AAO research

AAO EB-1A decision JUN182015_01B2203: Original contributions of major significance

AAO EB-1A decision JUN182015_01B2203: Original contributions of major significance

EB-1A original contributions of major significance — AAO decision JUN182015_01B2203: Appeal dismissed. Review source status, procedural posture and the…

Decision summary: The AAO Appeal dismissed The petitioner did not respond to an RFE seeking evidence for the original-contributions claim, a comparable-display claim, and final acclaim in the broader pipe-organ-building field. AAO found leading/critical role met, original contributions not met, and proposed comparable display evidence insufficient; threshold/comparable evidence was not established.

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: The source is an AAO EB-1A petition appeal and contains decision-specific procedural and evidentiary analysis.. This is a source-review label, not a legal conclusion.

Decision snapshot

Decision ID

JUN182015_01B2203

Decision date as printed

June 18, 2015

Classification / field stated in source

EB-1A extraordinary-ability petition appeal

Procedural posture

EB-1A appeal; dismissed as abandoned and, alternatively, on the merits.

Operative disposition

Appeal dismissed

Final-merits status

AAO expressly did not proceed to final merits because the antecedent criteria/comparable-evidence threshold was unmet; appeal was dismissed as abandoned and alternatively on merits.

What the AAO decision addressed

The petitioner did not respond to an RFE seeking evidence for the original-contributions claim, a comparable-display claim, and final acclaim in the broader pipe-organ-building field. AAO found leading/critical role met, original contributions not met, and proposed comparable display evidence insufficient; threshold/comparable evidence was not established.

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 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 met — p. 4, p. 5

Scholarly authorship

Not coded — source PDF

Artistic display or showcases

Not met — source PDF

Leading or critical role

met — p. 6

High salary or remuneration

Not coded — source PDF

Commercial success in the performing arts

Not coded — source PDF

Source-cited findings recorded in review

  • claim: Petitioner sought classification as a reed voicer; after reviewing the work, AAO described the broader field as pipe-organ building and gave a detailed RFE for additional evidence.; pages: 2; 3

  • claim: Petitioner did not respond to the RFE; AAO dismissed the appeal for abandonment and alternatively reviewed the existing record.; pages: 3; 4

  • claim: Reference letters showed skill and respect but did not specify an original contribution or field influence; a temperature-fluctuation issue during a South Korean organ installation was left without requested details.; pages: 4; 5

  • claim: AAO found a leading/critical role for an organ-building company with a distinguished reputation, based on the petitioner’s reed-voicing work on its organs and evidence of the company’s reputation.; pages: 6

  • claim: Programs/articles about organ dedication recitals and recordings did not credit the petitioner by name; AAO found they were not comparable to artistic exhibitions/showcases.; pages: 6; 7

  • claim: AAO concluded the one-time award, three regular criteria, or comparable-evidence threshold had not been met and did not reach formal final merits.; pages: 7

How this record may be used in research

Comparison scope: Eligible for individual case discussion

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

  • Original contributions of major significance research

  • Leading or critical role research

  • Threshold research

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

Primary source

Official USCIS AAO decision PDF for JUN182015_01B2203