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 sought to work as an entrepreneur establishing and operating his own heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) company.
Field: HVAC / business management · Read the decision (uscis.gov)
EB-2 threshold — not met
Petitioner failed to establish exceptional ability under any of the six regulatory criteria (education, ten years' experience, license/certification, salary, membership, recognition), and thus did not meet the threshold requirement for EB-2 classification as an individual of exceptional ability.
How the evidence was treated
- degree · discounted
“the Petitioner did not provide an academic credential evaluation to establish the U.S. equivalency of this diploma”
AAO decision text - resume experience · discounted
“the Petitioner did not explain how this experience relates to the HVAC occupation”
AAO decision text - certification membership · discounted
“the Petitioner did not establish that he was a member of this association prior to the filing of the petition”
AAO decision text - recommendation letter · discounted
“the letters do not describe recognition for achievements and significant contributions to the industry or field”
AAO decision text
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Notable
AAO declined to reach the Dhanasar prongs because Petitioner failed the threshold exceptional-ability requirement; AAO also rejected Petitioner's procedural/due-process arguments (claims of constitutional and international treaty violations) as unsupported and noted it lacks jurisdiction to rule on constitutionality of the Act/regulations. AAO noted that if the threshold issue were later overcome on motion, it would remand for the Director to address the Dhanasar framework in the first instance.
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
- Matter of Katigbak
- Matter of L-A-C-
- Matter of O-R-E-
- Matter of R-A-M-
- Poursina v. USCIS
Cases in adjacent profiles
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- The Petitioner proposed to establish and lead as CEO a cybersecurity and crisis management company in Florida, offering
- The Petitioner proposed to establish and operate an IT consultancy company in Michigan providing cloud migration, cybers