The Petitioner, an oral and maxillofacial surgeon, proposed to work as an academic surgeon providing clinical care and clinical teaching/mentorship to surgery residents at a university medical center.

Prong 1 — national importancenot established · dispositive

“A shortage of qualified professionals alone does not render the work of an individual academic surgeon nationally important under the Dhanasar precedent decision.”

“The record, however, does not include evidence to corroborate the Petitioner's claim that her undertaking stands to "have an impact across the field."”

“the record does not show that the Petitioner's clinical and educational work stands to sufficiently extend beyond her dental patients and medical trainees to impact academia or the field of oral and maxillofacial surgery more broadly”

AAO decision text

How the evidence was treated

• recommendation letter · discounted

  “A shortage of qualified professionals alone does not render the work of an individual academic surgeon nationally important.”

  AAO decision text
• resume experience · discounted

  “The Petitioner's claims regarding her education, medical skills, and oral and maxillofacial surgery experience relate to the second prong of the Dhanasar framework.”

  AAO decision text
• other · discounted

  “This shortage of dentists in [] and the United States is not sufficient to demonstrate the national importance of any particular clinical or teaching work.”

  AAO decision text

Where this case turned

• Endeavor too vague · p1 — described as a job role, not a defined undertaking
• 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

Notable

AAO explicitly addresses gender underrepresentation argument (petitioner as female role model in male-dominated specialty) and rejects it for lack of corroborating evidence; also notes labor shortage arguments properly belong to prong 3 balancing analysis, not prong 1.

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.

• Poursina v. USCIS

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