The Petitioner sought to establish and serve as CEO of an architecture, urban planning, and sustainability consulting business in Florida, focused on project management for government and private construction projects, particularly renovations of aging public school buildings.

Prong 1 — national importancenot established · dispositive

“merely working in the architecture and urban planning fields or starting an architecture, urban planning, and sustainability consulting services business in a growing community and in a field with a shortage of workers is insufficient to establish the national importance of the proposed endeavor”

“The U.S. Department of Labor, through the labor certification process, directly addresses such shortages of qualified workers.”

“the record does not sufficiently detail the basis for its financial and staffing projections, or adequately explain how these projections will be realized”

“the evidence does not suggest that the Petitioner's proposed endeavor to establish an architecture, urban planning, and sustainability consulting business and hiring employees in a growing industry with a shortage of workers would impact the fields or the U.S. economy more broadly”

“it does not follow that an architecture, urban planning, and sustainability consulting business using digital technologies for its projects and offering training for potential STEM professionals is of national importance”

AAO decision text

How the evidence was treated

• business plan · discounted

  “the record does not sufficiently detail the basis for its financial and staffing projections, or adequately explain how these projections will be realized”

  AAO decision text
• other · discounted

  “The articles and reports show the importance of investment in infrastructure, STEM professionals, and critical and emerging technologies; however, it does not follow that... is of national importance”

  AAO decision text
• degree · credited

Where this case turned

• Business plan speculative · p1 — projections without a documented basis or steps
• 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
• 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 cited Flores v. Garland, 72 F.4th 85 (5th Cir. 2023) regarding the discretionary nature of NIW decisions, joining other circuits. The decision addressed and rejected the Petitioner's argument that broader impacts should be considered 'irrespective of direct references in government initiatives.'

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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