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, a content creator and producer in the film industry, sought to work in her field in the United States as an individual of exceptional ability with a waiver of the job offer requirement.
Field: film industry / content creation and production · Read the decision (uscis.gov)
EB-2 threshold — not met
Petitioner met only one of six exceptional ability criteria under 8 C.F.R. 204.5(k)(3)(ii)(A)-(F); did not contest the Director's findings on the other five, which were deemed waived.
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Notable
The petition failed at the threshold EB-2 exceptional-ability stage (only 1 of 6 criteria met), so the AAO expressly declined to reach the Dhanasar national interest waiver analysis at all, reserving those issues under INS v. Bagamasbad and Matter of L-A-C-. The Director's decision contained a harmless scrivener's error referencing 'extraordinary ability' criteria instead of 'exceptional ability,' which the AAO found did not affect the outcome since the correct exceptional-ability criteria were actually applied.
Authorities this decision leans on
From the doctrinal survivor set — 187 authority tests across 47 distinct authorities cleared the differential-lift gates. Only those appear here.
- 8 C.F.R. 103.3
- 8 C.F.R. 204.5(k)(2)
- 8 C.F.R. 204.5(k)(3)(iii)
- Matter of L-A-C-
- Matter of O-R-E-
- USCIS Policy Manual F.5(B)(2)
What this case teaches
Analyst reading of the decision text.
Petitioner met only one of six exceptional-ability criteria (8 C.F.R. § 204.5(k)(3)(ii)(A)) and failed to contest the Director's findings on the other five, waiving them; underlying EB-2 classification unestablished, so NIW analysis was never reached.
Secure the underlying EB-2 classification (advanced degree or exceptional ability) first and rebut every criterion the Director rejects, or those findings are deemed waived on appeal.
vague
person_focused
Cases in adjacent profiles
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- The petitioner, a tattoo artist, sought EB-2 classification as an individual of exceptional ability along with a nationa
- The Petitioner, an MMA athlete and trainer, proposed to operate a jiu jitsu company through which he would train and com
- The Petitioner sought to establish an arts education academy in Ohio, with plans to expand to New York and Michigan, off
- The Petitioner, an art curator, proposed to establish a nonprofit cultural center/platform focused on exhibitions, oral