AAO Decisions Explorer · Free
Published AAO appeal decisions
Search the decisions the Administrative Appeals Office has published, narrow them by visa, criterion, field and year, and read our summary of each one with a link to the official PDF.

Decisions in the library
6,586
6,586 classified
Visa types
3
Years covered
2005-2026
Latest decision
Aug 31, 2026
Filters
6 decisions
Outcomes in these results
- Dismissed
- Remanded
- Sustained
- O-1AComputer science and AIDec 2025Dismissed
Chief technology officer at healthcare AI company. Claimed five additional criteria beyond two met by service center. AAO found venture capital funding not a recognized prize or award, membership claim unsubstantiated, and published materials not substantially about beneficiary. Beneficiary failed three-criterion threshold; appeal dismissed.
2 of 9 criteria metRead → - O-1AComputer science and AIMay 2025Dismissed
AI technology company petitioned for O-1A classification of chief technology officer. Beneficiary met only one criterion (judging); awards, membership, and published material criteria were not satisfied. Appeal dismissed because beneficiary could not meet minimum three criteria requirement for extraordinary ability.
1 of 7 criteria metRead → - O-1AComputer science and AIFeb 2024Dismissed
Dismissed · 9 criteria reviewed2 of 9 criteria metRead → - O-1AComputer science and AIFeb 2020Dismissed
A maritime data scientist seeking O-1A classification through an employer (high-tech data analytics company) met two criteria (judging and scholarly articles) but not three required. The AAO dismissed the appeal, finding original contributions lacked demonstrated major significance in the field.
2 of 5 criteria metRead → - O-1AComputer science and AIDec 2019Dismissed
Dismissed · 9 criteria reviewed2 of 9 criteria metRead → - O-1AComputer science and AI2006Dismissed
A corporation filed for H-1B extension of a systems analyst beneficiary. The AAO upheld dismissal because the petitioner failed to establish the beneficiary would actually perform specialty occupation duties or that the petitioner was the beneficiary's agent; this was H-1B, not O-1A.
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