artificial intelligence and machine…

EB-2 National Interest Waiver — Merits Decision

2026-03-12·DISMISSED·IN RE: 41589182

Underlying petition: DENIED · Service Center Operations (SCOPS)

Legal elements discussed — Matter of Dhanasar

Prong 1 — Substantial Merit & National Importance

FAIL

Petitioner argued: proposed endeavor has national importance due to AI/ML applications in critical infrastructure

Evidence type: reports, articles, letters

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) finding: INSUFFICIENT

The record does not establish the national importance of the proposed endeavor as required by the first prong of the Dhanasar precedent decision.

Decision PDF, p. 5Open source PDF

Prong 2 — Well Positioned to Advance the Endeavor

NOT_DISCUSSED

Prong 3 — Balancing the Waiver's Benefits

NOT_DISCUSSED

What this decision can’t tell you

This decision comes from a case that was denied and then appealed. Every case here is in that position — it cannot be used to estimate an overall approval rate, and it cannot predict the outcome of any individual case, including yours. USCIS officers exercise discretion on facts that are never fully captured in a written decision.

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Questions this raises for your lawyer

  • On Prong 1 (substantial merit & national importance), USCIS found the petitioner's reports, articles, letters insufficient to establish that proposed endeavor has national importance due to AI/ML applications in critical infrastructure. What would make comparable evidence in my own case more persuasive?
  • What in my own case most resembles the specific facts USCIS focused on in this decision?
  • Would additional expert-opinion evidence have changed the outcome here, based on what USCIS said was missing?
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