AAO research
EB-1A awards — AAO decision MAR132017_01B2203: Appeal dismissed (physical p. 7). Review source status, procedural posture and the official USCIS PDF.
Decision summary: AAO decision MAR132017_01B2203: Appeal dismissed (physical p. 7). AAO found awards and published material met, but membership, original contributions, artistic display and leading/critical role did not; high-salary issue was not pursued on appeal. Fewer than three criteria; no separate final-merits step (pp. 2–7).
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_EB1A_source_reviewed. This is a source-review label, not a legal conclusion.
Decision snapshot
Decision ID | MAR132017_01B2203 |
|---|---|
Decision date as printed | March 13, 2017 |
Classification / field stated in source | EB-1A appeal; male mixed martial arts fighter competing in MMA; Matter of M-Z-. |
Procedural posture | Appeal of Nebraska Service Center denial; AAO found exactly two criteria and dismissed. |
Operative disposition | Appeal dismissed (physical p. 7). |
Final-merits status | Not reached as separate Kazarian step because only two criteria were met; AAO nonetheless reviewed the aggregate record and found acclaim insufficient (p. 6). |
What the AAO decision addressed
AAO found awards and published material met, but membership, original contributions, artistic display and leading/critical role did not; high-salary issue was not pursued on appeal. Fewer than three criteria; no separate final-merits step (pp. 2–7).
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 | 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 met |
Leading or critical role | not met |
High salary or remuneration | not reached |
Commercial success in the performing arts | Not coded — source PDF |
Source-cited findings recorded in review
Citations refer to physical PDF page numbers. Every page was visually inspected in source order.
How this record may be used in research
Comparison scope: Strong narrow case showing awards and major-media criteria can be met for an athlete while original contributions, artistic display and organizational role remain distinct tests. Potential individual decision page or athlete-specific comparison; preserve the two-met/four-not-met distinction.
Editorial use note: Potential individual decision page or athlete-specific comparison; preserve the two-met/four-not-met distinction.
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
Membership research
Published material about the person research
Original contributions of major significance research
Artistic display or showcases research
Leading or critical role research
High salary or remuneration research
Athletics sector research
Performance sector research
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