Resources · Case studies
Immigration case studies from real notices and applicant reports
What officers actually asked for in RFEs, NOIDs and denials, and what carried approvals. Every case is anonymized, and every lesson maps to a criterion you can check your own evidence against.
How we source and anonymize these cases
Meritocrat's knowledge graph is built from real-world cases and AAO adjudications, and this library grows as we review more, so check back soon for updates. Cards marked Primary document come from de-identified USCIS notices or petition letters. Cards marked Self-reported come from public applicant forums and are unverified. We remove names, employers, receipt numbers, officer codes and law firms. One case does not predict another.
Software engineer, six years of experience, EB-1A approved without an RFE
A young industry profile with no citations and no independent letters, approved on first review by anchoring the case on a leading role and telling one coherent story.
Self-reported
Energy-systems PhD, self-filed EB-1A, approved within a week of the RFE response
An RFE that accepted only original contributions was overcome without changing the narrative, by itemizing evidence and linking every exhibit to what it proves.
Self-reported
EB-2 NIW petition letter for an AI and data-science engineer, filed under premium processing
A petition letter labelled successful in the source file. A useful model for structure, with a plan, a national-importance argument and concrete project results.
Primary document
Senior lecturer abroad, EB-1A RFE accepts two criteria and challenges four
A publication-heavy profile: scholarly articles and judging accepted, but awards, media, contributions, plans and critical role all drew requests.
Self-reported
Finance professional, EB-1A RFE on all six criteria claimed plus continuing work and benefit
A broad RFE where several requests came from preventable presentation problems: illegible printouts, missing employment letters, and no location on pay records.
Self-reported
Tech executive with high pay and widely used open-source work, RFE with zero of four criteria accepted
On paper a strong profile, and a reminder that criteria claims are not self-proving. The notice text is not available to us, so the reasons are unknown.
Self-reported
Physician-scientist with 2,000 citations, EB-1A RFE issued on a profile that looked strong
A strong academic profile hit an RFE, showing that high citation counts do not remove the need to prove each criterion and the final merits.
Self-reported
Two criteria accepted, original contributions of major significance challenged, with about 430 citations and two patents
The hardest criterion for many technical applicants. Citations and patents can show originality but not automatically major significance.
Self-reported
Technology leader, EB-1A RFE: judging and authorship accepted, five other criteria and two further requirements open
A de-identified RFE that shows the officer's reasoning criterion by criterion, including a request for evidence of continuing work and benefit to the US.
Primary document
Solutions architect, EB-1A notice of intent to deny: three criteria met, final merits failing
A rare notice that shows what happens after three criteria are met: the officer then asks whether the evidence shows sustained acclaim and a place at the very top of the field.
Primary document
Transformation manager, EB-1A denied after three criteria were met, on sustained acclaim
A self-petition with a large exhibit list. Three criteria were accepted after the RFE response but the final merits determination failed on recency and on whether the evidence showed the very top of the field.
Primary document
EB-1A denied at step one: two criteria met, and the rest undone by evidence quality
A denial that reads like a checklist of what not to submit: nominations as awards, post-filing evidence, user-edited websites, untranslated and illegible copies.
Primary document
Data scientist weighing an EB-1A refile after a denial with no criteria accepted
A common post-denial question set: realistic odds, service center choice, and what to change.
Self-reported
EB-2 NIW RFE that asked only for degree and experience evidence, with the NIW merits not in question
A fast, avoidable RFE. The officer found the endeavor met Dhanasar but asked for proof of the degree itself.
Primary document
EB-2 NIW RFE for an immersive cybersecurity visualization endeavor: merit accepted, national importance and positioning not
A thorough RFE on all three Dhanasar prongs. The petition argued the importance of the field, and the officer asked about the specific endeavor.
Primary document
Procedural RFEs on I-485, I-751 and I-765: what the notices say and what they do not
Four short notices from outside the I-140 stage. They look routine and they have hard deadlines.
Primary document
Looking for the patterns across cases?
Read the best-practices guide for case evaluation, built from these cases, then run your own evidence through a free Meritocrat assessment.
Read the best-practices guideThis is general information, not legal advice. Ask an immigration attorney about your case.