Published AAO appeal decisions

An employer petitioned for an EB-2 national interest waiver for a process engineer with a Ph.D. in chemistry. The AAO dismissed the appeal, finding the beneficiary's proposed process engineering work lacked national importance despite the employer's significant business scale, as the work would not impact the industry broadly.

Research chemist sought EB-1A extraordinary ability classification. AAO found three criteria met but concluded final merits analysis demonstrated lack of sustained international acclaim or placement among small percentage at field top, dismissing appeal.

A patent agent employed in Massachusetts claimed extraordinary ability based on judging, scholarly articles, and original contributions. The AAO found two criteria met but concluded original contributions lacked evidence of major significance despite high-impact publications and citations, falling short of the three-criterion minimum.