Cybersecurity specialist seeks NIW to establish consulting company as CEO. AAO dismissed appeal, finding petitioner failed to demonstrate national importance of proposed endeavor, lacking evidence the company would operate at scale or have broader implications for cybersecurity industry despite cybersecurity being government priority.

A cybersecurity professional sought EB-2 NIW for work involving AI-powered threat detection and zero-trust architecture. The AAO found the proposed endeavor, though aligned with government priorities, lacks national importance because it would not demonstrate significant prospective impact on the industry or economy beyond the petitioner's prospective clients.

Senior security researcher seeks NIW for cybersecurity innovations. AAO dismissed finding proposed endeavor lacks national importance; work benefits only specific employers and clients without broader field or national security implications.

Cybersecurity professional sought EB-2 NIW for proposed work developing advanced payment security and fraud detection systems. AAO found substantial merit but concluded endeavor lacked national importance; work would not extend beyond prospective employers or customers to impact field broadly or produce substantial economic benefits.