AAO research
EB-1A awards — AAO decision JUN262009_01B2203: Appeal dismissed (physical p. 6). Review source status, procedural posture and the official USCIS PDF.
Decision summary: AAO decision JUN262009_01B2203: Appeal dismissed (physical p. 6). Lesser awards criterion met, but the Sports Master title was not membership requiring outstanding achievement; event-result articles were not about petitioner; awards did not establish original contributions; no leading/critical role was explained or proved. AAO conducts adverse aggregate merits review (physical pp. 3–6).
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: in_scope_appeal_decision. This is a source-review label, not a legal conclusion.
Decision snapshot
Decision ID | JUN262009_01B2203 |
|---|---|
Decision date as printed | June 26, 2009 |
Classification / field stated in source | EB-1A; athlete, specifically swimmer; petitioner also proposed swimming coach work. |
Procedural posture | AAO appeal from Texas Service Center denial. |
Operative disposition | Appeal dismissed (physical p. 6). |
Final-merits status | Final aggregate merits review performed; evidence showed talent but not sustained acclaim or placement significantly above nearly all swimmers (physical p. 6). |
What the AAO decision addressed
Lesser awards criterion met, but the Sports Master title was not membership requiring outstanding achievement; event-result articles were not about petitioner; awards did not establish original contributions; no leading/critical role was explained or proved. AAO conducts adverse aggregate merits review (physical 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 | Not met — source PDF |
Published material about the person | not met |
Judging the work of others | Not coded — source PDF |
Original contributions of major significance | Not met — source PDF |
Scholarly authorship | Not coded — source PDF |
Artistic display or showcases | Not coded — source PDF |
Leading or critical role | not met |
High salary or remuneration | Not coded — source PDF |
Commercial success in the performing arts | Not coded — source PDF |
Source-cited findings recorded in review
Citations use physical PDF page numbers; printed page number noted in page-by-page record where legible.
How this record may be used in research
Comparison scope: Useful swimmer-specific comparison for the difference among awards, national competition eligibility, media about event versus athlete, original contribution, and leadership. Do not conflate the athlete’s proposed coaching work with athlete field without context. Publish as appeal summary with criterion-level links and filing-date caveat for older awards.
Editorial use note: Publish as appeal summary with criterion-level links and filing-date caveat for older awards.
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
Awards research
Published material about the person research
Leading or critical role research
Athletics sector research
Browse the AAO decision index · Read EB-1A evidence guides · Review source and correction methodology.