AAO research
EB-1A leading or critical role — AAO decision APR082009_02B2203: Appeal dismissed. Review source status, procedural posture and the official USCIS PDF.
Decision summary: AAO decision APR082009_02B2203: Appeal dismissed. Published material was accepted, but awards, original contributions and leading/critical role were not; fewer than three criteria were met. AAO also found the proposed business plan highly speculative and prospective U.S. benefit unproven. (pp. 3–8).
Source reviewed: This page summarizes the specific AAO source and posture recorded in the completed source-review tracker. It does not turn a nonprecedent decision into a general rule.
Scope classification from review: in_scope_EB1A_source_reviewed. This is a source-review label, not a legal conclusion.
Decision snapshot
Decision ID | APR082009_02B2203 |
|---|---|
Decision date as printed | April 8, 2009 |
Classification / field stated in source | Business; perfumer and co-founder/co-owner of Aedes de Venustas fragrance shop |
Procedural posture | Appeal of Texas Service Center denial; AAO appellate review. |
Operative disposition | Appeal dismissed. |
Final-merits status | No formal Kazarian final-merits stage because fewer than three criteria were established; AAO gave an explicit overall adverse acclaim finding. (p. 8) |
What the AAO decision addressed
Appeal dismissed. Published material was accepted, but awards, original contributions and leading/critical role were not; fewer than three criteria were met. AAO also found the proposed business plan highly speculative and prospective U.S. benefit unproven. (pp. 3–8)
Criterion-by-criterion status in this source
These labels reproduce the source-review record. “Not considered,” “not reached,” and “not coded” do not mean the criterion failed. A Director finding recited as background is not an AAO holding unless the decision says so.
Criterion | Source-review status |
|---|---|
Awards | Not met — source PDF |
Membership | Not coded — source PDF |
Published material about the person | met — source PDF |
Judging the work of others | Not coded — source PDF |
Original contributions of major significance | Not met — source PDF |
Scholarly authorship | Not coded — source PDF |
Artistic display or showcases | Not coded — source PDF |
Leading or critical role | not met |
High salary or remuneration | Not coded — source PDF |
Commercial success in the performing arts | Not coded — source PDF |
How this record may be used in research
Comparison scope: A case explainer can separate company reputation from individual role, and coverage from award/contribution proof; include the separate speculative-plan issue without implying it is an EB-1A criterion.
Page-level source trail
Use the official PDF and the cited physical page numbers to check each statement.
Open the official USCIS decision PDF. Page-specific citations were not available in the normalized row.
How to use this record
This is a historical, nonprecedent AAO decision about its own administrative record. It is not a prediction, success rate, or current filing instruction. Compare the issue and procedural stage before drawing an analogy. The current framework is in the USCIS Policy Manual, Volume 6, Part F, Chapter 2.
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