AAO research
EB-1A awards — AAO decision DEC022011_01B2203: Appeal dismissed. Review source status, procedural posture and the official USCIS PDF.
Decision summary: The AAO Appeal dismissed Competitive-swimming accomplishments did not establish extraordinary ability as a coach; the AAO found the total record insufficient and dismissed the appeal.
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: Source is an AAO EB-1A decision. It is nonprecedent; case-specific procedure and merits-stage distinctions are retained.. This is a source-review label, not a legal conclusion.
Decision snapshot
Decision ID | DEC022011_01B2203 |
|---|---|
Decision date as printed | December 2, 2011 |
Classification / field stated in source | EB-1A extraordinary ability Form I-140 |
Procedural posture | AAO appeal from Texas Service Center denial; appeal dismissed. |
Operative disposition | Appeal dismissed |
Final-merits status | The AAO conducts a final-merits determination and finds the record does not show sustained acclaim as a swimming coach or top-of-field standing in the intended U.S. work. |
What the AAO decision addressed
Competitive-swimming accomplishments did not establish extraordinary ability as a coach; the AAO found the total record insufficient and dismissed the appeal.
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 | |
Membership | Not met — p. 10 |
Published material about the person | |
Judging the work of others | Not considered — source PDF |
Original contributions of major significance | |
Scholarly authorship | Not considered — source PDF |
Artistic display or showcases | Not considered — source PDF |
Leading or critical role | Not met — p. 16 |
High salary or remuneration | Not considered — source PDF |
Commercial success in the performing arts | Not considered — source PDF |
Source-cited findings recorded in review
claim: The petitioner sought EB-1A classification in athletics and proposed to continue work in the United States as a swimming coach.; evidence_pages: 2; 5; 6
claim: The AAO distinguished evidence of prior competitive swimming from evidence of recognition as a coach, the intended occupation.; evidence_pages: 7; 8; 9; 17; 19
claim: The AAO performed final-merits review and dismissed the appeal.; evidence_pages: 17; 19; 20; 21
How this record may be used in research
Comparison scope: Eligible with caveats
Page-level source trail
Use the official PDF and the cited physical page numbers to check each statement.
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.
Related corpus research
Full-corpus research index
Awards research
Membership research
Published material about the person research
Judging the work of others research
Original contributions of major significance research
Scholarly authorship research
Artistic display or showcases research
Leading or critical role research
High salary or remuneration research
Commercial success in the performing arts research
Athletics sector research
Threshold research
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