Entrepreneur in financial management sought EB-2 advanced degree classification with national interest waiver. Director denied petition on national importance grounds. AAO affirmed, finding proposed endeavor providing financial consulting to small businesses did not demonstrate national importance; no specific evidence of job creation, broader field impact, or substantial economic effects required by Dhanasar.

Dental care entrepreneur seeking NIW to establish dental practice. Claimed national importance based on dental professional shortage and environmental benefits of practice. AAO affirmed denial, finding that serving individual patients lacks national importance; professional shortage alone insufficient under Dhanasar framework.

STEM education platform developer sought EB-2 with national interest waiver. Petitioner established substantial merit but failed to demonstrate national importance of specific online educational endeavor. Platform lacks broader field impact beyond prospective students; revenue projections and employment forecasts do not show substantial national economic effects.

A machine learning engineer with a master's degree sought EB-2 NIW for research into autonomous driving and robotics systems. The AAO confirmed he met the advanced degree requirement and that his endeavor had substantial merit, but rejected the petition because his proposed research lacked sufficient evidence of national importance under Dhanasar's first prong.