Published AAO appeal decisions

An athlete claimed extraordinary ability through awards, memberships, and published material. The AAO upheld the director's denial, finding the petitioner satisfied no criterion fully. Awards did not meet all evidentiary elements; membership was singular not plural; publications lacked proper scope and authorship evidence.

A performer seeks extraordinary ability classification as writer, speaker, and magician. The petitioner claimed membership, published material, original contributions, and exhibitions. AAO found none met the regulatory criteria: membership relied on potential not achievement, articles merely mentioned rather than featured the petitioner, claimed technique lacked demonstrated field impact, and performances do not satisfy exhibitions requirement.

A kickboxing trainer and coach sought extraordinary ability classification in athletics. Petitioner claimed awards, membership, published material, and judging. AAO found no awards nationally or internationally recognized for excellence in coaching, no evidence memberships based on outstanding achievement, articles not primarily about petitioner, and no reliable evidence of judging participation.

An artist self-petitioner on motion to reopen claimed extraordinary ability through membership, published material, original contributions and exhibitions. The AAO dismissed appeal because membership was uncontested, published material lacked proper documentation, original contributions showed only speculative future impact, and exhibitions were not analyzed. Three-criterion threshold not met.

A supply chain management professional self-petitioner claimed extraordinary ability through membership, judging, original contributions and scholarly articles. The AAO upheld denial because membership criterion was not met, original contributions lacked demonstrable field impact, and scholarly articles criterion requires multiple publications. Only judging criterion was satisfied.

Psychiatrist self-petitioner claimed extraordinary ability in sciences. AAO found he failed to establish three qualifying criteria, specifically rejecting that his APA Distinguished Fellowship met the membership requirement. The aggregate evidence did not demonstrate the level of expertise necessary for EB-1A classification.

A geotechnical engineer self-petitioner sought EB-1A extraordinary ability classification claiming three criteria. The AAO dismissed the appeal because the petitioner failed to demonstrate nationally or internationally recognized awards and abandoned membership claims, providing no qualifying evidence of sustained acclaim at the top of the field.

An artist petitioner claimed extraordinary ability, asserting at least three criteria including awards and membership. The AAO dismissed the appeal because the petitioner failed to document that her awards were nationally or internationally recognized and could not show her memberships required outstanding achievements.

A playwright and theatre artist, self-represented, sought EB-1A classification. The AAO reviewed claimed criteria including awards, membership, published material, and contributions, finding each unmet because of a missing award, non-selective membership, an undated article, and letters lacking major significance. Other claims were abandoned or unclear. The appeal was dismissed.