Analytics
Why NIW petitions fail
Updated with decisions published up to 2026-08-21. Numbers change as new decisions are added.
Everything in the dataset, both eras.
Read these as patterns in denied cases, not approval odds. Every appeal here was first denied by USCIS; approved petitions never reach the appeals office. Tags are automated from decision text.
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Draft your petition around these objections
Draft builds a petition letter outline from your case profile, with a list of the objections raised most often in your field to address before you file.
See it on a sample caseKey findings
- 55%
of these appeals failed on Prong 1, merit and national importance: more than on any other part of the test.
- 44%
raised “Job creation or economic claims unsupported”, the most common objection.
Decisions per year
Sustained and remanded, % of decisions
Years with 5+ decisions
Which prong the AAO found not met
From the appeals office's own findings; a decision can fail more than one, and many stop at the first. 12 with unclear wording on a prong are left out of it.
- Step 0468%
- Prong 132455%
- Prong 27012%
- Prong 392%
- NYSDOT (old test)448%
What the Director's denial rested on
From the denial being appealed, as the decision reports it. 326 decisions don't say which part specifically.
- Step 06611%
- Prong 116228%
- Prong 28014%
- Prong 39516%
Most common objections
Share of decisions in scope where the objection was found. Click one for examples.
- 44%258 decisions
- 37%217 decisions
- 28%166 decisions
- 26%155 decisions
- 22%127 decisions
- 19%110 decisions
- 19%110 decisions
- 15%85 decisions
- 14%80 decisions
- 12%73 decisions
- 12%72 decisions
- 12%71 decisions
- 11%66 decisions
- 10%56 decisions
- 9%55 decisions
- 8%46 decisions
- 8%45 decisions
- 7%41 decisions
- 5%30 decisions
- 2%14 decisions
- 2%10 decisions
- 1%8 decisions
Evidence discussed: wins vs losses
% of sustained+remanded vs % of dismissed decisions that discuss each kind of evidence. Discussion is not proof it helped.
- Peer review23%10%
- Citations31%26%
- Grants & funding8%4%
- STEM policy13%10%
- Patents3%4%
- Publications27%29%
- Awards8%15%
- Government interest10%20%
- Support letters34%51%
- Business plan8%36%
- Media31%62%
- Job creation11%57%
Outcomes by field
Sustained + remanded share, all fields (All EB-2 decisions (2012–2026))
- 7.3%1,999 decisions
- 18.5%777 decisions
- 13.7%693 decisions
- 10.6%586 decisions
- 16.5%521 decisions
- 12.4%443 decisions
- 7.0%186 decisions
- 8.9%158 decisions
- 9.0%155 decisions
- 34.2%117 decisions
- 14.0%114 decisions
- 20.5%88 decisions
- 12.3%57 decisions
- 11.8%51 decisions
Career stage mentioned
Sustained + remanded share
- Entrepreneur4.5%112 decisions
- Professor9.0%78 decisions
- Postdoc18.2%22 decisions
- Ph.D. student0.0%3 decisions
Authorities cited most
- Dhanasar39167%
- Chawathe39167%
- Christo's30352%
- L-A-C-25143%
- USCIS Policy Manual12421%
- NYSDOT8915%
- Katigbak8715%
- Caron8014%
- Ho6311%
- Izummi6311%
- Otiende529%
- E-M-427%
Countries named in NIW decisions
A name is not a nationality: it can be where the petitioner studied or worked, or part of the argument. Open a country to read the sentences.
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.