Source-backed decision research

Explore how AAO evaluates evidence.

Search a substantial collection of case-specific reasoning, then narrow it by petition, field, legal issue, or date.

This expanded collection favors source-backed access over perfect automated classification. Fields, labels, summaries, and relevance may contain errors; records marked ‘broader context’ need extra care. Review the cited source before relying on any record. These appeals and motions do not show approval odds or denial rates, and are not legal advice or a prediction.

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10,847 decisions / 36,849 findings

Showing 32813290

NIWNIW · National importanceNot established

Case facts

Finance

Issue evaluated

NIW · National importance

substantial merit and national importance

Why AAO was not persuaded

AAO adopted and affirmed the Director's analysis, finding no error in the determination that the evidence did not establish national importance. AAO noted the Director explicitly considered all the evidence the Petitioner cited on appeal and applied the correct preponderance of the evidence standard.

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AAO adopted and affirmed the Director's analysis, finding no error in the determination that the evidence did not establish national importance. AAO noted the Director explicitly considered all the evidence the Petitioner cited on appeal and applied the correct preponderance of the evidence standard.
Exact record locator: findings_long.parquet filename_stem=2024-08-16_10_B5203; source_row=40069
Revision: 081d2cac29dcadfec88fdd675d7a0c4294d72b3c
Open source dataset ↗
NIWNIW · National importanceNot established

Case facts

Social Sciences

Issue evaluated

NIW · National importance

substantial merit and national importance

Why AAO was not persuaded

AAO found the business plan projections unsupported by objective evidence, the recommendation letters addressed individual skills rather than national-level impact, and the Petitioner's introduction of a rental space constituted an impermissible material change to the petition. The proposed endeavor did not show prospective impact beyond local clients and employees sufficient to meet national importance.

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AAO found the business plan projections unsupported by objective evidence, the recommendation letters addressed individual skills rather than national-level impact, and the Petitioner's introduction of a rental space constituted an impermissible material change to the petition. The proposed endeavor did not show prospective impact beyond local clients and employees sufficient to meet national importance.
Exact record locator: findings_long.parquet filename_stem=2024-08-16_07_B5203; source_row=40060
Revision: 081d2cac29dcadfec88fdd675d7a0c4294d72b3c
Open source dataset ↗
NIWNIW · National importanceNot established

Case facts

Computer Science / AI

Issue evaluated

NIW · National importance

substantial merit and national importance

Why AAO was not persuaded

AAO agreed with the Director that the Petitioner's proposed endeavor lacked national importance. Her statements reflected an intention to provide valuable services to employer(s) and customers, but the record did not support broader implications to the field. Claims about franchise management contributing to global best practices and CRM systems creating societal welfare were conclusory and unsupported.…

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AAO agreed with the Director that the Petitioner's proposed endeavor lacked national importance. Her statements reflected an intention to provide valuable services to employer(s) and customers, but the record did not support broader implications to the field. Claims about franchise management contributing to global best practices and CRM systems creating societal welfare were conclusory and unsupported. The expert letter and recommendation letters lacked relevance to national importance, focusing instead on the Petitioner's expertise and background.
Exact record locator: findings_long.parquet filename_stem=2024-08-16_05_B5203; source_row=40053
Revision: 081d2cac29dcadfec88fdd675d7a0c4294d72b3c
Open source dataset ↗
NIWNIW · National importanceNot established

Case facts

Social Sciences

Issue evaluated

NIW · National importance

substantial merit and national importance

Why AAO was not persuaded

AAO found that the Petitioner's proposed endeavor did not demonstrate national importance. The evidence did not show that her work would extend beyond her immediate students and customers to enhance societal welfare on a broader scale.…

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AAO found that the Petitioner's proposed endeavor did not demonstrate national importance. The evidence did not show that her work would extend beyond her immediate students and customers to enhance societal welfare on a broader scale. Resubmitted support letters addressed the Petitioner's personal achievements but not her proposed endeavor, and broad arguments about the importance of special education as a field do not satisfy the requirement of showing national importance of the specific proposed endeavor.
Exact record locator: findings_long.parquet filename_stem=2024-08-16_09_B5203; source_row=40066
Revision: 081d2cac29dcadfec88fdd675d7a0c4294d72b3c
Open source dataset ↗
NIWNIW · National importanceNot established

Case facts

Social Sciences

Issue evaluated

NIW · National importance

substantial merit and national importance

Why AAO was not persuaded

AAO found the Petitioner did not establish that her proposed endeavor has national importance, concluding she failed to show how her consulting work would have broader implications for U.S.-Brazil trade beyond the scope of her individual clients.

