AAO research
EB-1A awards — AAO decision JAN102008_02B2203: Appeal dismissed. Review source status, procedural posture and the official USCIS PDF.
Decision summary: AAO decision JAN102008_02B2203: Appeal dismissed. Awards criterion was met based on karate tournament placements, but association membership was not shown to require outstanding achievement judged by recognized experts. Published materials were unsupported by certified translations/circulation data or were not shown to be major media; personal recommendations could not replace extensive objective evidence. AAO found no sustained acclaim/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: In scope; verified in source review. This is a source-review label, not a legal conclusion.
Decision snapshot
Decision ID | JAN102008_02B2203 |
|---|---|
Decision date as printed | January 10, 2008 |
Classification / field stated in source | EB-1A extraordinary ability; field claimed: karate / martial arts athletics. |
Procedural posture | Appeal from Vermont Service Center denial. |
Operative disposition | Appeal dismissed. |
Final-merits status | "not met" |
What the AAO decision addressed
Awards criterion was met based on karate tournament placements, but association membership was not shown to require outstanding achievement judged by recognized experts. Published materials were unsupported by certified translations/circulation data or were not shown to be major media; personal recommendations could not replace extensive objective evidence. AAO found no sustained acclaim/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 | met |
Membership | not met |
Published material about the person | not met |
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
pp. 2–5; awards and membership p. 3; media and merits pp. 3–4; order p. 5.
How this record may be used in research
Comparison scope: Narrow martial-arts comparator for recognized competition awards versus membership requirements and translated media; case-specific and dated. eligible_for_editorial_review_with_citations
Editorial use note: eligible_for_editorial_review_with_citations
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
Athletics sector research
Performance sector research
Translat research
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