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, an experienced urban planner, proposed to revitalize U.S. cities through mixed-use real estate development and to expand housing access nationwide through a housing policy advocacy platform she founded.
Field: urban planning · Read the decision (uscis.gov)
EB-2 threshold — addressed
SCOPS and AAO agree the Petitioner's master's degree in public administration satisfies the advanced-degree professional requirement.
Prong 1 — national importanceestablished
Prong 3 — balance of factorsestablished
How the evidence was treated
- recommendation letter · ignored
- citations publications · discounted
“none of the articles mention the self-petitioner, or otherwise address the potential prospective impact”
AAO decision text - other · ignored
“offer specific information and evidence to corroborate her assertions”
AAO decision text
This record is one of thousands, each coded for the reasons it turned. A placement shows where your profile sits in that record, not what it predicts. See where your profile sits — 90 seconds →
Notable
AAO remanded not because the Petitioner failed the Dhanasar prongs but because SCOPS's decision failed to adequately discuss the evidence of record or explain its reasoning, citing Matter of M-P-; the AAO also noted SCOPS mistakenly referenced the Petitioner's field as 'petroleum engineering' and misattributed an 'occupational shortages' argument never made by the Petitioner.
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)
- Flores v. Garland
What this case teaches
Analyst reading of the decision text.
SCOPS' denial was procedurally deficient: it ignored substantial record evidence (specific DC/VA/MI projects, government planning documents, platform impact data) and gave conclusory, factually inaccurate reasoning (e.g., misidentifying petitioner's field), precluding meaningful appellate review.
Even a strong evidentiary record can be remanded, not granted, if the adjudicator fails to engage with it; petitioners should press for explicit analysis of each Dhanasar prong on appeal.
moderate
economic_job_creation · geographic_or_shortage_area · economic_growth_generic
mixed
Cases in adjacent profiles
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- 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