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 software developer with over 17 years of experience in banking and financial technology, proposed to continue work in data processing and analysis in digital finance, including mortgage data processing and online banking systems.
Field: software development / financial technology data processing · Read the decision (uscis.gov)
EB-2 threshold — addressed
AAO agreed with SCOPS that the petitioner's bachelor's-equivalent degree plus five years of progressive experience satisfied the advanced-degree professional requirement; this was not disputed on appeal.
Prong 1 — national importancenot established · dispositive
“The record is insufficiently detailed to support a finding under the first prong of the Dhanasar analytical framework.”
“merely working in an important field is insufficient to establish the national importance of the proposed endeavor.”
“the record lacks specificity with respect to the Petitioner's proposed endeavor, which precludes us from analyzing whether the proposed endeavor has national importance”
AAO decision text
Prong 2 — well positionednot established
“Because the Petitioner has not described his proposed endeavor with sufficient specificity, we are precluded from determining whether he is well-positioned to advance it.”
“we must withdraw SCOPS' determination that the Petitioner has met the second prong of the Dhanasar framework.”
AAO decision text
How the evidence was treated
- resume experience · credited
- degree · credited
- recommendation letter · discounted
“the Petitioner's skills, expertise, and abilities relate to the second prong of the Dhanasar framework”
AAO decision text - motion resubmission · discounted
“the Petitioner references the same supporting evidence submitted with the original petition and RFE response and does not provide any new evidence”
AAO decision text - other · 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
- NEW precluded by vague endeavor · p2
Notable
The appeal was dismissed on two independent grounds: (1) the petitioner failed to submit the required completed Application for Permanent Employment Certification (Form ETA 750, Part B or ETA Form 9089), which the AAO called dispositive on its own, and (2) even assuming that evidence had been submitted, the proposed endeavor was described too vaguely to satisfy Dhanasar prong one. The AAO expressly declined to reach prong three, and it also withdrew SCOPS's earlier favorable finding on prong two because the vagueness of the endeavor made that determination impossible to sustain.
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. 103.2(b)(1)
- 8 C.F.R. 103.3
- 8 C.F.R. 204.5(k)(2)
- Matter of L-A-C-
- Poursina v. USCIS
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