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
- 76%
of these appeals failed on Prong 1, merit and national importance: more than on any other part of the test.
- 73%
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. 3 with unclear wording on a prong are left out of it.
- Step 059%
- Prong 14276%
- Prong 235%
- Prong 335%
What the Director's denial rested on
From the denial being appealed, as the decision reports it. 23 decisions don't say which part specifically.
- Step 0815%
- Prong 12444%
- Prong 259%
- Prong 3916%
Most common objections
Share of decisions in scope where the objection was found. Click one for examples.
- 73%40 decisions
- 65%36 decisions
- 60%33 decisions
- 25%14 decisions
- 22%12 decisions
- 22%12 decisions
- 20%11 decisions
- 16%9 decisions
- 13%7 decisions
- 11%6 decisions
- 11%6 decisions
- 7%4 decisions
- 5%3 decisions
- 5%3 decisions
- 4%2 decisions
- 4%2 decisions
- 4%2 decisions
- 4%2 decisions
- 2%1 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.
- Awards20%14%
- Citations20%14%
- Business plan40%38%
- Peer review0%2%
- STEM policy0%4%
- Government interest20%26%
- Patents0%6%
- Publications20%26%
- Media40%80%
- Job creation40%84%
- Support letters20%64%
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
- Entrepreneur0.0%15 decisions
- Professor0.0%3 decisions
Authorities cited most
- Dhanasar5396%
- Chawathe5193%
- Christo's5193%
- L-A-C-3055%
- USCIS Policy Manual1629%
- Caron1324%
- Ho713%
- O-R-E-611%
- D-R-611%
- M-P-59%
- E-M-59%
- R-A-M-47%
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.