NIW appeals for postdoctoral researchers
160 of 3,701 NIW appeals decided under Matter of Dhanasar describe the petitioner as a postdoctoral researcher. Here is where they struggled and the objections the appeals office raised most often.
Every appeal here was a petition USCIS had already denied, so these numbers show where denied petitions struggled, not anyone's chance of approval. Tags are matched automatically from the decision text.
Appeals
160
decided on the merits
Sustained
28
17.5%: the petitioner won
Remanded
17
10.6%: sent back to USCIS
Dismissed
115
71.9%: the denial stood
Objections raised most often
Share of these 160 appeals. Open one for what it means and what has answered it.
- 69%111 appeals
- 54%86 appeals
- 46%74 appeals
- 32%51 appeals
- 23%36 appeals
- 21%33 appeals
- 20%32 appeals
- 17%27 appeals
Which part of the test was not met
An appeal can fail more than one; many stop at the first
- 2%3 appeals
- 18%29 appeals
- 56%90 appeals
- 8%13 appeals
Appeals per year
Occupations in these appeals
As the decisions describe them
Recent appeals
- 2026-07-30DismissedGraduate student in chemical engineeringEngineeringNot metProng 2Prong 3
- 2026-07-20DismissedDoctoral student and a researcher in the field of industrial engineeringEngineeringNot metProng 2
- 2026-07-16RemandedPostdoctoral fellow at the time of the petition's filingEngineering
- 2026-07-09DismissedPostdoctoral researcher requires a doctoral degreeClinical & healthNot metProng 2
- 2026-07-08DismissedPhysical therapy researcherEducationNot metProng 2
- 2026-06-26DismissedResearch specialist in the food science fieldEducationNot metProng 2
By career stage: other pages
General patterns from past decisions, not legal advice. A licensed immigration attorney can tell you how the law applies to your case.