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 Beneficiary proposes to design and implement innovative pharmaceutical supply chain processes to facilitate pharmaceutical manufacturing in the United States and ensure the availability of critical medicines domestically and globally, serving as associate vice president of a U.S. supply chain lead at a major pharmaceutical company headquartered in Indiana.
Field: pharmaceutical supply chain management · Read the decision (uscis.gov)
Prong 1 — national importancenot established · dispositive
“the Petitioner has not demonstrated that the Beneficiary's proposed role as an associate vice president would have a significant impact beyond [redacted] to benefit the regional or national economy”
“the Petitioner cannot rely on its market share alone to claim the Beneficiary's work is nationally important. It must show how the functions and tasks carried out by the Beneficiary coalesce into a nationally important endeavor.”
“Without sufficient evidence regarding the projected U.S. economic impact or job creation directly attributable to the Beneficiary's future work, the record does not show that the benefits to the regional or national economy resulting from the Beneficiary's endeavor would reach the level of 'substantial positive economic effects'”
“merely working in an important field is insufficient to establish the national importance of the proposed endeavor.”
“the relevant question is not the importance of the industry or profession in which the individual will work. Instead, we focus on the 'the specific endeavor that the foreign national proposes to undertake.'”
AAO decision text
How the evidence was treated
- recommendation letter · discounted
“they do not offer sufficient, detailed, and concrete examples of how the Beneficiary's endeavor has the potential for broad and measurable implications for the country”
AAO decision text - resume experience · discounted
“although an individual's experience, qualifications, contributions, and achievements are material, they are misplaced in the context of the first Dhanasar prong”
AAO decision text - other · discounted
“the Petitioner has not sufficiently explained or demonstrated how the Beneficiary's employment would independently lead to economic growth or job creation nationwide”
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
- Local, not national scope · p1 — impact confined to clients / a region
Notable
The petitioner is described as the world's largest pharmaceutical manufacturer by market capitalization ($578 billion), yet the AAO found the company's scale and investment claims insufficient to establish national importance of the specific associate vice president role. The AAO explicitly noted that evidence of the beneficiary's qualifications and professional experience, while relevant to prong 2, is generally immaterial to prong 1. The AAO also flagged that the petition improperly referenced extraordinary ability evidentiary criteria (8 C.F.R. § 204.5(h)(3)) inapplicable to the EB-2 advanced degree classification at issue.
What this case teaches
Analyst reading of the decision text.
Petitioner conflated employer's overall investments/market position with the Beneficiary's specific endeavor, failing to show her particular role's impact rose to national importance.
Tie national-importance evidence directly to the beneficiary's specific proposed tasks and their measurable broader impact, not the employer's general scale or the beneficiary's resume.
moderate
public_health · economic_job_creation · economic_growth_generic · us_competitiveness
person_focused
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