AAO research
EB-1A three-criterion threshold — AAO decision NOV012023_02B2203: Appeal dismissed. Review source status, procedural posture and the official USCIS PDF.
Decision summary: AAO decision NOV012023_02B2203: Appeal dismissed. AAO found none of the five pursued evidentiary criteria established; it reserved the other two claims because they could not change the threshold result. (pp. 2–9).
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_EB1A_source_reviewed. This is a source-review label, not a legal conclusion.
Decision snapshot
Decision ID | NOV012023_02B2203 |
|---|---|
Decision date as printed | November 1, 2023 |
Classification / field stated in source | Soccer coach; former professional soccer player with approximately 20 years of coaching experience. |
Procedural posture | Appeal of Texas Service Center denial of Form I-140; petitioner sought to continue work as a soccer coach. (pp. 1–2) |
Operative disposition | Appeal dismissed. |
Final-merits status | No formal Kazarian final-merits determination: fewer than three initial criteria were established. The AAO separately states that aggregate review did not support acclaim/top-of-field. (pp. 8–9) |
What the AAO decision addressed
Appeal dismissed. AAO found none of the five pursued evidentiary criteria established; it reserved the other two claims because they could not change the threshold result. (pp. 2–9)
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 met — source PDF |
Published material about the person | Not reached — source PDF |
Judging the work of others | Not reached — 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 | Not met — source PDF |
High salary or remuneration | Not met — source PDF |
Commercial success in the performing arts | Not coded — source PDF |
Source holds and limits
Do not treat the petitioner’s prior professional playing career as proof of acclaim in coaching; AAO analyzed the two as distinct areas of expertise. (pp. 2–3); The source expressly reserves two claimed criteria; do not characterize those as adjudicated failures. (p. 9)
How this record may be used in research
Comparison scope: Potential source-cited explainer on why playing history and years coaching do not by themselves satisfy the five EB-1A evidence categories actually adjudicated.
Page-level source trail
Use the official PDF and the cited physical page numbers to check each statement.
Open the official USCIS decision PDF. Page-specific citations were not available in the normalized row.
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.
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