Published AAO appeal decisions

Information security specialist with master's degree sought NIW for cybersecurity consulting startup. Appeal dismissed because petitioner failed to establish national importance of proposed endeavor beyond personal employment and failed to demonstrate being well positioned to advance it.

A construction project manager with an engineering master's degree sought an EB-2 classification with a national interest waiver, proposing to lead infrastructure projects using sustainable and resilient methods. The AAO dismissed the appeal because the specific endeavor was not shown to have national importance, and it reserved the remaining prongs.

Business analyst and trade consultant seeks EB-2 classification with national interest waiver for data analytics platform targeting maritime security and trade transparency. AAO affirmed that proposed endeavor lacks national importance and petitioner is not well positioned to advance it; insufficient evidence of economic or security impact.

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.

A machine learning scientist with a U.S. PhD in computational biosciences sought EB-2 NIW classification for developing bioinformatics algorithms and predictive models for disease detection and precision medicine. The AAO affirmed denial, finding the endeavor had substantial merit but lacked national importance and the petitioner was not well positioned to advance it without demonstrating broader impact or employer approval for external research dissemination.

A research and development engineer in textile materials science sought a national interest waiver for work on durable protective textiles. The AAO agreed the endeavor has merit and national importance but dismissed the appeal because education, publications, citations and letters did not show he was well positioned to advance it; the balancing prong was reserved.

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.

Entrepreneur seeks national interest waiver for EB-2 classification but lacks required advanced degree or proven exceptional ability. AAO held she failed to establish advanced degree eligibility and that her proposed endeavor lacks national importance; serves underserved clients but lacks broader field impact, accomplishments, or demonstrated track record.

Clinical trials specialist sought NIW for EB-2 to increase ethnic minority participation in drug development. AAO affirmed denial, finding the proposed seven-person business lacked sufficient national importance in healthcare or economy despite furthering a valid national goal of eliminating health disparities.

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.

Physical chemist seeks NIW for research on surface science machines and heterogeneous catalysis for clean energy. Substantial merit established but national importance not demonstrated. Petitioner presented general field importance and air quality statistics but failed to show specific prospective impact of proposed endeavor. Appeal dismissed.

Actuarial associate sought EB-2 with national interest waiver to provide AI and machine learning solutions improving pension program solvency for public servants. The AAO dismissed, holding the petitioner failed to demonstrate the proposed endeavor has national importance; letters of support and general field importance do not establish the specific endeavor's broader implications.

Aerospace engineer and robotics researcher sought EB-2 with national interest waiver to research autonomous decision-making algorithms. The AAO found the proposed endeavor had substantial merit and national importance but dismissed the appeal because the petitioner failed to show he was well positioned to advance the research through publications with minimal citations and insufficient evidence of research impact.

Veterinarian entrepreneur seeks EB-2 national interest waiver to establish rural veterinary services firm in New York. Proposed providing affordable livestock veterinary care and food safety services. AAO found endeavor has substantial merit but lacks national importance; projected employment and revenue insufficient to demonstrate impact beyond local clients.

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.

Civil engineer with Ph.D. sought NIW for research on structural reliability and truck platooning safety. AAO found endeavor had substantial merit and national importance but dismissed appeal because petitioner failed to show he was well positioned to advance it or that waiving labor certification would benefit the nation.

Electrical engineer sought NIW for research on power grid efficiency and sustainability. AAO dismissed appeal because proposed endeavor lacks national importance despite alignment with climate goals, and evidence demonstrates past qualifications rather than prospective impact of specific proposed work.

Electrical engineer with doctoral degree proposes power grid research on renewable energy integration. AAO found substantial merit and national importance met, but rejected well-positioned prong due to insufficient evidence of research success and impact, and rejected balance prong as contributions do not outweigh labor certification benefits.

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.

Graduate student in epidemiology sought EB-2 with national interest waiver for research on cancer and aging-related diseases. AAO found the proposed research endeavor had national importance but dismissed the appeal because the petitioner, as a student without principal investigator experience or concrete evidence of pursuing postdoctoral employment, was not well-positioned to advance it.

Aging services manager with recent advanced degree seeks EB-2 NIW to advance elder care nationally. AAO dismissed because petitioner failed to establish that proposed endeavor has national importance or that she is well-positioned to advance it; lacks innovation evidence, customer interest, or realized progress.

An electrical engineer with a foreign Master's degree sought EB-2 classification with national interest waiver. The AAO dismissed the appeal, finding the proposed research endeavor lacks the national or global implications required to establish national importance, and the petitioner is not well-positioned to advance it.