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EB-2 NIWEducation and academiaIndividualDecided January 2026Remanded

Outcome: Remanded

JAN202026_03B5203

Merit and national importanceNot reached / not discussedWell positionedNot reached / not discussedBalance favors a waiverNot reached / not discussed

Our summary

A musician and music educator sought EB-2 immigrant classification with national interest waiver. SCOPS established advanced degree eligibility but denied the waiver. The AAO remanded because SCOPS failed to sufficiently analyze the three Dhanasar prongs and did not put the petitioner on notice of evidentiary deficiencies.

Official PDF

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Published by USCIS. The summary is ours, in our own words; the decision text is on uscis.gov.

No criterion in the table was found met in this decision.

What was missing

Every criterion in the table was found met.

Criteria

CriterionReadingWhy
Merit and national importanceNot reached / not discussedSCOPS decision on national importance was insufficient for review; remanded for fuller analysis of national importance prong
Well positionedNot reached / not discussedSCOPS decision did not adequately address well-positioned prong; remanded for analysis of education, plan specificity, and feasibility
Balance favors a waiverNot reached / not discussedSCOPS did not adequately explain balancing analysis; remanded for addressed consideration of all relevant factors

A published decision describes one case. It is not legal advice and not a prediction for yours.

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