See your NIW petition the way the officer will
We read 5,945 USCIS appeal decisions on EB-2 National Interest Waiver petitions, so you can see why petitions were denied, prong by prong, and what answered each objection.
Describe the problem in your own words. Exact words finds that phrase in the decision text; Similar meaning also finds passages that put it differently.
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- A notice you got
- After an RFEAfter a NOID
- A known problem
- Generic support lettersVague endeavorThin track record
- Your career stage
- Ph.D. studentPostdocEntrepreneur
Free while we launch. No account needed to search.
- AAO decisions read
- 5,945
- Years covered
- 2012–2026
- Objection types tracked
- 22
- Sentences tagged, with page
- 16,630
Built and run by WebOctals. Every objection tag keeps the sentence and page it was matched on — how we do this. Not affiliated with USCIS, DHS or any government agency.
What officers look for
Under Matter of Dhanasar, an NIW petition has to show EB-2 eligibility and then meet three prongs. Here is how often the appeals office found each one not met, in 3,701 NIW appeals decided under that test.
- Step 0
Eligible for EB-2
An advanced degree, a bachelor's degree plus five years of progressive experience, or exceptional ability.
Not met in 518 of 3,701 appealsIn 3,701 NIW appeals decided under Matter of Dhanasar (2012–2026), the USCIS Administrative Appeals Office found “Eligible for EB-2” was not shown in 518.
- Prong 1
Merit and national importance
The specific endeavor has substantial merit and matters beyond one employer or its clients.
Not met in 2,535 of 3,701 appealsIn 3,701 NIW appeals decided under Matter of Dhanasar (2012–2026), the USCIS Administrative Appeals Office found “Merit and national importance” was not shown in 2,535.
- Prong 2
Well positioned to advance it
Education, skills, record of success and plans show the person can carry the endeavor forward.
Not met in 431 of 3,701 appealsIn 3,701 NIW appeals decided under Matter of Dhanasar (2012–2026), the USCIS Administrative Appeals Office found “Well positioned to advance it” was not shown in 431.
- Prong 3
Worth waiving the job offer
On balance, the United States benefits from waiving the job offer and labor certification.
Not met in 118 of 3,701 appealsIn 3,701 NIW appeals decided under Matter of Dhanasar (2012–2026), the USCIS Administrative Appeals Office found “Worth waiving the job offer” was not shown in 118.
Every appeal was a petition USCIS had already denied, so these counts show where denied petitions struggled, not anyone's chance of approval.
What each decision shows you
Decisions run to many pages. PetitionLens pulls out the parts that matter and links each one back to the text.
- 1
Outcome
Dismissed, sustained or sent back to USCIS, shown with an icon and a label.
- 2
Prongs not met
Which parts of the Dhanasar test the appeals office found were not shown.
- 3
The officer's sentence
Each objection tag keeps the sentence it came from and its page, so you can check it in the original.
- 4
Law cited
Precedent decisions and Policy Manual sections the decision relies on.
From a published PDF to a sentence you can check
Every objection tag is matched by fixed text rules, not guessed by AI, and keeps the evidence it was matched on.
1.Collect
Non-precedent AAO decisions as USCIS publishes them.
2.Read
Extract the text page by page, with outcome, field and the prongs discussed.
3.Match
Test each decision against the objection catalog, prong by prong.
4.Keep the proof
Store the matched sentence and its page with every tag.
22 objections officers raise again and again
Each one has a plain-English explanation, the Policy Manual text behind it, and the appeals where it came up.
- Degree not shown to be a U.S. advanced degree equivalent
- Five years of progressive experience not documented
- Exceptional ability not established
- Proposed endeavor too vague
- Argued the field's importance, not the endeavor's
- Benefits limited to an employer or its clients
- No broader implications shown
- Job creation or economic claims unsupported
- Relied on a labor shortage
- Support letters generic or unsupported
- Plan or projections not corroborated
- Past record does not show influence or success
- Citation record not persuasive
- No interest from users, customers or investors
- Claims not backed by documents
- Did not show the waiver outweighs labor certification
- No urgency shown
- Labor certification not shown to be impractical
- Not eligible at the time of filing
- Tried to change the endeavor after filing
- Evidence submitted too late
- Inconsistencies in the record
Eligible for EB-2Merit and national importanceWell positioned to advance itWorth waiving the job offerProcedure
Recently published
Newest NIW appeal on file: 2026-08-21
- 2026-08-21DismissedPhysician researcherClinical & healthNot metProng 2
- 2026-08-20DismissedTraining and development specialistEngineeringNot metProng 1Prong 2Prong 3
- 2026-08-20DismissedOccupation not statedBusiness & financeNot metProng 1
- 2026-08-19DismissedOccupation not statedComputing, AI & dataNot metProng 1
- 2026-08-18DismissedOccupation not statedEngineeringNot metProng 1
Start from your situation
A page for each field and career stage: the objections raised most often, and the latest appeals.
By field
By career stage
The world in the decisions
Every country named in an NIW decision: where a petitioner studied or worked, where the work would reach, or a point in the argument. Turn the globe and open any country to read the sentences.
Countries named in NIW decisions
Named most often
- 865decisions
- 103decisions
- 88decisions
- 70decisions
- 62decisions
- 58decisions
- 56decisions
- 52decisions
- 51decisions
- 46decisions
112 countries in all. Drag the globe to turn it; select a country to search for it.
How PetitionLens helps
1.Learn from past decisions
Search appeals like yours by field, career stage and objection, and read the sentence where the officer explains the problem.
Search decisionsNo account needed
2.Check your evidence
Record your profile once and see which objections your evidence already addresses, and where it is still thin.
See a sample checkFree account
3.Draft your outline
Turn your profile into a petition letter outline, support-letter outlines and an exhibit index, with the gaps marked.
See a sample draftFree account
Start with the objection that worries you most
Read how officers put it, what the petitioner answered, and which answers the appeals office accepted.
Questions
Something else? Write to us.
What is the EB-2 National Interest Waiver?
A way for someone who qualifies for the EB-2 category (an advanced degree or exceptional ability) to ask USCIS to waive the usual job offer and labor certification. Since Matter of Dhanasar (2016), officers decide it with the three-prong test shown above.
What are AAO decisions, and why read them?
The USCIS Administrative Appeals Office decides appeals and motions after a petition is denied. The decisions here are non-precedent: they bind only the case they decide, but they show how officers reason about each prong and what evidence changed the result.
Does PetitionLens tell me whether I qualify?
No. It shows patterns in past decisions and which kinds of evidence your profile records. It does not predict outcomes or give legal advice. A licensed immigration attorney can tell you how the law applies to your case.
Is it free?
Yes, every feature is free while we launch. The research tools need no account, and the case tools need a free account. Some features may become paid later; if that happens we will tell you at least 30 days beforehand, and you are only charged if you choose a plan.
Where does the data come from?
5,945 AAO decisions published by USCIS (2012 to 2026) and quotes from the USCIS Policy Manual. Objection tags are matched automatically from the decision text, and each one keeps the sentence it came from so you can check it.