AAO research
EB-1A judging the work of others — AAO decision FEB032021_02B2203: Appeal dismissed. Review source status, procedural posture and the official USCIS PDF.
Decision summary: The AAO Appeal dismissed The petitioner established judging, scholarly authorship, and leading/critical role for the initial threshold. AAO found the totality, including research/citations, teaching and administrative work, did not show sustained acclaim or top-of-field standing.
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: The source is an AAO EB-1A petition appeal and provides decision-specific procedural and evidentiary analysis.. This is a source-review label, not a legal conclusion.
Decision snapshot
Decision ID | FEB032021_02B2203 |
|---|---|
Decision date as printed | February 3, 2021 |
Classification / field stated in source | EB-1A extraordinary-ability petition appeal |
Procedural posture | EB-1A appeal; appeal dismissed after formal final-merits determination. |
Operative disposition | Appeal dismissed |
Final-merits status | The threshold was met, but AAO found the aggregate record did not establish sustained acclaim or that the petitioner was among the small percentage at the top of mechanical engineering. |
What the AAO decision addressed
The petitioner established judging, scholarly authorship, and leading/critical role for the initial threshold. AAO found the totality, including research/citations, teaching and administrative work, did not show sustained acclaim or top-of-field standing.
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 | |
Original contributions of major significance | Not coded — source PDF |
Scholarly authorship | |
Artistic display or showcases | Not coded — source PDF |
Leading or critical role | |
High salary or remuneration | Not coded — source PDF |
Commercial success in the performing arts | Not coded — source PDF |
Source-cited findings recorded in review
claim: The petitioner was a mechanical-engineering professor/researcher; the Director found scholarly articles and leading/critical role, and AAO also accepted judging.; pages: 1; 2
claim: The petitioner met three initial criteria: judging, scholarly authorship, and a leading/critical role.; pages: 2; 3
claim: At final merits, publication/citation evidence, including roughly 650 citations noted in the record, did not establish broad recognition placing him at the top of the field.; pages: 3; 4
claim: Teaching, university responsibilities, thesis/research review, and letters did not demonstrate a sustained career of acclaimed work or recognition by the broader field.; pages: 4; 5
claim: AAO concluded the petitioner did not meet final merits and dismissed the appeal.; pages: 5; 6
How this record may be used in research
Comparison scope: Eligible for individual case discussion
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
Judging the work of others research
Scholarly authorship research
Leading or critical role research
Computing sector research
Medicine sector research
Teaching sector research
Threshold research
Final Merits research
Browse the AAO decision index · Read EB-1A evidence guides · Review source and correction methodology.