Tagged #aao
Every article we've published on this topic, sorted by the agency's own announcement date.
AAO Appeals: When the Administrative Appeals Office Is the Right Forum vs Going Straight to Federal Court
The AAO has jurisdiction over a defined slice of USCIS denials. Outside that slice — and inside it, when delay is the problem — federal-court APA or mandamus litigation is the right tool.
EB-2 National Interest Waiver: Matter of Dhanasar's Three-Prong Framework
How the AAO's 2016 precedent decision Matter of Dhanasar replaced the NYSDOT framework for EB-2 national-interest-waiver petitions — substantial merit and national importance, well-positioned petitioner, and the on-balance benefit prong.
L-1B Specialized Knowledge: Reading the 2015 USCIS Memo and How Adjudicators Apply It Today
Inside USCIS's 2015 L-1B policy memorandum (PM-602-0111) and the AAO precedent that frames how 'specialized knowledge' is adjudicated in current L-1B petitions.
EB-1A Extraordinary Ability: The 10 Regulatory Criteria and Kazarian's Two-Prong Review
How USCIS adjudicates EB-1A extraordinary-ability petitions under 8 CFR 204.5(h)(3) and the Ninth Circuit's two-step Kazarian framework — a practitioner's map to the ten criteria, the comparable-evidence rule, and the final-merits determination.