Denial-reason pattern
Advanced Degree
USCIS raised advanced degree as a reason for denial in 167 of 2369 EB-2 NIW decisions in this archive (7%).
How USCIS actually phrased it
The most common ways this shows up in decisions, grouped from the AAO’s own wording (real phrases, not paraphrased):
- “insufficient evidence of advanced degree”22×
- “lack of advanced degree”15×
- “insufficient evidence of advanced degree equivalence”8×
- “lack of official academic record”7×
- “foreign degree not equivalent to U.S. bachelor's degree”6×
- “not advanced degree professional”5×
- “degree not related to field”5×
- “insufficient evidence of advanced degree professional”4×
Recent decisions discussing this
- clinical medicine →REMANDED2026-04-24
- civil engineering →DISMISSED2026-04-21
- cybersecurity and crisis management →DISMISSED2026-04-15
- business administration →DISMISSED2026-03-30
- tattoo artistry →DISMISSED2026-03-18
- financial accounting →DISMISSED2026-03-05
What this statistic doesn’t mean
This archive only contains petitions that were denied and then appealed to the AAO. This count describes that selection-biased set, not the odds that any individual petition — including yours — will be denied over this issue. It is not an eligibility assessment.
USCIS raised advanced degree in 7% of the decisions in this archive. Describe your own work and see which decisions discussed the same issue.
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