Published AAO appeal decisions

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.

Self-represented petitioner claimed extraordinary ability but failed to meet award and membership criteria. Awards lacked substantiation and were received over a decade before filing, failing to establish sustained acclaim. No evidence of three regulatory criteria met.

An arts petitioner sought EB-1A extraordinary ability classification. The service center denied for failure to demonstrate sustained national or international acclaim or meet three regulatory criteria. The AAO summarily dismissed the appeal because petitioner failed to identify specific erroneous conclusions of law or fact, despite counsel's promise to submit a brief.

Trampoline and acrobatics competitor claimed extraordinary ability based on youth-level awards. AAO found awards limited to junior competitions and lacked national or international standing. Evidence insufficient to show sustained acclaim at very top of field.

Business professional claimed extraordinary ability in business through awards and membership criteria. AAO found NBIA Incubator Innovation Award insufficient due to limited scope and newness, membership criterion unmet, and overall evidence failing to demonstrate sustained national or international acclaim at the very top.

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 dance instructor sponsored through counsel claimed extraordinary ability via competition awards and student achievements. The AAO held that amateur and rising-star awards cannot demonstrate extraordinary ability, and coaching achievements do not indicate the petitioner is among the very top professionals in the field.

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.

A gymnastics competitor and coach sought EB-1A classification. The petitioner was denied because she could not establish sustained national or international acclaim. Her athletic achievements ended in 1999, and her coaching record—with athletes placing fifth—did not evidence top-tier expertise. At least three criteria were unmet.

Kickboxer sought EB-1A classification. Petitioner claimed awards and association membership criteria. AAO rejected awards as insufficiently recent or nationally recognized, and found association membership did not require outstanding achievement. Overall evidence insufficient to show extraordinary ability.

Project management professional sought EB-1A classification through employer petition. Petitioner claimed awards and professional association membership. AAO found awards lacked national or international recognition and membership did not reflect outstanding achievement. Evidence insufficient for extraordinary ability.

A self-represented athlete sought EB-1A classification and was denied for lack of sustained acclaim. The appeal form requested time to translate documents and promised more evidence, but nothing arrived after eleven months. Because no specific error of law or fact was identified, the AAO summarily dismissed the appeal without analyzing criteria.

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 business professional sought EB-1A extraordinary ability classification. The director denied for lack of sustained acclaim. On appeal, counsel offered only general assertions of extraordinary ability and abuse of discretion, promised a brief that never arrived, and the AAO summarily dismissed because no specific error was identified. No criteria were analyzed.

A Georgian folk singer and choirmaster self-petitioner claimed EB-1A extraordinary ability in the arts. He asserted five criteria: awards, membership, judging, original contributions, and high salary. The AAO found none met and concluded his work with Ensemble Kutaisi, while moderately successful, did not establish top-level sustained acclaim.

An opera singer petitioned for EB-1A extraordinary ability. She submitted evidence of a Thierry Mermod Prize and student competition awards. The AAO found the major award did not constitute major international recognition and student competition awards do not evidence top-level acclaim, dismissing the appeal.

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.

A swimmer sought EB-1A extraordinary ability in athletics. The AAO found the petitioner met the membership criterion via Russian national team participation but withdrew director's finding on awards after noting post-filing awards were ineligible. Overall, evidence of moderate success did not establish sustained international acclaim at the very top, dismissing the appeal.

A self-petitioner sought EB-1A extraordinary ability classification in athletics. The AAO found that counsel never specified which regulatory criteria were met, analyzed the most applicable evidence under awards criterion, and concluded neither the scholarship nor collegiate awards demonstrated sustained acclaim at the very top, dismissing the appeal.

A gastroenterologist sought EB-1A extraordinary ability in the sciences. The AAO upheld the director's finding that the petitioner failed to establish sustained national or international acclaim at the very top, finding academic awards and a single video presentation insufficient, and dismissing the appeal.

A hotel administrator was the beneficiary of a petition seeking extraordinary ability classification. The director denied it for lack of evidence on any of the ten regulatory criteria. The appeal was summarily dismissed because the filer only said documents were misdirected and identified no error of law or fact in the denial.

Competitive shooter and shooting instructor claiming extraordinary ability in athletics. Petitioner presented awards from competitive shooting career but no evidence of sustained acclaim or student awards during six years preceding petition. AAO held prior competitive achievements insufficient without evidence of sustained excellence or teaching at highest levels.

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.

A scientist in psychophysiology self-petitioned for EB-1A extraordinary ability. She claimed four regulatory criteria but the AAO found she did not meet the awards or membership criteria, and letters of recommendation alone could not establish leading role. The AAO dismissed the appeal because the petitioner failed to demonstrate sustained national or international acclaim at the very top of her field.