AAO research
EB-1A awards — AAO decision JUL222015_01B2203: Appeal dismissed (p. 6). Review source status, procedural posture and the official USCIS PDF.
Decision summary: AAO decision JUL222015_01B2203: Appeal dismissed (p. 6). AAO found awards, Olympic-team membership by comparable evidence, and published material met, but contributions did not; it found the record insufficient to establish sustained acclaim/top-of-field status in final merits. The file notes petitioner’s most recent U.S. admission as B-2 for pleasure, not as an AAO eligibility holding (pp. 3–6).
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 | JUL222015_01B2203 |
|---|---|
Decision date as printed | July 22, 2015 |
Classification / field stated in source | EB-1A extraordinary ability in athletics; petitioner is a competitive runner (p. 2). |
Procedural posture | Appeal of Texas Service Center denial; petitioner asserted awards, Olympic-team membership/comparable evidence, published material and other criteria (pp. 2–5). |
Operative disposition | Appeal dismissed (p. 6). |
Final-merits status | Not coded in the normalized review fields |
What the AAO decision addressed
AAO found awards, Olympic-team membership by comparable evidence, and published material met, but contributions did not; it found the record insufficient to establish sustained acclaim/top-of-field status in final merits. The file notes petitioner’s most recent U.S. admission as B-2 for pleasure, not as an AAO eligibility holding (pp. 3–6).
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 | met |
Published material about the person | met |
Judging the work of others | Not coded — source PDF |
Original contributions of major significance | not met |
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
"Identity and team details are redacted; athlete’s U.S. admission category is not a merits finding and should not be repurposed as legal guidance."
Source-cited findings recorded in review
physical p1: Cover identifies date and AAO appeal.; physical p2: Competitive runner, claimed criteria and threshold.; physical p3: Awards analysis and evidence; Olympic-team evidence begins.; physical p4: Membership/comparable evidence accepted; published-material criterion accepted; contributions discussion begins.; physical p5: Contributions failure, three criteria summary and final-merits analysis.; physical p6: Final-merits failure and appeal dismissal.
How this record may be used in research
Comparison scope: Useful sports comparison: Olympic-team selection was treated as comparable evidence on this record, while initial criteria did not substitute for final-merits proof. Eligible for a carefully scoped athletics summary separating three criteria met from final-merits denial.
Editorial use note: Eligible for a carefully scoped athletics summary separating three criteria met from final-merits denial.
Page-level source trail
Use the official PDF and the cited physical page numbers to check each statement.
PDF page 2 — Competitive runner, claimed criteria and threshold.
PDF page 3 — Awards analysis and evidence; Olympic-team evidence begins.
PDF page 5 — Contributions failure, three criteria summary and final-merits analysis.
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
Original contributions of major significance research
Athletics sector research
Final Merits research
Browse the AAO decision index · Read EB-1A evidence guides · Review source and correction methodology.