NIW Bearings
remandedSEP152021_06B52032021-09-15 · appeal · Nebraska Service Center

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 record does not clearly establish what specific endeavor the Petitioner, described as an entrepreneur in food technology, intended to pursue in the United States.

Field: food technology · Read the decision (uscis.gov)

EB-2 threshold — not met

The Director's conclusion that the Petitioner held a qualifying master's degree was unsupported; the foreign diploma and its translation do not establish equivalency to a U.S. advanced degree, and the record lacks an adequate independent credentials evaluation.

How the evidence was treated

  • degree · discounted
    The Petitioner's own letter is not "a credentials evaluation performed by an independent credentials evaluator who has provided a credible, logical, and well-documented case for such an equivalency determination."
    AAO decision text

This record is one of thousands, each coded for the reasons it turned. A placement shows where your profile sits in that record, not what it predicts. See where your profile sits — 90 seconds

Notable

The AAO withdrew the Director's finding that the Petitioner qualified as an advanced-degree professional, holding the record insufficient to establish degree equivalency, and remanded for a new threshold determination without reaching any Dhanasar prong analysis. The AAO also noted the record lacked sufficient information about the proposed endeavor to meaningfully analyze the prongs even if reached.

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. 204.5(k)(2)

What this case teaches

Analyst reading of the decision text.

Decisive factor

Director erroneously found advanced-degree eligibility without a qualifying credentials evaluation; record also lacked sufficient endeavor detail, making Dhanasar analysis impossible, requiring remand.

Transferable lesson

Submit a proper independent credentials evaluation for foreign degrees and clearly define the proposed endeavor before USCIS can assess Dhanasar prongs.

Endeavor framing

vague

Evidence targeting

person_focused

Cases in adjacent profiles