AAO research
EB-1A remand — AAO decision FEB022021_02B2203: Appeal dismissed. Review source status, procedural posture and the official USCIS PDF.
Decision summary: AAO decision FEB022021_02B2203: Appeal dismissed. AAO finds high salary met, giving three criteria, but denies after final merits: petitioner’s high-ranking role and success did not establish sustained acclaim or that she was among the small percentage at the very top; submitted articles were promotional or lacked author credentials. Appeal 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.
Scope classification from review: In scope; verified in source review. This is a source-review label, not a legal conclusion.
Decision snapshot
Decision ID | FEB022021_02B2203 |
|---|---|
Decision date as printed | February 2, 2021 |
Classification / field stated in source | EB-1A extraordinary ability; field: vice president and chief content officer of an online media company. |
Procedural posture | Appeal after Director found judging and leading/critical role met; AAO de novo review. |
Operative disposition | Appeal dismissed. |
Final-merits status | "Judging=met by Director; leading/critical role=met by Director; high salary=met by AAO. Final merits=not met; overall appeal dismissed." |
What the AAO decision addressed
AAO finds high salary met, giving three criteria, but denies after final merits: petitioner’s high-ranking role and success did not establish sustained acclaim or that she was among the small percentage at the very top; submitted articles were promotional or lacked author credentials. Appeal 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 coded — 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 coded — source PDF |
Leading or critical role | Not coded — 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
PDF p. 1: Cover identifies vice president/chief content officer and Feb. 2, 2021 appeal.
PDF p. 2: AAO finds high-salary criterion met based on salary evidence; proceeds to final merits.
PDF p. 3: Weighs field-relative acclaim and role; submitted publications often promotional/lack author credentials.
PDF p. 4: Finds evidence insufficient for sustained acclaim/top-of-field; dismisses appeal.
How this record may be used in research
Comparison scope: Useful negative final-merits comparator for senior media executives; distinguishes criterion threshold and high salary from sustained field-wide acclaim. Eligible for a source-grounded individual page with explicit procedural posture, criterion-level outcomes, final-merits status, and citations; avoid presenting a remand as approval or generalizing beyond the record.
Editorial use note: Eligible for a source-grounded individual page with explicit procedural posture, criterion-level outcomes, final-merits status, and citations; avoid presenting a remand as approval or generalizing beyond the record.
Page-level source trail
Use the official PDF and the cited physical page numbers to check each statement.
PDF page 1 — Cover identifies vice president/chief content officer and Feb. 2, 2021 appeal.
PDF page 2 — AAO finds high-salary criterion met based on salary evidence; proceeds to final merits.
PDF page 4 — Finds evidence insufficient for sustained acclaim/top-of-field; dismisses appeal.
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
Threshold research
Final Merits research
Remand research
Browse the AAO decision index · Read EB-1A evidence guides · Review source and correction methodology.