AAO research

AAO EB-1A decision JAN232024_01B2203: Published material about the person

AAO EB-1A decision JAN232024_01B2203: Published material about the person

EB-1A published material about the person — AAO decision JAN232024_01B2203: Director decision withdrawn; remanded for first-instance consideration of…

Decision summary: The AAO director decision withdrawn; Remanded for first-instance consideration of remaining four claimed criteria. AAO held practice of law falls within science or art and broader field of law may be business; director’s categorical occupation exclusion was not a proper ground. Awards and published-material issues were waived on appeal; membership, original contributions, leading/critical role, and high remuneration Remanded.

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: EB-1A merits appeal; four remaining criteria and final merits unresolved; two claims waived on appeal.. This is a source-review label, not a legal conclusion.

Decision snapshot

Decision ID

JAN232024_01B2203

Decision date as printed

January 23, 2024

Classification / field stated in source

EB-1A appeal; occupational-scope denial withdrawn and Remanded

Procedural posture

Director denied for failing three initial criteria and separately concluded petitioner’s occupation was outside EB-1A field scope. Petitioner studied international law and worked as intern/paralegal; planned law practice.

Operative disposition

Director decision withdrawn; Remanded for first-instance consideration of remaining four claimed criteria.

Final-merits status

Not reached; remaining four criteria Remanded and AAO took no position on ultimate eligibility.

What the AAO decision addressed

AAO held practice of law falls within science or art and broader field of law may be business; director’s categorical occupation exclusion was not a proper ground. Awards and published-material issues were waived on appeal; membership, original contributions, leading/critical role, and high remuneration Remanded.

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

Abandoned or waived — source PDF

Membership

Not reached — source PDF

Published material about the person

waived
Finding not challenged on appeal; AAO treated as waived. — p. 2

Judging the work of others

Not reached — source PDF

Original contributions of major significance

Not reached — source PDF

Scholarly authorship

Not reached — source PDF

Artistic display or showcases

Not coded — source PDF

Leading or critical role

Not reached — source PDF

High salary or remuneration

Not reached — source PDF

Commercial success in the performing arts

Not reached — source PDF

Source-cited findings recorded in review

  • claim: Decision dated January 23, 2024 identifies petitioner as global-security expert seeking EB-1A; director also found occupation outside classification scope.; pages: 1

  • claim: Petitioner claimed six criteria; director found none met. Awards and published-material findings were not challenged on appeal and were waived.; pages: 2

  • claim: AAO held law practice falls within science or art and broader law may fall within business; Remanded for first-instance decision on membership, contributions, leading role, and remuneration.; pages: 2; 3

  • claim: AAO took no position on whether petitioner met remaining criteria or sustained acclaim.; pages: 3

How this record may be used in research

Comparison scope: Eligible for occupation-scope/procedural coverage; exclude from approvals and criterion-outcome aggregate.

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

  • Published material about the person research

  • Leading or critical role research

  • Remand research

  • Waiv research

  • Coverage research

Browse the AAO decision index · Read EB-1A evidence guides · Review source and correction methodology.

Primary source

Official USCIS AAO decision PDF for JAN232024_01B2203