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AAO found the Petitioner did not establish that her proposed endeavor has national importance, concluding she failed to show how her consulting work would have broader implications for U.S.-Brazil trade beyond the scope of her individual clients.
Exact record locator: findings_long.parquet filename_stem=2024-08-16_08_B5203; source_row=40063
Revision: 081d2cac29dcadfec88fdd675d7a0c4294d72b3c
Open source dataset ↗
NIWNIW · National importanceNot establishedAutomated extraction · broader context

Case facts

Other

Issue evaluated

NIW · National importance

substantial merit and national importance

Why AAO was not persuaded

AAO found that the Petitioner's proposed endeavor does not sufficiently extend beyond her own company and the families it serves to impact the broader fields of pedagogy and social work or the U.S. economy at a level commensurate with national importance.…

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AAO found that the Petitioner's proposed endeavor does not sufficiently extend beyond her own company and the families it serves to impact the broader fields of pedagogy and social work or the U.S. economy at a level commensurate with national importance. Expert letters focused on the importance of the social work field generally rather than the Petitioner's specific endeavor, and industry research did not concern her specific proposed activities.
Exact record locator: findings_long.parquet filename_stem=2024-08-16_06_B5203; source_row=40056
Revision: 081d2cac29dcadfec88fdd675d7a0c4294d72b3c
Open source dataset ↗
EB-1AEB-1A · AwardsNot addressedAutomated extraction · broader context

Case facts

Other

Issue evaluated

EB-1A · Awards

nationally or internationally recognized prizes or awards

What the decision said

AAO did not analyze this criterion because finding three other criteria satisfied (iii, iv, vii) was sufficient to remand for final merits review.

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AAO did not analyze this criterion because finding three other criteria satisfied (iii, iv, vii) was sufficient to remand for final merits review.
Exact record locator: findings_long.parquet filename_stem=2024-08-16_04_B2203; source_row=40037
Revision: 081d2cac29dcadfec88fdd675d7a0c4294d72b3c
Open source dataset ↗
EB-1AEB-1A · Artistic displayEstablishedAutomated extraction · broader context

Case facts

Other

Issue evaluated

EB-1A · Artistic display

display of work at artistic exhibitions or showcases

Why the evidence was persuasive

AAO accepted the Director's determination that the Petitioner met this criterion through artistic display of his dancesport.

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AAO accepted the Director's determination that the Petitioner met this criterion through artistic display of his dancesport.
Exact record locator: findings_long.parquet filename_stem=2024-08-16_04_B2203; source_row=40041
Revision: 081d2cac29dcadfec88fdd675d7a0c4294d72b3c
Open source dataset ↗
EB-1AEB-1A · JudgingEstablishedAutomated extraction · broader context

Case facts

Other

Issue evaluated

EB-1A · Judging

participation as a judge of the work of others

Why the evidence was persuasive

AAO accepted the Director's determination that the Petitioner met this criterion through evidence of judging.

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AAO accepted the Director's determination that the Petitioner met this criterion through evidence of judging.
Exact record locator: findings_long.parquet filename_stem=2024-08-16_04_B2203; source_row=40039
Revision: 081d2cac29dcadfec88fdd675d7a0c4294d72b3c
Open source dataset ↗
EB-1AEB-1A · Published materialEstablishedAutomated extraction · broader context

Case facts

Other

Issue evaluated

EB-1A · Published material

published material about the alien in professional or major trade publications or other major media

Why the evidence was persuasive

AAO concluded, based on multiple media-ranking sources (R-'s Digital News Report 2020, S-W- analytics report, SCimago Media Rankings), that S- more likely than not qualified as major media in the Petitioner's country, and that the articles in S- about the Petitioner satisfy the criterion.

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AAO concluded, based on multiple media-ranking sources (R-'s Digital News Report 2020, S-W- analytics report, SCimago Media Rankings), that S- more likely than not qualified as major media in the Petitioner's country, and that the articles in S- about the Petitioner satisfy the criterion.
Exact record locator: findings_long.parquet filename_stem=2024-08-16_04_B2203; source_row=40038
Revision: 081d2cac29dcadfec88fdd675d7a0c4294d72b3c
Open source dataset ↗
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