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 lead an Aircraft Process Quality Control Program in the United States, working as a technical consultant, aircraft inspector, or instructor within FAA Part 145-certified companies or civilian UH-60 operators to improve aviation safety, reliability, and operational efficiency.
Field: aviation / aircraft quality control and inspection · Read the decision (uscis.gov)
Prong 1 — national importancenot established · dispositive
“the record does not establish how the Petitioner intends to accomplish his goal of 'working as a technical consultant, aircraft inspector, or instructor within FAA Part 145-certified companies or civilian UH-60 operators,' whether as a worker directly employed by those companies or by founding a startup airline safety consulting company.”
“the record does not substantiate those statements with probative, objective evidence of that.”
“the publications in the record providing generalized information regarding the aviation industry do not address the Petitioner, the specific endeavor he proposes to undertake, and how the endeavor may have the type of broader implications indicative of national importance”
“determining whether the specific endeavor an individual proposes to undertake may have national importance does not consider merely whether the industry, field, or profession in which an individual will work is important or 'aligns ... with national priorities.'”
“the Petitioner does not satisfy his burden of establishing what the specific endeavor would be and demonstrating how the specific endeavor may do so.”
AAO decision text
How the evidence was treated
- other · discounted
“they provide information regarding the importance of the industry, field, or profession in which the Petitioner will work, which is not the focus in determining whether a proposed endeavor may have national importance.”
AAO decision text - resume experience · discounted
“the Petitioner's qualifications and prior work experience are material to the second Dhanasar prong ... they do not address how the specific, prospective endeavor an individual proposes to undertake may have national or even global implications”
AAO decision text
Where this case turned
- 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
- Local, not national scope · p1 — impact confined to clients / a region
Notable
The AAO emphasized that the petitioner's failure to clarify whether the endeavor involved direct employment versus founding a consulting startup was material to the national importance analysis, specifically because it bore on the potential to employ U.S. workers. The petitioner's notable past achievement — identifying a design flaw in the AW139 helicopter tail rotor system leading to a global Alert Service Bulletin — was acknowledged on appeal but deemed relevant only to Prong 2 (well-positioned), not Prong 1 national importance. The threshold EB-2 exceptional ability finding was expressly reserved.
What this case teaches
Analyst reading of the decision text.
Petitioner never clarified the concrete structure of the endeavor (employee vs. founder) or substantiated its scope, so national importance under prong one could not be established.
Define the endeavor's concrete operational structure (employer/role, location, scale) and support job-creation or impact claims with specific, objective evidence, not generic industry importance.
vague
economic_job_creation · field_advancement · government_interest
person_focused
Cases in adjacent profiles
- The Petitioner, an aircraft mechanic and instructor, proposed to enhance aviation maintenance training programs, support
- The Petitioner seeks EB-2 classification as a member of the professions holding an advanced degree with a national inter
- The petitioner sought an EB-2 national interest waiver of the job offer requirement, but the substance of the proposed e
- The Beneficiary, sponsored by a private airline, sought EB-2 classification as an individual of exceptional ability in a
- The petitioner sought an EB-2 national interest waiver as a member of the professions holding an advanced degree; the sp