Analytics
Why NIW petitions fail
Updated with decisions published up to 2026-08-21. Numbers change as new decisions are added.
Appeals decided on the merits (sustained, remanded or dismissed) under the current three-prong test, from Dec 27, 2016.
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
- 70%
of these appeals failed on Prong 1, merit and national importance: more than on any other part of the test.
- 55%
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. 5 with unclear wording on a prong are left out of it.
- Step 04912%
- Prong 129870%
- Prong 25814%
- Prong 3205%
What the Director's denial rested on
From the denial being appealed, as the decision reports it. 163 decisions don't say which part specifically.
- Step 04811%
- Prong 118443%
- Prong 28320%
- Prong 313031%
Most common objections
Share of decisions in scope where the objection was found. Click one for examples.
- 55%234 decisions
- 54%230 decisions
- 41%174 decisions
- 29%123 decisions
- 27%113 decisions
- 20%86 decisions
- 20%85 decisions
- 17%72 decisions
- 16%68 decisions
- 14%58 decisions
- 12%49 decisions
- 10%41 decisions
- 9%40 decisions
- 8%33 decisions
- 8%32 decisions
- 7%30 decisions
- 6%27 decisions
- 5%22 decisions
- 5%22 decisions
- 5%20 decisions
- 3%14 decisions
- 3%11 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.
- Citations47%27%
- Peer review23%16%
- Grants & funding11%7%
- Patents6%7%
- Publications30%32%
- Government interest21%34%
- Awards4%20%
- Support letters47%66%
- STEM policy26%47%
- Business plan9%36%
- Media32%67%
- Job creation9%71%
Outcomes by field
Sustained + remanded share, all fields (NIW merits appeals, post-Dhanasar)
- 6.4%1,458 decisions
- 12.8%523 decisions
- 11.1%423 decisions
- 10.8%408 decisions
- 12.7%197 decisions
- 8.6%152 decisions
- 8.1%111 decisions
- 37.9%95 decisions
- 17.0%88 decisions
- 26.5%68 decisions
- 9.1%55 decisions
- 26.9%52 decisions
- 10.0%40 decisions
- 9.7%31 decisions
Career stage mentioned
Sustained + remanded share
- Entrepreneur7.6%105 decisions
- Professor12.8%47 decisions
- Postdoc15.8%19 decisions
- Ph.D. student0.0%6 decisions
Authorities cited most
- Dhanasar39192%
- Chawathe38090%
- Christo's36185%
- L-A-C-21952%
- USCIS Policy Manual20749%
- Caron5212%
- NYSDOT338%
- Ho328%
- E-M-317%
- Katigbak307%
- Izummi215%
- M-P-194%
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.