AAO research

AAO EB-1A decision DEC042009_02B2203: Awards

AAO EB-1A decision DEC042009_02B2203: Awards

EB-1A awards — AAO decision DEC042009_02B2203: A bodybuilder's appeal was dismissed. Review source status, procedural posture and the official USCIS PDF.

Decision summary: AAO decision DEC042009_02B2203: A bodybuilder’s appeal was dismissed.

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.

Decision snapshot

Decision ID

DEC042009_02B2203

Decision date as printed

Not stated in normalized review fields

Classification / field stated in source

Classification not stated in the normalized review fields

Procedural posture

Procedural posture not separately coded in the normalized review fields. Consult the source PDF.

Operative disposition

A bodybuilder's appeal was dismissed.

Final-merits status

"No distinct formal final-merits determination; decision contains an overall conclusion about acclaim."

What the AAO decision addressed

A bodybuilder's appeal was dismissed.

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

Not coded — source PDF

Judging the work of others

Not coded — source PDF

Original contributions of major significance

Not coded — source PDF

Scholarly authorship

Not coded — source PDF

Artistic display or showcases

not met — source PDF

Leading or critical role

not met — source PDF

High salary or remuneration

Not coded — source PDF

Commercial success in the performing arts

Not coded — source PDF

Source-cited findings recorded in review

  • finding: The AAO found claimed bodybuilding prizes were regional or amateur/junior awards, lacked proof of national/international recognition, and were stale, with no awards documented after 1998.; pages: 4-6

  • finding: The AAO found the visual-artistic-display criterion was not established. It discussed the petitioner's argument that bodybuilding is art and guest posing is display, but found no evidence the events were artistic showcases; routine competition before an audience was insufficient.; pages: 8-10

  • finding: The AAO found leadership of a Russian Athletes Association not adequately documented for distinguished reputation or the petitioner's critical role, and dismissed the appeal.; pages: 10-11

How this record may be used in research

Comparison scope: Whether bodybuilding competitions, guest posing, or tournaments qualified as display at artistic exhibitions/showcases.

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.

Related corpus research

  • Full-corpus research index

  • Awards research

  • Artistic display or showcases research

  • Leading or critical role research

Browse the AAO decision index · Read EB-1A evidence guides · Review source and correction methodology.

Primary source

Official USCIS AAO decision PDF for DEC042009_02B2203