AAO research
EB-1A awards — AAO decision JUN182024_01B2203: Appeal dismissed (p. 5). Review source status, procedural posture and the official USCIS PDF.
Decision summary: AAO decision JUN182024_01B2203: Appeal dismissed (p. 5). AAO found the petitioner did not overcome final-merits denial. Awards largely related to team performance, membership in a federation did not prove achievement-based admission, and career evidence did not establish sustained acclaim/top-of-field over time. Final merits remained adverse (pp. 2–5).
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 | JUN182024_01B2203 |
|---|---|
Decision date as printed | June 18, 2024 |
Classification / field stated in source | EB-1A extraordinary ability in athletics; petitioner is a soccer/football player (p. 1). |
Procedural posture | Appeal of Texas Service Center denial; Director found four criteria, including awards, judging, display and role; final merits denied based on lack of sustained acclaim (pp. 1–3). |
Operative disposition | Appeal dismissed (p. 5). |
Final-merits status | Not coded in the normalized review fields |
What the AAO decision addressed
AAO found the petitioner did not overcome final-merits denial. Awards largely related to team performance, membership in a federation did not prove achievement-based admission, and career evidence did not establish sustained acclaim/top-of-field over time. Final merits remained adverse (pp. 2–5).
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 met |
Published material about the person | Not coded — source PDF |
Judging the work of others | met — 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
"Identifying club, federation and awards are redacted; cite only the decision’s stated rationale."
Source-cited findings recorded in review
p1: Appeal cover; soccer player; appeal dismissal announced.; p2: Professional history and Director’s initial criteria findings.; p3: Final-merits review begins; prior acclaim and awards considered.; p4: Membership and career evidence; acclaim not established.; p5: Letters and evidence do not overcome final-merits deficiency; dismissal.
How this record may be used in research
Comparison scope: Useful sports example showing multiple criteria can be met while final merits fails; team recognition and a long career do not by themselves establish sustained individual acclaim. Eligible for a carefully framed two-step sports summary; never describe as a threshold failure if four criteria were accepted.
Editorial use note: Eligible for a carefully framed two-step sports summary; never describe as a threshold failure if four criteria were accepted.
Page-level source trail
Use the official PDF and the cited physical page numbers to check each statement.
PDF page 1 — Appeal cover; soccer player; appeal dismissal announced.
PDF page 2 — Professional history and Director’s initial criteria findings.
PDF page 3 — Final-merits review begins; prior acclaim and awards considered.
PDF page 4 — Membership and career evidence; acclaim not established.
PDF page 5 — Letters and evidence do not overcome final-merits deficiency; dismissal.
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
Leading or critical role research
Athletics sector research
Threshold research
Final Merits research
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