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 8221–8230

NIWNIW · Waiver on balanceReservedAutomated extraction · broader context

Case facts

Other

Issue evaluated

NIW · Waiver on balance

on balance, beneficial to the United States

What the decision said

AAO did not reach prong 3 and remanded for the director to make the initial merits determination.

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AAO did not reach prong 3 and remanded for the director to make the initial merits determination.
Exact record locator: findings_long.parquet filename_stem=2023-05-24_01_B5203; source_row=32267
Revision: 081d2cac29dcadfec88fdd675d7a0c4294d72b3c
Open source dataset ↗
NIWNIW · Well positionedReservedAutomated extraction · broader context

Case facts

Other

Issue evaluated

NIW · Well positioned

well-positioned to advance the proposed endeavor

What the decision said

AAO did not reach prong 2 and remanded for the director's initial determination, noting that the petitioner must establish her own role in the innovation cited rather than relying on the field's general innovation.

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AAO did not reach prong 2 and remanded for the director's initial determination, noting that the petitioner must establish her own role in the innovation cited rather than relying on the field's general innovation.
Exact record locator: findings_long.parquet filename_stem=2023-05-24_01_B5203; source_row=32266
Revision: 081d2cac29dcadfec88fdd675d7a0c4294d72b3c
Open source dataset ↗
NIWNIW · National importanceNot established

Case facts

Medicine / Clinical

Issue evaluated

NIW · National importance

substantial merit and national importance

Why AAO was not persuaded

AAO found that the Petitioner's specific proposed endeavor — working as a physical therapist in a healthcare facility and potentially teaching — lacked national importance because the record did not show its prospective impact extending sufficiently beyond her direct patients or employers to affect the industry or U.S. economy broadly.…

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AAO found that the Petitioner's specific proposed endeavor — working as a physical therapist in a healthcare facility and potentially teaching — lacked national importance because the record did not show its prospective impact extending sufficiently beyond her direct patients or employers to affect the industry or U.S. economy broadly. The shortage of physical therapists does not render her endeavor nationally important under Dhanasar, as such shortages are addressed through the labor certification process.
Exact record locator: findings_long.parquet filename_stem=2023-05-23_04_B5203; source_row=32262
Revision: 081d2cac29dcadfec88fdd675d7a0c4294d72b3c
Open source dataset ↗
NIWNIW · National importanceNot established

Case facts

Medicine / Clinical

Issue evaluated

NIW · National importance

substantial merit and national importance

Why AAO was not persuaded

AAO accepted that the proposed nursing work has substantial merit but found it lacked national importance. The Petitioner's evidence addressed the nursing field generally but not the national impact of his specific proposed endeavor; the impact appeared limited to specific patients and workplaces rather than the broader field or nation.

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AAO accepted that the proposed nursing work has substantial merit but found it lacked national importance. The Petitioner's evidence addressed the nursing field generally but not the national impact of his specific proposed endeavor; the impact appeared limited to specific patients and workplaces rather than the broader field or nation.
Exact record locator: findings_long.parquet filename_stem=2023-05-23_02_B5203; source_row=32256
Revision: 081d2cac29dcadfec88fdd675d7a0c4294d72b3c
Open source dataset ↗
NIWNIW · National importanceNot established

Case facts

Business / Management

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 — operating a marketing and event services company — does not sufficiently extend beyond the company and its clientele to impact the industry or field more broadly at the level of national importance. The projected employment of 134 individuals and $10 million revenue over five years was not shown to have substantial positive national economic effects.

