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AAO reserved this criterion because the Petitioner could not numerically meet three criteria regardless of the outcome on this one.

The AAO agreed with the Director that national importance was not established, but disagreed on the substantial merit sub-element, withdrawing the Director's finding that substantial merit was lacking. On national importance, the AAO found the business plans did not specify how physician shortage would be addressed at a national level, did not explain how methods were innovative, did not describe future research or its national/global implications, and the projected economic benefits were unsupported and insufficient in scale.

AAO agreed that while the Petitioner's proposed endeavor has substantial merit, it does not demonstrate national importance. The Petitioner emphasized the importance of the legal consulting field and her personal credentials rather than the prospective national impact of her specific endeavor. Her financial projections lacked corroborating evidence, the employment multiplier tables were too broad to apply to her specific endeavor, and her stated objectives described typical occupational duties rather than a nationally important undertaking.

AAO agreed with the director that without a sufficiently described specific proposed endeavor, it is impossible to assess whether the petitioner has a plan for future activities or has made progress toward the endeavor. Education, skills, and experience alone are insufficient without a clear execution plan, and the record does not demonstrate the employer's continuing interest in employing the petitioner beyond his L-1 visa.

Because the petitioner did not sufficiently identify his specific proposed endeavor, AAO could not evaluate national importance. Even assuming he would continue in control systems work, the petitioner failed to show broader implications beyond benefits to his employer(s), did not explain what specific technological advances he would contribute, and the expert letters and industry articles addressed the field generally rather than his specific work's impact.

AAO noted it need not conduct a final merits determination since the Petitioner failed to meet the minimum criteria threshold, but reviewed the record in the aggregate and found it does not support a finding that the Petitioner possesses a degree of expertise significantly above that ordinarily encountered in the field.

AAO found that the Petitioner's reference letters lacked detail on research impact, his citation/publication analysis was not benchmarked against others in mechanical engineering specifically, the ONR funding involved a non-lead role in a single article, and the evidence as a whole did not show a record of success or that his work generated substantial discourse in the field.

AAO disagreed that the endeavor lacked substantial merit, concluding it does have substantial merit. However, AAO independently found that the Petitioner failed to establish national importance: evidence did not show broad impact on mining, manufacturing, or construction; the NIST report showed the manufacturing industry's general importance without connecting it to the Petitioner's work; assertions about national distribution channels were too vague; and evidence of prior commercialized products did not demonstrate the scope or economic/technological impact of his proposed work.

The AAO agreed with the Director that the Petitioner's evidence, while reflecting a accomplished acting career, did not demonstrate sustained national or international acclaim or placement among the small percentage at the very top of the field. Key deficiencies included reliance on post-filing-date evidence, insufficient comparators for salary and commercial success, limited membership and display evidence, and inadequate rebuttal of the Director's analysis on multiple criteria.

AAO found the Director applied an improper standard by requiring employer verification, as the regulations do not require evidence from a former or current employer to verify original contributions. The Director also failed to sufficiently discuss a submitted employer letter and did not explain the translation certification deficiency.