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 music teacher and percussionist, planned to operate a business offering music therapy, music education classes, concerts, and sales of musical instruments and teaching materials in Florida, with plans to expand hiring over five years.
Field: music education/therapy · Read the decision (uscis.gov)
Prong 1 — national importancenot established · dispositive
“the relevant question is not the importance of the industry or profession in which the individual will work”
“the revenue and the job creation estimates are based upon sales projections which are not supported by details showing their basis or an explanation of how they will be achieved”
“It is insufficient to claim an endeavor has national importance or would create a broad impact without providing evidence to substantiate such claims”
“Moreover, shortages of qualified workers are directly addressed by the U.S. Department of Labor through the labor certification process”
“he does not identify these initiatives, and it is unclear from the record how the endeavor does so”
AAO decision text
How the evidence was treated
- business plan · discounted
“the revenue and the job creation estimates are based upon sales projections which are not supported by details showing their basis”
AAO decision text - recommendation letter · discounted
“relate to the second prong of the Dhanasar framework”
AAO decision text - resume experience · discounted
“relate to the second prong of the Dhanasar framework”
AAO decision text - media · discounted
“the relevant question is not the importance of the industry or profession in which the individual will work”
AAO decision text - other · discounted
“he does not offer evidence to establish its participation in the SBA HUBZone program”
AAO decision text
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
- Endeavor too vague · p1 — described as a job role, not a defined undertaking
- Field importance conflated with endeavor · p1 — argues the field matters, not the specific endeavor
- Occupational shortage argument rejected · p1 — argues a labor shortage — the labor-certification question, not Dhanasar
Notable
Petitioner raised a preliminary due-process-style argument that the Director applied a heightened standard of proof rather than preponderance of the evidence; AAO rejected this for lack of specificity. AAO reserved both the underlying exceptional-ability classification issue and prongs 2/3 of Dhanasar as unnecessary given the dispositive prong 1 failure, but stated the decision rests on independent and alternate bases.
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
- 8 C.F.R. 204.5(k)(2)
- 8 C.F.R. 204.5(k)(3)(iii)
- Flores v. Garland
What this case teaches
Analyst reading of the decision text.
Petitioner failed to show his specific endeavor (not just his industry or skills) had national importance; job creation and economic impact claims were speculative and unsupported by evidentiary basis.
Support projected job creation/revenue with concrete methodology, and tie evidence directly to the specific endeavor's broader impact—not general industry importance or personal credentials.
vague
economic_job_creation · economic_growth_generic · geographic_or_shortage_area · field_advancement
person_focused
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