Published AAO appeal decisions

An entrepreneur seeking EB-2 national interest waiver proposed developing zeolite-based fertilizers, filters, and supplements for agriculture and energy sectors. AAO dismissed the appeal, finding insufficient evidence that his specific endeavor would have national importance or broad field impact beyond promotional materials and general letters.

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.

A software engineer at an energy company sought EB-2 NIW for offshore infrastructure modernization work using digital-twin modeling. AAO found endeavor had substantial merit and national importance, and beneficiary was well positioned, but denied waiver because petitioner did not establish that labor certification was incompatible with the work.

Research scientist with advanced degree sought EB-2 with national interest waiver for optimization and operations research. Decision found proposed endeavor has substantial merit and national importance but concluded she lacks sufficient record of success to be well positioned to advance it.

A computer scientist with master's degree sought an EB-2 national interest waiver for research in network architecture for data centers. The AAO dismissed, finding the petitioner established substantial merit but failed to prove national importance of the specific proposed endeavor despite industry relevance.

Biotechnology researcher proposes developing genomic editing tools for disease modeling and gene therapy targeting neurodegenerative and autoimmune disorders. AAO found the endeavor has substantial merit but rejected it because the record fails to establish the proposed endeavor's prospective impact or national importance, relying instead on general industry importance.

A civil engineering company CEO sought EB-2 classification with a national interest waiver. Under the Dhanasar framework, the AAO found the proposed consulting endeavor lacked demonstrated national importance with broader implications, failing the first prong and requiring dismissal.

A data scientist with an advanced degree sought EB-2 classification with a national interest waiver. The AAO affirmed the service center denial, finding the proposed endeavor has substantial merit but lacks national importance because the petitioner provided no evidence of prospective impact beyond the employer or significant economic effects.

Research and development manager in software engineering from China working on machine learning for insurance industry risk assessment. Met first Dhanasar prong on substantial merit and national importance but failed second prong; citations and education alone insufficient to demonstrate well-positioned status. Appeal dismissed.

A forecasting and data analysis researcher sought a national interest waiver for EB-2 classification. The AAO dismissed, finding the first Dhanasar prong met but the second and third prongs unmet: insufficient evidence of being well-positioned to advance the endeavor and that a waiver would benefit the United States.

A computer scientist with Ph.D. in STEM sought EB-2 national interest waiver for research endeavor. The AAO dismissed, finding he failed the second Dhanasar prong. Though his Ph.D. and publications were favorable factors, he lacked consistent independent research funding or demonstrated government interest to advance his proposed endeavor.

Music therapist with advanced degree seeking national interest waiver for EB-2 employment-based petition. AAO found substantial merit in proposed music therapy services but denied waiver because endeavor lacked national importance, lacking broader field-wide impact beyond local clients.

Electrical and computer engineer with master's degree seeks NIW for research refining silicon carbide process integration for semiconductor devices. AAO held petitioner failed both Dhanasar prongs: endeavor lacked demonstrated national importance and petitioner was not well-positioned to advance it without employer resources or documented funding.

Electrical engineer sought EB-2 NIW. AAO withdrew SCOPS denial and remanded. Petitioner established substantial merit and national importance of proposed research and that he is well positioned to advance it through education, experience, and expert support. SCOPS must reconsider whether balancing factors favor waiving job offer requirement.

Humanitarian nonprofit petitions for HR manager beneficiary for EB-2 with NIW. Beneficiary holds advanced degree and employer established EB-2 eligibility. AAO dismissed, finding proposed endeavor lacked sufficient national importance to satisfy first Dhanasar prong.

An employer petitioned for an EB-2 national interest waiver for a machine learning engineer developing deep learning and NLP models. The AAO dismissed the appeal, finding the petitioner established substantial merit but failed to demonstrate that the specific proposed endeavor had national importance despite evidence of AI field importance.

A digital marketing company sponsors a data scientist for EB-2 with national interest waiver. The AAO found the beneficiary qualified for EB-2 with an advanced degree and the endeavor has substantial merit, but rejected the waiver because the petitioner failed to demonstrate the proposed work has national importance, only that STEM fields are important generally.

A senior SoC researcher sought EB-2 NIW under Dhanasar. The AAO found substantial merit and national importance of his hardware security research but held he failed to show he is well-positioned to advance it, lacking contemporaneous evidence of impact or specific advancement plan.

Computer scientist with advanced degree proposed developing computer vision and large language models for drug discovery. AAO found SCOPS failed to adequately analyze whether endeavor has substantial merit and national importance, contained contradictory statements on second prong, and insufficiently analyzed third prong. Decision withdrawn and remanded.

Senior manager of data science with Ph.D. in biostatistics sought EB-2 NIW to develop multivariate temporal models using AI for gene regulatory networks and socioeconomic systems. AAO found proposed research has national importance but petitioner's employment role only benefits employer, not the nation; petitioner not well positioned to advance endeavor.

Senior machine learning engineer proposes research on foundational model disentanglement and interpretability. AAO found the endeavor has substantial merit and national importance but rejected the petition because the petitioner failed to demonstrate she is well-positioned to advance it through sufficient record of success or influence in the field.

Senior software engineer with PhD in computer science proposes distributed query optimization research. AAO found the research endeavor meritorious but distinguished between proposed independent research and employer-specific benefits, finding the latter lacks national importance. Petition dismissed because petitioner failed second prong.

A software engineer sought NIW for cloud computing work. AAO agreed that although the field has substantial merit, the petitioner's specific proposed endeavor lacks national importance. Petitioner failed to demonstrate broader implications beyond his company or how his work would impact the industry or region more broadly.

AI manufacturer petitioned for beneficiary's EB-2 national interest waiver. Beneficiary qualified for underlying EB-2 but failed NIW Dhanasar first prong; proposed work lacked demonstrated national importance and broader implications beyond company and clients.

Employer-sponsored semiconductor engineer with master's degree seeks EB-2 national interest waiver for system-level test development work. Claimed endeavor has national importance due to semiconductor industry value and testing standard implications. AAO found importance of field insufficient; specific proposed endeavor lacks demonstrated broader prospective impact.