AAO research
EB-1A awards — AAO decision FEB102009_01B2203: Appeal dismissed; prior denial affirmed. Review source status, procedural posture and the official USCIS PDF.
Decision summary: The AAO Appeal dismissed; prior denial affirmed AAO found research grants were not prizes, associations did not require outstanding achievements, articles were not qualifying material about the petitioner, peer review evidence was limited, original contributions lacked independent proof of field impact, authorship/citations were insufficient for sustained acclaim, leading role and salary were not established. Initial threshold not met.
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: Opening page identifies EB-1A classification under INA §203(b)(1)(A); final page confirms disposition.. This is a source-review label, not a legal conclusion.
Decision snapshot
Decision ID | FEB102009_01B2203 |
|---|---|
Decision date as printed | February 10, 2009 |
Classification / field stated in source | Form I-140 EB-1A extraordinary-ability petition under INA §203(b)(1)(A). |
Procedural posture | Appeal of Nebraska Service Center denial; dismissed. |
Operative disposition | Appeal dismissed; prior denial affirmed |
Final-merits status | AAO considered overall acclaim but found neither sustained acclaim nor top-of-field standing; no distinct modern final-merits step was reached. |
What the AAO decision addressed
AAO found research grants were not prizes, associations did not require outstanding achievements, articles were not qualifying material about the petitioner, peer review evidence was limited, original contributions lacked independent proof of field impact, authorship/citations were insufficient for sustained acclaim, leading role and salary were not established. Initial threshold not met.
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 — p. 3 |
Membership | |
Published material about the person | |
Judging the work of others | Not met — p. 5 |
Original contributions of major significance | |
Scholarly authorship | |
Artistic display or showcases | Not considered — source PDF |
Leading or critical role | Not met — p. 9 |
High salary or remuneration | |
Commercial success in the performing arts | Not considered — source PDF |
Source-cited findings recorded in review
claim: The petitioner sought EB-1A classification as a meteorologist, with research in severe-weather forecasting and radar data assimilation.; pages: 2
claim: AAO distinguished research grants/fellowships from awards; discounted letters from close collaborators without independent evidence of major impact; and found peer review, authorship, role, and salary evidence insufficient.; pages: 3; 9
claim: The appeal was dismissed after AAO found no major award or three qualifying criteria and no sustained acclaim.; pages: 9; 10
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
Medicine sector research
Threshold research
Final Merits research
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