Published AAO appeal decisions

Peking Opera drum player and music director self-petitioner claimed extraordinary ability in arts. AAO affirmed denial, finding petitioner failed to meet required three criteria and lacked evidence of sustained national or international acclaim at very top level.

Martial artist and nonprofit organization founder claimed extraordinary ability through athletic achievements and planned business activities. AAO affirmed denial, finding no evidence of nationally recognized competitive prizes since 2001, no qualifying published material, and no clear commitment to expertise area in the United States.

Actress claimed extraordinary ability through work in award-winning productions, professional association memberships, and media references. AAO affirmed denial, finding awards belonged to organizations not her individually, union memberships lacked outstanding achievement requirement, and media references were incidental.

Actor petitioner claimed extraordinary ability and met three regulatory criteria: awards, published material, and judging. AAO affirmed all three were satisfied and found the totality of evidence demonstrated sustained national acclaim and extraordinary ability qualifying for EB-1A classification.

Physician petitioner claimed extraordinary ability but failed to meet three regulatory criteria: awards, membership, and published material. AAO found no sustained national or international acclaim at field top and dismissed appeal; employment gaps and lack of U.S. licensure further weighed against EB-1A eligibility.

Postdoctoral researcher in sciences claimed extraordinary ability under awards, membership, and published material criteria. AAO found petitioner met one criterion (membership in Sigma Xi and ASBMB) but failed to meet required threshold of at least three criteria. Evidence showed postdoctoral talent but insufficient to demonstrate sustained national or international acclaim at very top of field.

Traditional medicine practitioner claimed extraordinary ability but failed to show sustained national or international acclaim. AAO found no major awards, publications in major media, or evidence of judging. Misuse of physician titles and credentials raised questions about prospective benefit, warranting dismissal.

Comic book author claimed extraordinary ability but failed to establish sustained national or international acclaim. AAO found local awards, inappropriate association membership, and limited-circulation publications insufficient. Evidence did not show petitioner at very top of field.

An arts field professional represented by counsel claimed extraordinary ability through published material and judging participation. The AAO rejected published material as lacking complete translations and appearing in insufficient outlets, and found judging role did not evidence top-level sustained acclaim. Aggregate evidence insufficient.

A self-petitioner dance instructor claimed extraordinary ability through awards, membership, and published material. The AAO found awards from youth events insufficient, membership requirements did not reflect outstanding achievement, and published material lacked proper documentation. Overall evidence did not demonstrate top-level sustained acclaim.

Winemaker sought EB-1A classification. Petitioner claimed awards, published material, and judging criteria. AAO found awards ineligible as beneficiary was not named recipient, published material did not focus on beneficiary, but judging criterion met. Overall, evidence insufficient to demonstrate extraordinary ability in wine field.

A pianist applied for EB-1A extraordinary ability classification. She claimed three criteria: lesser awards, membership, and published material. The AAO found each criterion not met and concluded the evidence did not establish sustained national or international acclaim at the very top of music performance.

Architect and web designer claiming extraordinary ability in arts and design. Petitioner claimed meeting criteria for awards and published material based on work inclusion in design publications and books. AAO rejected awards claim and published material claim, finding neither establishment of nationally recognized prizes nor publications about petitioner; aggregate evidence insufficient.