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 training and development manager, proposed to advise U.S. companies on human resources management, strategic partnerships, and cross-border business development involving Brazil and Latin America.
Field: human resources management / training and development · Read the decision (uscis.gov)
EB-2 threshold — not met
Petitioner failed to establish U.S. equivalency of her foreign 'bacharelado' and MBA-level credential as an advanced degree, failed to show five years of progressive post-baccalaureate experience in the specialty, and did not satisfy at least three of the six exceptional-ability criteria (education in the area of exceptional ability, ten years full-time experience, license/certification current at filing, salary demonstrating exceptional ability, membership, or recognition for achievements/contributions to the field).
Prong 1 — national importancenot established · dispositive
“the evidence does not suggest how these benefits would reach the field of human resource management overall or have an impact so broad as to affect the economy or create a significant number of jobs”
“We acknowledge that the field of human resource management is important; however, this is insufficient to establish the national importance of the proposed endeavor”
“the record does not evidence a sufficiently direct connection between the proposed endeavor activities and either job creation, tax revenue, or increased household spending”
“the authors did not support their conclusions that such accomplishments constitute recognition for achievements and significant contributions to the industry or field”
AAO decision text
How the evidence was treated
- degree · discounted
“generalized conclusions are insufficient to establish the U.S. equivalency of the Petitioner's education”
AAO decision text - resume experience · discounted
“The Petitioner must resolve these inconsistencies with independent, objective evidence pointing to where the truth lies”
AAO decision text - certification membership · discounted
“the Petitioner's identity card and membership with the bar was canceled in June 2018, prior to the filing of the 1-140 petition”
AAO decision text - recommendation letter · discounted
“the authors did not support their conclusions that such accomplishments constitute recognition for achievements and significant contributions to the industry or field”
AAO decision text - media · discounted
“none of these articles discuss the proposed endeavor or demonstrate its impact”
AAO decision text
All 6 evidence items
- other · discounted
“we will reject an opinion or give it less weight if it is not in accord with other information in the record or if it is in anyway questionable”
AAO decision text
Where this case turned
- 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 found the underlying EB-2 classification (both advanced degree and exceptional ability) unmet, which alone mooted the NIW analysis, but nonetheless analyzed prong 1 'simply to lend clarity' because the Director's prong-one language was 'somewhat confusing and can be interpreted as contradictory.' The decision includes an unusually detailed foreign-credential-equivalency analysis using the AACRAO EDGE database.
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)
- Matter of E-M-
- Matter of Ho
- Matter of L-A-C-
- Matter of V-K-
- Poursina v. USCIS
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