AAO research
EB-1A awards — AAO decision JAN252018_03B2203: Appeal sustained; petition approved (p. 6). Review source status, procedural posture and the official USCIS…
Decision summary: AAO decision JAN252018_03B2203: Appeal sustained; petition approved (p. 6). The awards were not shown internationally recognized enough to qualify as one-time achievement, but alternate criteria and final-merits evidence sufficed. AAO credited recognized choreography awards, artistic display/performance, and other record evidence; concluded sustained acclaim and top-of-field standing based on a career in China and Canada, prominent performing-arts organization, media coverage and nationally recognized awards (pp. 2–6).
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 | JAN252018_03B2203 |
|---|---|
Decision date as printed | January 25, 2018 |
Classification / field stated in source | EB-1A extraordinary ability in arts; petitioner is a dancer and choreographer (p. 1). |
Procedural posture | Appeal of Nebraska Service Center denial; petitioner asserted two Canadian awards as a one-time achievement and alternatively claimed at least three criteria (pp. 1–2). |
Operative disposition | Appeal sustained; petition approved (p. 6). |
Final-merits status | Not coded in the normalized review fields |
What the AAO decision addressed
The awards were not shown internationally recognized enough to qualify as one-time achievement, but alternate criteria and final-merits evidence sufficed. AAO credited recognized choreography awards, artistic display/performance, and other record evidence; concluded sustained acclaim and top-of-field standing based on a career in China and Canada, prominent performing-arts organization, media coverage and nationally recognized awards (pp. 2–6).
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 | 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 | met |
High salary or remuneration | Not coded — source PDF |
Commercial success in the performing arts | Not coded — source PDF |
Source holds and limits
"Names/organizations redacted; source is a 2018 nonprecedent AAO matter, with citation Matter of F-H-."
Source-cited findings recorded in review
p1: Matter of F-H- cover; dancer/choreographer; appeal sustained announced.; p2: Framework; awards not one-time international achievement but three alternate criteria and acclaim asserted.; p3: Awards, reviews and production evidence.; p4: Artistic display and role in prominent organization assessed.; p5: Sustained acclaim/media/performances and additional awards.; p6: Acclaim in China/Canada, final merits and approval order.
How this record may be used in research
Comparison scope: Strong arts approval: failure to establish a major international one-time award did not foreclose approval under alternate criteria and totality evidence. Eligible for detailed approval summary, preserving the distinction between award threshold and alternate criterion route.
Editorial use note: Eligible for detailed approval summary, preserving the distinction between award threshold and alternate criterion route.
Page-level source trail
Use the official PDF and the cited physical page numbers to check each statement.
PDF page 1 — Matter of F-H- cover; dancer/choreographer; appeal sustained announced.
PDF page 4 — Artistic display and role in prominent organization assessed.
PDF page 5 — Sustained acclaim/media/performances and additional awards.
PDF page 6 — Acclaim in China/Canada, final merits and approval order.
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
Leading or critical role research
Performance sector research
Threshold research
Coverage research
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