AAO research
EB-1A published material about the person — AAO decision MAY022024_01B2203: Appeal dismissed. Review source status, procedural posture and the official…
Decision summary: The AAO Appeal dismissed The director’s artistic-display finding stands, but four challenged criteria (published material, scholarly authorship, leading/critical role and high salary) fail. No one-time award and fewer than three criteria; the decision expressly says a formal final-merits determination is unnecessary, while noting the aggregate record does not support sustained acclaim.
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 physical source identifies an AAO appeal concerning an EB-1A extraordinary-ability Form I-140.. This is a source-review label, not a legal conclusion.
Decision snapshot
Decision ID | MAY022024_01B2203 |
|---|---|
Decision date as printed | May 2, 2024 |
Classification / field stated in source | EB-1A extraordinary ability (Form I-140) |
Procedural posture | Nonprecedent AAO appeal from Nebraska Service Center denial of EB-1A Form I-140; petitioner seeks classification as a cinematographer; appeal dismissed. |
Operative disposition | Appeal dismissed |
Final-merits status | The decision does not reach a separate formal final-merits determination because the threshold of three initial evidentiary criteria was not met. Where noted, the AAO separately discusses aggregate acclaim in its overall eligibility conclusion; this is distinguished from a reached formal final-merits stage. |
What the AAO decision addressed
The director’s artistic-display finding stands, but four challenged criteria (published material, scholarly authorship, leading/critical role and high salary) fail. No one-time award and fewer than three criteria; the decision expressly says a formal final-merits determination is unnecessary, while noting the aggregate record does not support sustained acclaim.
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 considered — source PDF |
Membership | Not considered — source PDF |
Published material about the person | |
Judging the work of others | Not considered — source PDF |
Original contributions of major significance | Not considered — source PDF |
Scholarly authorship | |
Artistic display or showcases | |
Leading or critical role | |
High salary or remuneration | |
Commercial success in the performing arts | Not considered — source PDF |
Source-cited findings recorded in review
claim: The petitioner is a cinematographer who worked in Kazakhstan film/television beginning in 2013 and later on U.S. film/television projects; the record includes acting/production-assistant work.; evidence_pages: 1; 2
claim: The director found artistic display met; the AAO finds online articles and broadcast screenshots do not establish major-media coverage about the petitioner, and article authorship is not adequately attributed.; evidence_pages: 2; 3; 4; 5
claim: Letters about projects do not establish a leading/critical role at filing; later projects are post-filing. Salary documents do not establish actual earnings or a field-appropriate comparison.; evidence_pages: 5; 6; 7; 8; 9
claim: AAO states that fewer than three criteria are met and it need not provide a formal final-merits determination; its aggregate review does not support sustained acclaim; appeal dismissed.; evidence_pages: 9
How this record may be used in research
Comparison scope: Eligible with caveats
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
Judging the work of others research
Original contributions of major significance research
Scholarly authorship research
Artistic display or showcases research
Leading or critical role research
High salary or remuneration research
Commercial success in the performing arts research
Performance sector research
Threshold research
Browse the AAO decision index · Read EB-1A evidence guides · Review source and correction methodology.