dismissedMAY292024_03B52032024-05-29 · appeal · Texas 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 sought to continue working as a fitness director and provide fitness-related services through her own business in Florida.
Field: fitness training / fitness director services · Read the decision (uscis.gov)
Prong 1 — national importancenot established · dispositive
“the matter here is not whether these initiatives, as well as the topics of physical trainers, fitness, or similarly related subjects, are nationally important”
“The record does not show through supporting documentation how her endeavor sufficiently extends beyond her prospective clients, to impact the field or the U.S. economy more broadly”
“the Petitioner did not establish how her fitness company has significant potential to employ U.S. workers or otherwise offer substantial positive economic effects for our nation”
“the letter repeatedly references the impact that the Petitioner will have on her clients rather than the required broader impact”
AAO decision text
How the evidence was treated
- recommendation letter · discounted
“the Petitioner's knowledge, skills, and abilities relate to the second prong of the Dhanasar framework”
AAO decision text - other · discounted
“covers a wide range of topics, such as physical inactivity and obesity, rather than establishing the national importance of her particular professional services or business”
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
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Notable
AAO expressly declined to review the Director's favorable finding on threshold EB-2 eligibility (advanced degree professional) since prong 1 alone was dispositive; decision states each stated basis is an independent and alternate basis for dismissal.
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
- Flores v. Garland
- Matter of L-A-C-
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