Published AAO appeal decisions

Data scientist seeks NIW for developing fraud prevention systems at employer. AAO found proposed endeavor has substantial merit but lacks national importance; employer benefits insufficient to show broader implications for field or economy.

Ph.D. computer scientist in machine learning and healthcare sought EB-2 NIW. Claimed research has national importance based on industry relevance and policy alignment. AAO dismissed finding petitioner conflated field importance with specific endeavor impact and failed to show particular proposed research would result in national-level consequences.

Beneficiary is a software engineer at a technology company proposing to work on enterprise connectivity and digital platforms. The AAO found substantial merit but rejected the petition because the beneficiary failed to demonstrate that her specific proposed endeavor has national importance; work benefiting a single employer, even with national footprint, is insufficient.

A manufacturing engineer with an advanced degree sought an NIW for semiconductor work. The AAO dismissed the appeal, finding the petitioner established substantial merit but failed to demonstrate national importance of the specific proposed endeavor beyond his employer's contributions.

A specialist in digital transformation and cybersecurity seeks EB-2 advanced degree classification and NIW. Service center found substantial merit and that petitioner was well-positioned to advance the endeavor but rejected it for lack of national importance. AAO affirmed dismissal, finding the specific proposed endeavor lacked demonstrated national importance despite field importance.

A semiconductor technology researcher with a Ph.D. sought NIW under Dhanasar. USCIS denied, finding advanced degree qualification but failing all three Dhanasar prongs. AAO remanded, finding USCIS did not meaningfully evaluate the record or address petitioner's evidence.

A software engineer with master's degree in computer science seeks EB-2 national interest waiver for designing novel algorithms in private cloud storage. The AAO dismissed, finding the proposed endeavor lacked demonstrated national importance beyond the employer's specific needs.

A systems engineering specialist sought EB-2 national interest waiver. The AAO dismissed the appeal, finding the proposed endeavor lacked sufficient national importance under Dhanasar. Working in telecommunications generally does not establish specific endeavor importance; broader industry relevance was insufficient.

A technology corporation sponsored an engineer for EB-2 with NIW to advance wireless RF digital module design. The petitioner failed to address the third Dhanasar prong (balance favoring waiver) including labor certification impracticality; the appeal arguments were limited and did not meaningfully contest the service center's denial. The appeal was dismissed as the third prong is dispositive.

Telecommunications engineer sought EB-2 NIW for startup company providing connectivity and cybersecurity solutions. SCOPS found substantial merit but denied lack of national importance. AAO affirmed, finding proposed endeavor lacked specific details about services, job creation, and scale necessary to demonstrate national importance.

AI engineer self-petitioner sought NIW based on broad plans to advance AI and exponential technologies for healthcare and general use. AAO found no specific proposed endeavor: petitioner discussed general intentions without particularizing data-driven tools, efficiency gains, or LLM inference work. Appeal dismissed; favorable prong determinations withdrawn without specific endeavor.

IT consultant sought EB-2 with national interest waiver claiming exceptional ability. AAO affirmed second denial after remand, finding only one of six exceptional ability criteria met. National importance not established for proposed IT consulting endeavor.

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 with a master's in computer engineering seeks EB-2 NIW for work in AI recommendation systems and APIs. The AAO dismissed the appeal, finding the endeavor failed the national importance prong of Dhanasar because benefits do not extend beyond the employer to regional or national scope.

A software engineer with a master's degree in electrical and computer engineering sought an NIW for work in edge AI computing. The AAO dismissed the appeal, finding the petitioner failed to establish national importance through credible, probative evidence comparable to the standard set in Dhanasar.

An applied scientist and machine learning engineer seeks EB-2 NIW to advance energy security and industrial AI systems. The AAO dismissed the appeal, finding the proposed endeavor lacked sufficient national importance under Dhanasar's first prong despite claims about AI field value.

Computer scientist specializing in bioinformatics employed by technology company sought EB-2 with NIW. AAO dismissed because evidence demonstrated field importance but failed to establish national importance of petitioner's specific proposed research endeavor or its prospective impact under Dhanasar.

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.

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 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.

Machine learning software engineer employed by a company seeks national interest waiver. Claimed his proposed AI research has substantial merit and national importance. AAO held the evidence does not demonstrate prospective national or global impact on the field; references to AI importance and conference invitations do not establish national importance of his specific endeavor.

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 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 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.