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
- 68%
of these appeals failed on Prong 1, merit and national importance: more than on any other part of the test.
- 61%
raised “Job creation or economic claims unsupported”, the most common objection.
- 1,458
appeals came from business & finance, the field with the most.
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. 72 with unclear wording on a prong are left out of it.
- Step 051814%
- Prong 12,53568%
- Prong 243112%
- Prong 31183%
What the Director's denial rested on
From the denial being appealed, as the decision reports it. 1,450 decisions don't say which part specifically.
- Step 063417%
- Prong 11,44939%
- Prong 262517%
- Prong 385423%
Most common objections
Share of decisions in scope where the objection was found. Click one for examples.
- 61%2,240 decisions
- 50%1,834 decisions
- 38%1,423 decisions
- 21%772 decisions
- 20%744 decisions
- 19%700 decisions
- 18%654 decisions
- 17%640 decisions
- 16%593 decisions
- 14%532 decisions
- 13%489 decisions
- 11%394 decisions
- 9%324 decisions
- 8%307 decisions
- 8%287 decisions
- 7%273 decisions
- 7%249 decisions
- 6%233 decisions
- 6%221 decisions
- 3%108 decisions
- 3%104 decisions
- 2%80 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.
- Citations34%17%
- Peer review21%7%
- Publications29%19%
- Grants & funding9%4%
- Patents4%4%
- STEM policy19%20%
- Awards10%17%
- Government interest14%26%
- Support letters43%61%
- Media43%68%
- Business plan15%45%
- Job creation20%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
- Entrepreneur5.0%1,160 decisions
- Professor10.3%406 decisions
- Postdoc28.1%160 decisions
- Ph.D. student10.2%49 decisions
Authorities cited most
- Dhanasar3,28089%
- Chawathe3,17086%
- Christo's2,92879%
- L-A-C-2,13558%
- USCIS Policy Manual1,38237%
- Caron46212%
- NYSDOT44912%
- Ho35210%
- Katigbak3429%
- E-M-3199%
- Izummi2537%
- Burbano2216%
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.