RFE Language by Criterion — NIW
When an RFE Challenges Substantial Merit (Dhanasar Prong 1)
The single most common NIW defect: the petition described a job, not an endeavor. Verbatim from a notice where the case was ultimately denied.
The governing text
Matter of Dhanasar, 26 I&N Dec. 884 (AAO 2016)
Read the primary source →What the officer actually wrote
Quoted verbatim from a real USCIS notice. Names, employers, exact dates, and figures have been removed or generalized; bracketed text marks a redaction.
“With regard to the Petitioner indicating they will continue their work as [job title] with [employer], as stated above, simply continuing employment in one's field is not a sufficient enough endeavor to allow USCIS to determine whether or not the endeavor has substantial merit.”
This case was denied after the RFE response。
Dhanasar evaluates a proposed endeavor, and "I will keep doing my job" is not one. This is a framing defect in the petition, not a shortage of evidence — which is why piling on more career documentation in the response does not fix it.
“The Petitioner also states they might open their own "studio", but there is a lack of information regarding this business. Without the Petitioner's proposed endeavor, they impede USCIS in determining that the proposed endeavor has substantial merit and is of national importance and that they are well positioned to advance their proposed endeavor.”
This case was denied after the RFE response。
Note the cascade the officer spells out: an underspecified endeavor does not fail prong 1 alone — it makes prongs 2 and 3 unanswerable too. One vague paragraph in the original petition can sink all three prongs at once. This case was denied after the response.
What that officer said would help
USCIS's own list from the same notice, quoted verbatim. This is the closest thing to a specification for the response you will get.
- A detailed description of the proposed endeavor and why it is of substantial merit
- Documentary evidence that supports the petitioner's statements and establishes the endeavor's merit
Authorities the officer cited
Reproduced as they appear in the notice. These are the officer’s citations, not ImmiFlo’s — we have not independently verified each quotation against the reporter. Our own verified library is on the legal citations page.
- Matter of Dhanasar, 26 I&N Dec. 884, 889-892 (AAO 2016)
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