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 software development manager, proposed to develop and implement a security automation platform for cloud services to improve threat detection, incident response, and cloud infrastructure resilience for U.S. IT companies.
Field: software development / cybersecurity · Read the decision (uscis.gov)
EB-2 threshold — addressed
SCOPS and AAO agreed petitioner qualifies as an advanced degree professional based on his master's degree in international business.
Prong 1 — national importancenot established · dispositive
“the federal policy objectives in cybersecurity do not directly address the Petitioner's specific proposed undertaking and do not indicate that the government has a particular interest in the Petitioner's planned business activities”
“The record does not adequately explain how his proposed endeavor to develop and implement a security automation platform for cloud services for his employer or clients offers benefits that extend beyond his employer or clients”
“the Petitioner has not offered sufficient evidence that his employer or clients will employ a significant population of workers in an economically depressed area or that his endeavor would offer a particular U.S. region or its population a substantial economic benefit”
AAO decision text
How the evidence was treated
- business plan · discounted
“he has not provided sufficient information and evidence to demonstrate that the prospective impact of his proposed endeavor rises to the level of national importance”
AAO decision text - recommendation letter · discounted
“the Petitioner's education, training, work experience, professional memberships, and professional achievements are relevant under the second prong of Dhanasar”
AAO decision text - resume experience · discounted
“the Petitioner's education, training, work experience, professional memberships, and professional achievements are relevant under the second prong of Dhanasar”
AAO decision text - certification membership · discounted
“the Petitioner's education, training, work experience, professional memberships, and professional achievements are relevant under the second prong of Dhanasar”
AAO decision text - degree · credited
All 6 evidence items
- other · discounted
“Without sufficient information or evidence regarding any projected U.S. economic impact or job creation attributable to his future work”
AAO decision text
Where this case turned
- Economic claims unsupported · p1 — job/revenue projections with no corroborating basis
- Employer-specific benefit · p1 — "work furthers my company's product" — value accrues to one firm
- Field importance conflated with endeavor · p1 — argues the field matters, not the specific endeavor
Notable
Petitioner cited Executive Order 14144, CISA guidelines, the 2024 National Cybersecurity Strategy Implementation Plan, and NIST Cybersecurity Framework 2.0 to argue national importance; AAO rejected this as field-level rather than endeavor-specific evidence. Decision also cites Flores v. Garland on the discretionary nature of NIW adjudications.
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. 204.5(k)(2)
- Flores v. Garland
- Matter of L-A-C-
What this case teaches
Analyst reading of the decision text.
Petitioner failed to show his cloud-security platform's benefits extend beyond his employer/clients to the broader field, cybersecurity sector, or U.S. economy at a nationally significant scale.
Tie the endeavor to quantifiable, field-wide or economy-wide impact (jobs, revenue, adoption) beyond the employer's own systems, not just industry importance or personal credentials.
moderate
critical_emerging_tech · national_security · government_interest · economic_job_creation
person_focused
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