
AAO decision text - recommendation letter · discounted
“the letters of recommendation, while laudatory of the Petitioner's professionalism and capabilities, do not speak to the national importance”
AAO decision text - funding · discounted
“these letters discuss the Petitioner's previous work with the company, but they do not describe an affiliation ... that would suggest funding commitments or future business relationships”
AAO decision text - media · discounted
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
- 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
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Notable
The Director's decision never reached the underlying EB-2 classification issue despite raising it in an RFE, and AAO reserved that question as unnecessary. Petitioner argued his endeavor aligned with a White House proclamation on physical fitness; AAO rejected this as insufficient to establish national scope.
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
- Matter of L-A-C-
- Poursina v. USCIS
- USCIS Policy Manual F.5(B)(2)
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