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 proposed to establish a legal consultancy in the United States focused on alternative dispute resolution and public bond investment, aiming to create jobs, reduce judicial system burden, attract foreign direct investment, and facilitate cross-border legal transactions.
Field: alternative dispute resolution / legal consulting · Read the decision (uscis.gov)
EB-2 threshold — addressed
SCOPS found the Petitioner eligible for EB-2 as a member of the professions holding an advanced degree; this was not contested on appeal.
Prong 1 — national importancenot established · dispositive
“it does not sufficiently show how those services extend beyond the companies the endeavor intends to work with or be hired by.”
“the Petitioner did not specify the magnitude of increase he expected to realize and how the increase would elevate his endeavor to one of national importance.”
“not every endeavor that purports to increase foreign direct investment in the United States is nationally important.”
“these relate more to the substantiality of the proposed endeavor's merit than its national importance.”
“the Petitioner's professional plan indicates a nascent plan to employ individuals.”
“The Petitioner's aspirations did not demonstrate the national importance of the endeavor because they, whether realized or not, would not extend beyond the endeavor itself.”
AAO decision text
How the evidence was treated
- other · discounted
“these relate more to the substantiality of the proposed endeavor's merit than its national importance.”
AAO decision text - business plan · discounted
“the Petitioner's professional plan indicates a nascent plan to employ individuals.”
AAO decision text - resume experience · discounted
“The Petitioner's contentions about his successful past performance in the field of endeavor he proposes... are irrelevant to an examination of his eligibility under the first prong.”
AAO decision text - other · discounted
“The evidence in the record did not sufficiently describe the magnitude of foreign direct investment the Petitioner's endeavor proposed to generate.”
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
- 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
Notable
The AAO explicitly noted that the Petitioner's argument about his 18-year track record and past achievements misunderstands Prong 1, redirecting such evidence to Prong 2 analysis. The decision contains an unusually detailed discussion of the 'magnitude' requirement for economic claims under Prong 1, emphasizing that unquantified foreign direct investment projections are insufficient. P2 and P3 were expressly reserved as unnecessary given the dispositive P1 failure.
What this case teaches
Analyst reading of the decision text.
Petitioner conflated his personal track record/execution ability with the endeavor's national importance, and failed to quantify or substantiate the scale of claimed economic/job-creation impact beyond his own clientele.
Quantify the endeavor's prospective scale (investment amounts, jobs, geographic reach) and keep prong-1 evidence focused on the endeavor's broader implications, not the petitioner's résumé.
vague
economic_growth_generic · economic_job_creation · us_competitiveness · field_advancement
person_focused
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