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
63 decisions
Outcomes in these results
- Dismissed
- Remanded
- Sustained
- EB-1ALife sciences and medicine2005Dismissed
A scientist in animal research sought EB-1A classification. The AAO dismissed, finding failure to meet three criteria. Awards lacked national recognition documentation, association membership did not require outstanding achievement, published materials were not primarily about petitioner, and research supervision was not judging work.
0 of 5 criteria metRead → - EB-1ALife sciences and medicine2005Dismissed
A scientist sought EB-1A classification based on research fellowships, association membership, and published work. The AAO dismissed, finding awards lacked documentation of national recognition, membership did not require outstanding achievement, and petitioner lacked sustained media attention or evidence of top-tier status.
0 of 4 criteria metRead → - EB-1ALife sciences and medicine2005Dismissed
Cancer researcher claimed awards, membership, judging, original contributions, and scholarly articles. AAO found fellowships not equivalent to major prizes, memberships lack outstanding achievement prerequisites, articles reflect standard scientific output, and recommendation letters lack independent weight. Petitioner meets no criteria.
0 of 6 criteria metRead → - EB-1ALife sciences and medicine2005Dismissed
A cancer researcher sought extraordinary ability in life sciences via EB-1A. Claimed award, articles, and recommendations. AAO affirmed that evidence showed skilled colleague but not sustained national or international acclaim or placement among small percentage at field's very top.
0 of 10 criteria metRead → - EB-1ALife sciences and medicine2005Dismissed
A life sciences researcher filed a self-petition for EB-1A. AAO found she failed to meet at least three criteria. Reliance on testimonial letters and minimal citations did not demonstrate major contributions recognized field-wide. Frequent publication alone does not show sustained acclaim at the very top of field. Appeal dismissed.
0 of 5 criteria metRead → - EB-1ALife sciences and medicine2005Dismissed
Scientist in life sciences claimed extraordinary ability through four criteria. The AAO found no major international award and rejected all four criteria as lacking evidence of sustained acclaim at the very top of her field, thus denying the petition.
0 of 5 criteria metRead → - EB-1ALife sciences and medicine2005Dismissed
Biomedical researcher claiming extraordinary ability based on memberships, publications, scholarly articles, and original contributions. AAO found two criteria met but membership and leading role claims failed. Evidence did not establish sustained national or international acclaim at the very top of the field.
2 of 6 criteria metRead → - EB-1ALife sciences and medicine2005Dismissed
Scientist in life sciences claimed extraordinary ability through four criteria. The AAO found no major international award and rejected all four criteria as lacking evidence of sustained acclaim at the very top of her field, thus denying the petition.
0 of 5 criteria metRead → - EB-1ALife sciences and medicine2005Dismissed
Research scientist claiming extraordinary ability in sciences. Counsel did not contest director findings on awards and judging. AAO found scholarly articles lacked citation evidence and research role was not distinguished enough. Overall evidence insufficient for extraordinary ability classification.
0 of 5 criteria metRead → - EB-1ALife sciences and medicine2005Dismissed
A medical researcher in human acariasis filed for EB-1A. The AAO dismissed the appeal, finding the petitioner was a prolific author with some exposure in Chinese epidemiology literature but had not demonstrated sustained national or international acclaim at the very top level of the medical research field.
0 of 5 criteria metRead → - EB-1ALife sciences and medicine2005Dismissed
Scientist self-petitioner in sciences sought extraordinary ability classification. AAO found published materials lacked extensive documentation of influence and scholarly articles received only modest citations. Evidence insufficient to meet three required criteria for extraordinary ability at top of field.
0 of 4 criteria metRead → - EB-1ALife sciences and medicine2005Dismissed
Scientist in life sciences claimed extraordinary ability in sciences through membership, judging, original contributions and scholarly articles. AAO found membership criterion not met as organizations require only basic qualifications; original contributions and scholarly articles not shown at major significance level; judging not submitted; and overall evidence insufficient for top-tier acclaim.
0 of 5 criteria metRead → - EB-1ALife sciences and medicine2005Dismissed
Researcher in sciences filed for EB-1A extraordinary ability classification. Petitioner claimed five criteria; two were met on appeal: published articles with citations and postdoctoral role. However, AAO found overall evidence insufficient to demonstrate sustained national or international acclaim at the very top of the field.
2 of 6 criteria metRead →
