The Petitioner, a commercial pilot and flight instructor with nearly 30 years of experience, proposed to continue working in the U.S. aviation industry as a pilot and/or flight instructor, claiming this would help alleviate the national pilot shortage.

Prong 1 — national importancenot established · dispositive

“The Petitioner did not provide a timeline for when he would occupy each of these roles and it is not apparent whether securing a position in either of these areas is the proposed endeavor”

“Overall, we have insufficient information concerning the proposed endeavor with which to determine whether it has both substantial merit and national importance because the Petitioner's proposed endeavor has not been clearly defined.”

“It is important to note that the shortage of pilots, as well as aviation instructors, does not render the Petitioner's proposed endeavor nationally important under the Dhanasar framework.”

“how one pilot will improve a national shortage or will trigger substantial positive economic impacts has not been explained”

“In this case, the Petitioner does not intend to advance STEM technologies and research.”

“none of the authors discussed the Petitioner's proposed future endeavor. Instead, the authors primarily focused on the Petitioner's past work experience and accomplishments.”

“this opinion is based primarily on the importance of the aviation field.”

AAO decision text

How the evidence was treated

• recommendation letter · discounted

  “none of the authors discussed the Petitioner's proposed future endeavor”

  AAO decision text
• other · discounted

  “this opinion is based primarily on the importance of the aviation field”

  AAO decision text
• resume experience · discounted

  “relate to the second prong of the Dhanasar framework, which shifts the focus from the proposed endeavor to the foreign national”

  AAO decision text
• certification membership · discounted
• other · discounted

  “these articles provide useful background information, they are of limited value in this matter, as the Petitioner's specific proposed endeavor is unclear”

  AAO decision text

Where this case turned

• 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
• Letters conclusory · p1 — letters praise skills in general terms without tracing specific impact
• Letters not independent · p1 — letters come from employers and close collaborators, not independent experts
• 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 rejected the STEM-designation argument, noting that merely being in a STEM-listed field does not establish national importance where the petitioner does not intend to advance STEM research/technology. AAO also explicitly stated that labor shortages are addressed through the labor certification process, not the NIW national importance analysis, reflecting a footnote distinguishing shortage arguments from Dhanasar's national importance prong.

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 E-M-
• Matter of L-A-C-

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