AAO research
EB-1A awards — AAO decision FEB262021_04B2203: Appeal dismissed. Review source status, procedural posture and the official USCIS PDF.
Decision summary: AAO decision FEB262021_04B2203: Appeal dismissed. Director found awards and judging; AAO also found published material, satisfying three criteria, but final merits did not show sustained acclaim through/after filing or top-of-field status. Career prominence abroad and earlier contracts did not establish current U.S. acclaim; later performances were largely local/community and lacked corroborating coverage.
Source limitation: The review record contains a source hold or limitation. Read the limitation below before relying on any case detail; unresolved facts are not treated as findings.
Scope classification from review: in_scope_EB1A. This is a source-review label, not a legal conclusion.
Decision snapshot
Decision ID | FEB262021_04B2203 |
|---|---|
Decision date as printed | February 26, 2021 |
Classification / field stated in source | EB-1A extraordinary ability petition; AAO decision |
Procedural posture | Appeal after Director reopened proceeding twice and again denied EB-1A petition. |
Operative disposition | Appeal dismissed. |
Final-merits status | reached_and_unfavorable |
What the AAO decision addressed
Director found awards and judging; AAO also found published material, satisfying three criteria, but final merits did not show sustained acclaim through/after filing or top-of-field status. Career prominence abroad and earlier contracts did not establish current U.S. acclaim; later performances were largely local/community and lacked corroborating coverage.
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 | met |
Membership | Not coded — source PDF |
Published material about the person | |
Judging the work of others | met |
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 holds and limits
"Underlying media, contracts and exhibits not included; identify case as a nonprecedent decision."
Source-cited findings recorded in review
claim: Director found awards and judging; AAO additionally found published-material criterion, then proceeded to final merits.; pages: 2; 3
claim: Evidence showed successful earlier career, but activity/contract evidence waned by filing; U.S. performances and interviews did not show sustained national acclaim.; pages: 3; 4
claim: AAO concluded acclaim/top-of-field requirement was not met; appeal dismissed.; pages: 4; 5
How this record may be used in research
Comparison scope: Eligible for individual case discussion_with_careful_citations
Page-level source trail
Use the official PDF and the cited physical page numbers to check each statement.
PDF page 2 — Law, career background, criteria claimed and Director findings.
PDF page 3 — Published-material finding and beginning of final-merits discussion.
PDF page 4 — U.S. activity/media and performance evidence analyzed.
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
Published material about the person research
Judging the work of others research
Performance sector research
Final Merits research
Corroborat research
Coverage research
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