Analytics
Why NIW petitions fail
Updated with decisions published up to 2026-08-21. Numbers change as new decisions are added.
Everything in the dataset, both eras.
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
- 14%
of these appeals failed on EB-2 eligibility: more than on any other part of the test.
- 15%
raised “Inconsistencies in the record”, 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. 2 with unclear wording on a prong are left out of it.
- Step 07114%
- Prong 1275%
- Prong 231%
- NYSDOT (old test)92%
What the Director's denial rested on
From the denial being appealed, as the decision reports it. 451 decisions don't say which part specifically.
- Step 05210%
- Prong 1163%
- Prong 292%
- Prong 382%
- Abandonment10%
Most common objections
Share of decisions in scope where the objection was found. Click one for examples.
- 15%79 decisions
- 10%54 decisions
- 7%38 decisions
- 6%33 decisions
- 5%26 decisions
- 4%23 decisions
- 4%23 decisions
- 4%22 decisions
- 3%16 decisions
- 3%16 decisions
- 2%10 decisions
- 2%9 decisions
- 2%8 decisions
- 2%8 decisions
- 1%7 decisions
- 1%6 decisions
- 1%5 decisions
- 1%5 decisions
- 0%2 decisions
- 0%1 decisions
- 0%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.
- Job creation3%3%
- Grants & funding0%0%
- Patents0%0%
- STEM policy0%0%
- Government interest6%7%
- Support letters6%7%
- Business plan0%3%
- Publications2%12%
- Awards8%20%
- Media16%29%
- Peer review1%15%
- Citations6%25%
Outcomes by field
Sustained + remanded share, all fields (All EB-2 decisions (2012–2026))
- 7.3%1,999 decisions
- 18.5%777 decisions
- 13.7%693 decisions
- 10.6%586 decisions
- 16.5%521 decisions
- 12.4%443 decisions
- 7.0%186 decisions
- 8.9%158 decisions
- 9.0%155 decisions
- 34.2%117 decisions
- 14.0%114 decisions
- 20.5%88 decisions
- 12.3%57 decisions
- 11.8%51 decisions
Career stage mentioned
Sustained + remanded share
- Entrepreneur8.3%12 decisions
- Professor0.0%7 decisions
- Postdoc0.0%2 decisions
- Ph.D. student100.0%1 decisions
Authorities cited most
- Chawathe19938%
- Dhanasar10921%
- Otiende9418%
- Soriano8717%
- Wing's Tea House8116%
- Christo's6713%
- Coelho6713%
- Ho6312%
- Katigbak6312%
- USCIS Policy Manual5110%
- O-S-G-438%
- Sonegawa397%
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.