RFE Case Studies
De-identified breakdowns of real Requests for Evidence we've reviewed — what USCIS actually challenged, why, and what a response needed to address it. Names, employers, and identifying details are removed.
NIW — national_importance, well_positioned (Dhanasar prongs 1 and 2)
Approved after RFEWhen a Business Plan Isn't Evidence: An NIW RFE on National Importance and Being Well-Positioned
A geospatial-technology founder's EB-2 NIW petition cleared the advanced-degree threshold easily but was challenged on both the national-importance and well-positioned prongs of the Dhanasar framework, exposing a common gap between a compelling personal narrative and evidence USCIS will actually credit.
EB-1A — awards, media, critical_role, high_salary
Outcome not known to usTen Criteria, Zero Credited: An EB-1A RFE That Rejected Every Category of Evidence Submitted
A senior real-estate development executive submitted evidence across four of the ten EB-1A extraordinary-ability criteria, and USCIS found every single one insufficient — not because the underlying career wasn't impressive, but because the documentation didn't meet the specific evidentiary elements each criterion requires.
EB-1A — awards, peer_review, original_contribution, high_salary
Approved after RFEThe Award Went to the Company, Not to You: An EB-1A RFE on Attribution and Field Relevance
A senior operating executive at a human-resources technology company had one EB-1A criterion accepted outright, but the other four submitted were rejected largely over attribution and scope problems — evidence tied to the applicant's employer rather than the applicant, or activity outside the applicant's own field — and the case was reportedly approved after the RFE response addressed those gaps.
EB-1A — awards, original_contribution, critical_role, high_salary
Approved after RFEConverting Your Salary to Dollars Proves Nothing: An EB-1A RFE on Benchmarking Pay Earned Outside the U.S.
A senior AI architect at a major Chinese internet company had four EB-1A criteria challenged at once. The most instructive rejection was on salary: USCIS discarded both the currency-conversion chart and the U.S. market salary data outright, citing its own Policy Manual instruction to benchmark overseas earners against their local market instead.
NIW — substantial_merit, national_importance, well_positioned, balance (all three Dhanasar prongs)
Denied after RFETwo Endeavors, Neither Proven: An NIW That Was Denied After the RFE Response
An architectural designer's EB-2 NIW was challenged on all three Dhanasar prongs and denied after the response. The root defect was set before the RFE ever arrived: the petition described two different endeavors and evidenced neither completely, which left every prong unanswerable.
EB-1A — media, original_contribution, critical_role, high_salary
Denied after RFECompany Numbers Are Not Personal Numbers: An EB-1A RFE That Rejected Four Criteria and Was Denied
A general manager at a Chinese smart-hardware company submitted evidence under four EB-1A criteria — media coverage, original contributions, critical role, and high salary. USCIS rejected all four for the same underlying reason: company-level facts (contract totals, an acquirer's valuation of the company, patents held jointly with subsidiaries) were offered as evidence of the individual, and the case was denied after the RFE response.