Matter of E-M-: what this citation means in your RFE
Updated: Author: Alina Kanametova
Matter of E-M-, 20 I&N Dec. 77 (Comm'r 1989)
The standard of proof: preponderance of the evidence, judged on quality rather than volume.
Mentioned in 49 of 183 whole notices (43 distinct cases). Inside individual criterion analyses - 6 of 150 parsed notices, across 6 different desks.
What the decision holds
The 1989 decision states how an officer must weigh evidence: truth is determined not by the quantity submitted but by its quality - the relevance, probative value and credibility of each document.
The bar itself is not high: preponderance of the evidence, i.e. more likely than not. Not "beyond reasonable doubt", not "clear and convincing".
In this corpus all six citations fell on the high-salary criterion - where the argument is about whether figures are comparable, not about how many there are.
AAO decisions on uscis.govWhere it sits in the notice
Where the officer explains why what was filed is "insufficient" even though the volume of documents is large.
Which criteria it appears beside
What to do about it in a response
- 1Add comparability, not volume: same region, same occupation, same period, a named data source.
- 2Show explicitly why the source is credible - who maintains it, how the figures are collected, for which year.
- 3A comparison in local currency with the arithmetic shown carries more weight than an unexplained conversion.
Desks where it appeared
The sample is notices on petitions that already drew an RFE, NOID or denial: 183 full-text files for the "whole notice" count and 150 parsed notices for the "inside a criterion" count. A count shows how often a decision is cited when a petition is challenged, and says nothing about approvals. This is not legal advice; verify the text of the decision against the official source.