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AAO agreed with the Director that the Petitioner's proposed endeavor — operating a marketing and event services company — does not sufficiently extend beyond the company and its clientele to impact the industry or field more broadly at the level of national importance. The projected employment of 134 individuals and $10 million revenue over five years was not shown to have substantial positive national economic effects.
Exact record locator: findings_long.parquet filename_stem=2023-05-23_03_B5203; source_row=32259
Revision: 081d2cac29dcadfec88fdd675d7a0c4294d72b3c
Open source dataset ↗
NIWNIW · National importanceNot established

Case facts

Business / ManagementBachelor’s

Issue evaluated

NIW · National importance

substantial merit and national importance

Why AAO was not persuaded

The Petitioner's proposed endeavor was inconsistent across three different employment positions, and post-filing changes in employment cannot establish eligibility. Expert letters and statistics spoke to the importance of the telecommunications industry as a whole, not the Petitioner's specific endeavor.…

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The Petitioner's proposed endeavor was inconsistent across three different employment positions, and post-filing changes in employment cannot establish eligibility. Expert letters and statistics spoke to the importance of the telecommunications industry as a whole, not the Petitioner's specific endeavor. The Petitioner did not show that his individual contribution, as one of over a thousand employees at his employer, carried national importance.
Exact record locator: findings_long.parquet filename_stem=2023-05-23_01_B5203; source_row=32253
Revision: 081d2cac29dcadfec88fdd675d7a0c4294d72b3c
Open source dataset ↗
NIWNIW · National importanceNot established

Case facts

Business / ManagementBachelor’s

Issue evaluated

NIW · National importance

substantial merit and national importance

Why AAO was not persuaded

The AAO agreed the business had substantial merit based on projected revenues and employment, but found the national importance prong not met because the record did not show that the Petitioner's specific business would introduce novel cleaning processes or products advancing disease prevention, nor did it establish national or regional economic significance.

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The AAO agreed the business had substantial merit based on projected revenues and employment, but found the national importance prong not met because the record did not show that the Petitioner's specific business would introduce novel cleaning processes or products advancing disease prevention, nor did it establish national or regional economic significance.
Exact record locator: findings_long.parquet filename_stem=2023-05-22_03_B5203; source_row=32250
Revision: 081d2cac29dcadfec88fdd675d7a0c4294d72b3c
Open source dataset ↗
NIWNIW · National importanceNot established

Case facts

Finance

Issue evaluated

NIW · National importance

substantial merit and national importance

Why AAO was not persuaded

AAO declined to consider material changes made to the petition after filing (including adding details about employing workers, operating in HUBZone areas, and the existence of the company), and found that even accepting those changes, the evidence did not establish national importance. The business plan's projections were found to lack sufficient probative weight and the record contained internal contradictions.

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AAO declined to consider material changes made to the petition after filing (including adding details about employing workers, operating in HUBZone areas, and the existence of the company), and found that even accepting those changes, the evidence did not establish national importance. The business plan's projections were found to lack sufficient probative weight and the record contained internal contradictions.
Exact record locator: findings_long.parquet filename_stem=2023-05-22_01_B5203; source_row=32242
Revision: 081d2cac29dcadfec88fdd675d7a0c4294d72b3c
Open source dataset ↗
EB-1AEB-1A · Final meritsReservedAutomated extraction · broader context

Case facts

Other

Issue evaluated

EB-1A · Final merits

final merits determination of sustained acclaim and standing at top of field

What the decision said

AAO does not reach the merits of extraordinary ability and instead remands because the Director's decision was inadequately explained and a new NOIR with an opportunity to respond is required.

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AAO does not reach the merits of extraordinary ability and instead remands because the Director's decision was inadequately explained and a new NOIR with an opportunity to respond is required.
Exact record locator: findings_long.parquet filename_stem=2023-05-22_01_B2203; source_row=32241
Revision: 081d2cac29dcadfec88fdd675d7a0c4294d72b3c
Open source dataset ↗
EB-1AotherEstablishedAutomated extraction · broader context

Case facts

Other

Issue evaluated

other

intent to continue working in the field in the United States

Why the evidence was persuasive

AAO concludes the record contains sufficient evidence of the Petitioner's intent to continue his U.S. singing career, and that the Director failed to consider context (the pandemic) and disregarded substantial supporting evidence.

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AAO concludes the record contains sufficient evidence of the Petitioner's intent to continue his U.S. singing career, and that the Director failed to consider context (the pandemic) and disregarded substantial supporting evidence.
Exact record locator: findings_long.parquet filename_stem=2023-05-22_01_B2203; source_row=32240
Revision: 081d2cac29dcadfec88fdd675d7a0c4294d72b3c
Open source dataset ↗
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