All objections
Procedure & record
Tried to change the endeavor after filing
The endeavor described in the response or appeal differed materially from the one filed.
What this objection usually means
A petitioner cannot make material changes after filing to fix a deficiency. The endeavor must be defined correctly from the start.
What has tended to answer it
Define the endeavor precisely before filing and use the same description everywhere.
General patterns drawn from past decisions, not legal advice for your case. Ask a licensed immigration attorney how this applies to you.
The rule
Quoted from the USCIS Policy Manual current as of Sept 23, 2026. Check the online manual before filing.
Free account
See what your own profile records against this objection
Assess compares your case profile with the kinds of evidence that have answered “Tried to change the endeavor after filing” and the other catalogued objections in past decisions. It shows evidence coverage, not a prediction.
See it on a sample caseHow often it is raised, by year
249 of 3,701 decisions in scope (years with 5+ decisions)
By field
Decisions raising it
- Business & finance957% of field
- Clinical & health4912% of field
- Engineering347% of field
- Computing, AI & data205% of field
- Education179% of field
- Aviation & transport117% of field
- Arts, media & sports87% of field
- Physical sciences & math510% of field
Where it sank the appeal
Recent dismissed appeals raising this objection
- Dismissed2026-07-13Clinical & health
SCOPS denied the petition, finding the Petitioner materially changed her proposed endeavor.
Read decision JUL132026_01B5203 - Dismissed2026-07-13Business & finance
Specifically, we conclude that the Petitioner did not demonstrate the endeavor's substantial merit and national importance under the first prong of the Dhanasar framework because the Petitioner's statements and evidence in the record do not offer a consistent, specific proposed endeavor and contain material changes.
Read decision JUL132026_03B5203 - Dismissed2026-06-29Engineering
Accordingly, we conclude that the Petitioner made an impermissible material change to his proposed endeavor..
Read decision JUN292026_03B5203 - Dismissed2026-06-25Computing, AI & data
In the decision, USCIS did not consider the documents submitted with his request for evidence reply, determining the new evidence constituted a material change to the petition.
Read decision JUN252026_02B5203 - Dismissed2026-05-20Aviation & transport
ANALYSIS As a preliminary matter, we note that the Petitioner did not sufficiently define his endeavor in the initial filing and later materially changed his endeavor in response to the request for evidence (RFE).
Read decision MAY202026_01B5203 - Dismissed2026-05-11Physical sciences & math
Accordingly, we conclude the Petitioner did not materially change her endeavor. 3 While we do not discuss every piece of evidence individually, we have reviewed and considered the record in its entirety. 2
Read decision MAY112026_01B5203
Where the petitioner still won or got a remand
Sustained or remanded decisions where this issue was discussed: read them to see what answered it
- Remanded2026-01-05Computing, AI & data
If the Petitioner's venture has materially changed from his original proposal, USCIS would dismiss the petition.
Read decision JAN052026_02B5203 - Remanded2025-10-17Engineering
SCOPS determined that the Petitioner "does not overcome the issue that the evidence of his technology business materially changed the proposed endeavor after filing his petition."
Read decision OCT172025_02B5203 - Remanded2025-07-25Biomedical & life sciences
The Petitioner Did Not Materially Change the initially Proposed Endeavor.
Read decision JUL252025_01B5203 - Remanded2024-05-31Business & finance
Subsequent to the issuance of the RFE, the petitioner's updated endeavor's intention is to 'serve differentiate services' and 'impact the Management Consulting Services industry."' The Director determined that the Petitioner had made an impermissible material change to the petition, and therefore the evidence concerning the Petitioner's management consulting business is "not probative in determining that the petitioner's proposed endeavor has national importance."
Read decision MAY312024_01B5203 - Remanded2024-03-05Clinical & health
If the record indicates that the Petitioner made a material change to the endeavor after submitting the RFE response, the Director should determine that the entrepreneurial endeavor would not be considered, then proceed to make a finding on the Petitioner's eligibility for the national interest waiver under all three prongs of Dhanasar and address the Petitioner's claims and documentation regarding the national interest waiver.
Read decision MAR052024_03B5203 - Remanded2024-01-17Business & finance
Comm'r 1998) ("[A] petitioner may not make material changes to a petition that has already been filed in an effort to make an apparently deficient petition conform to Service requirements.") As the Petitioner filed her petition in 2022, her proposed endeavor cannot comprise or include the work the hospital offered to her in 2023.
Read decision JAN172024_05B5203