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 use laboratory methods including morphologic description, histologic lesion evaluation, immunohistochemistry, and in situ hybridization in veterinary pathology to elucidate zoonotic, toxic, and parasitic diseases, promote wildlife conservation, and prevent transmission of reemerging diseases from animals to humans.
Field: veterinary pathology · Read the decision (uscis.gov)
EB-2 threshold — not met
The petitioner's Costa Rican Medico Veterinario Con Grado de Licenciatura was not accompanied by a properly certified English translation (original translator did not certify competency; second certifier was only a reviewer). Additionally, EDGE indicates the Licenciatura in veterinary medicine is comparable to a first professional degree (not above a bachelor's), and the record lacked evidence of entry requirements or prior academic credentials establishing the degree is above bachelor's level. The credential evaluation did not address entry requirements. AAO declined to rely on EDGE as a basis for dismissal due to lack of notice but found the translation deficiency and missing entry-requirement evidence independently dispositive.
Prong 2 — well positionednot established
“because we are precluded from determining whether the Petitioner possesses the required education for her proposed endeavor, we will withdraw SCOPS' conclusion on the second prong of the Dhanasar analytical framework.”
AAO decision text
How the evidence was treated
- degree · discounted
“the record does not demonstrate that the translator is competent to translate from the foreign language into English”
AAO decision text - other · discounted
“the evaluation does not state the entry requirement for the Medico Veterinario Con Grado de Licenciatura. Nor does the evaluation discuss any other of the Petitioner's academic coursework or credentials.”
AAO decision text - resume experience · discounted
“the record does not include how she was admitted to the residency program, whether she had the required education level, or needed to complete additional coursework prior to being accepted”
AAO decision text
Where this case turned
- Education alone insufficient · p2 — degrees offered as positioning — credentials are not a track record
Notable
AAO consulted EDGE (Electronic Database for Global Education / AACRAO) sua sponte to assess the foreign credential level, finding the Costa Rican Licenciatura in veterinary medicine comparable to a U.S. first professional degree rather than an advanced degree, but explicitly declined to use EDGE as a basis for dismissal because the petitioner had no notice of that reliance — an unusual procedural fairness step. SCOPS had affirmatively found prong 2 satisfied in the RFE without analysis; AAO withdrew that finding on appeal. The case turned entirely on the threshold EB-2 advanced-degree requirement, with all three Dhanasar prongs reserved or withdrawn.
What this case teaches
Analyst reading of the decision text.
Petitioner failed to prove she is an 'advanced degree professional': translation lacked proper certification of translator competency, and even if credited, the foreign credential's equivalency to a U.S. bachelor's-plus degree was unproven (missing entry-requirement/prior education evidence).
Submit fully compliant translations (translator, not reviewer, must certify accuracy and language competency) and complete documentation proving foreign credential exceeds a U.S. bachelor's degree before reaching NIW merits.
moderate
public_health · other
mixed
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