AAO research
EB-1A high salary or remuneration — AAO decision JAN152025_01B2203: Appeal dismissed. Review source status, procedural posture and the official USCIS PDF.
Decision summary: AAO decision JAN152025_01B2203: Appeal dismissed. AAO finds the high-salary criterion not met because statistics compare the petitioner’s compensation to accountants, while her actual regional accounting-manager job also involved managing six offices/personnel and the comparison did not fit that role. Membership and leading/critical role claims are expressly reserved because they are unnecessary once the salary criterion fails; fewer than three claimed criteria.
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; verified in source review. This is a source-review label, not a legal conclusion.
Decision snapshot
Decision ID | JAN152025_01B2203 |
|---|---|
Decision date as printed | January 15, 2025 |
Classification / field stated in source | EB-1A extraordinary ability; field: accountant and business operations manager / regional accounting manager. |
Procedural posture | Appeal from Nebraska Service Center denial. |
Operative disposition | Appeal dismissed. |
Final-merits status | Not reached; expressly unnecessary because initial threshold not met. |
What the AAO decision addressed
AAO finds the high-salary criterion not met because statistics compare the petitioner’s compensation to accountants, while her actual regional accounting-manager job also involved managing six offices/personnel and the comparison did not fit that role. Membership and leading/critical role claims are expressly reserved because they are unnecessary once the salary criterion fails; fewer than three claimed criteria.
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 considered |
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 considered |
High salary or remuneration | not met — source PDF |
Commercial success in the performing arts | Not coded — source PDF |
Source holds and limits
"Complete; no source hold. Membership/role are reserved, not adjudicated adversely."
Source-cited findings recorded in review
PDF p. 1: Cover identifies accountant/business operations manager, appeal, date, and denial. AAO explains it dismisses because salary criterion is not met; membership and role reserved.
PDF p. 2: Law and analysis; duties include accounting and personnel management/oversight across company locations; three claimed criteria identified.
PDF p. 3: Salary evidence and comparator mismatch analyzed; actual role is managerial and regional, not solely accountant; salary criterion fails; appeal dismissed.
How this record may be used in research
Comparison scope: Narrow comparison for matching salary benchmarks to actual role and duties; useful to avoid occupational-comparator mismatch.
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.
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