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
- 67%
of these appeals failed on Prong 1, merit and national importance: more than on any other part of the test.
- 56%
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. 10 with unclear wording on a prong are left out of it.
- Step 0387%
- Prong 134867%
- Prong 29819%
- Prong 3234%
What the Director's denial rested on
From the denial being appealed, as the decision reports it. 222 decisions don't say which part specifically.
- Step 0499%
- Prong 121741%
- Prong 210119%
- Prong 313526%
Most common objections
Share of decisions in scope where the objection was found. Click one for examples.
- 56%293 decisions
- 50%263 decisions
- 44%231 decisions
- 28%144 decisions
- 24%126 decisions
- 23%119 decisions
- 22%117 decisions
- 20%102 decisions
- 13%70 decisions
- 12%61 decisions
- 10%54 decisions
- 10%53 decisions
- 9%47 decisions
- 9%45 decisions
- 7%34 decisions
- 7%34 decisions
- 5%26 decisions
- 5%25 decisions
- 4%21 decisions
- 3%18 decisions
- 3%16 decisions
- 3%15 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.
- Peer review22%15%
- Publications33%30%
- Citations31%29%
- Patents10%10%
- Grants & funding6%9%
- Awards7%19%
- Media54%66%
- Government interest10%28%
- STEM policy21%39%
- Business plan13%33%
- Support letters42%68%
- Job creation21%70%
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
- Entrepreneur6.7%89 decisions
- Professor7.4%54 decisions
- Postdoc21.6%51 decisions
- Ph.D. student9.5%21 decisions
Authorities cited most
- Dhanasar46689%
- Chawathe44285%
- Christo's41579%
- L-A-C-26050%
- USCIS Policy Manual23244%
- Caron6913%
- NYSDOT6613%
- Katigbak479%
- E-M-469%
- Izummi418%
- Ho387%
- M-P-326%
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.