NIW Bearings
dismissedFEB202026_01B52032026-02-20 · appeal · SCOPS Service Center

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 proposes to work in the United States as a software developer leading enterprise-level digital transformation initiatives and automating business processes through low-code development platforms such as Appian and Microsoft Power Apps.

Field: software development, low-code development, business process automation, enterprise modernization · Read the decision (uscis.gov)

EB-2 threshold — addressed

SCOPS and AAO both agreed the Petitioner qualifies as a member of the professions holding an advanced degree.

Prong 1 — national importancenot established · dispositive

“the Petitioner has not provided sufficient evidence specifically mentioning his proposed endeavor or discussing the government's interest in promoting the use of his work on developing low-code platforms”
“the Petitioner has not sufficiently shown that his proposed endeavor would impact the field of technology, software development, or the U.S. information technology infrastructure more broadly rather than benefiting his employer, clients, or users”
“the letters do not include sufficient persuasive and corroborating information about the Petitioner's proposed endeavor and its impact rising to the level of national importance”
“The support letters are of little probative value as they conflate the importance of the field overall with the national importance of the Petitioner's specific endeavor.”
“the record lacks sufficient evidence to show that the Petitioner's low-code solutions will have an impact on the low-code industry or the U.S. economy at a level commensurate with national importance”
“The Petitioner has not established that his proposed endeavor stands to impact or significantly reduce the claimed national shortage.”

AAO decision text

How the evidence was treated

  • recommendation letter · discounted
    “The support letters are of little probative value as they conflate the importance of the field overall with the national importance of the Petitioner's specific endeavor.”
    AAO decision text
  • other · discounted
    “the relevant question is not the importance of the industry or profession in which the individual will work”
    AAO decision text
  • resume experience · credited
  • degree · credited

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
  • Letters conclusory · p1 — letters praise skills in general terms without tracing specific impact
  • 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
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Notable

The AAO agreed with SCOPS that the endeavor has substantial merit but found national importance not established, making P1 dispositive. The AAO explicitly rejected the occupational-shortage argument, noting that labor shortages are addressed through the labor certification process. The Petitioner referenced the 2021 Executive Order on federal customer experience, the DoD software modernization strategy, the Federal Data Strategy, and the 21st Century IDEA, but the AAO found these insufficient to tie the specific endeavor to national importance. SCOPS is identified as 'Service Center Operations (SCOPS)' rather than a named service center, coded as 'other'.

What this case teaches

Analyst reading of the decision text.

Decisive factor

Petitioner conflated importance of the low-code industry/government policy generally with the national importance of his specific endeavor, without evidence tying his particular work to broader impact beyond employer/clients.

Transferable lesson

Tie the specific endeavor—not the industry or field—directly to documented, quantifiable national-scale impact beyond current employer or clients.

Endeavor framing

moderate

National-importance theory

government_interest · critical_emerging_tech · economic_job_creation · us_competitiveness · geographic_or_shortage_area

Evidence targeting

person_focused

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