AAO research

AAO EB-1A decision NOV242009_01B2203: Awards

AAO EB-1A decision NOV242009_01B2203: Awards

EB-1A awards — AAO decision NOV242009_01B2203: Appeal dismissed. Review source status, procedural posture and the official USCIS PDF.

Decision summary: The AAO Appeal dismissed The AAO finds certain internationally sanctioned wrestling awards established but finds membership, published material, judging, original contributions and leading/critical role not established. The threshold of three is unmet; appeal dismissed without a separate formal final-merits stage.

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

NOV242009_01B2203

Decision date as printed

November 24, 2009

Classification / field stated in source

EB-1A extraordinary ability (Form I-140)

Procedural posture

Public-copy, nonprecedent AAO appeal from Nebraska Service Center denial of EB-1A; 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 AAO finds certain internationally sanctioned wrestling awards established but finds membership, published material, judging, original contributions and leading/critical role not established. The threshold of three is unmet; appeal dismissed without a separate formal final-merits stage.

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 — p. 3, p. 4

Membership

Not met — p. 4, p. 5

Published material about the person

Not met — p. 5, p. 6, p. 7

Judging the work of others

Not met — p. 7, p. 8

Original contributions of major significance

Not met — p. 8, p. 9

Scholarly authorship

Not considered — source PDF

Artistic display or showcases

Not considered — source PDF

Leading or critical role

Not met — p. 9, p. 10

High salary or remuneration

Not considered — source PDF

Commercial success in the performing arts

Not considered — source PDF

Source-cited findings recorded in review

  • claim: The petitioner sought EB-1A classification as a wrestler; the decision lists international tournament medals and identifies the relevant field as wrestling.; evidence_pages: 2; 3; 4

  • claim: The AAO accepts the documented internationally recognized wrestling awards, but membership, media coverage and judging claims fail on record-specific evidence.; evidence_pages: 4; 5; 6; 7; 8

  • claim: Letters about athletic talent and rankings do not establish original contributions of major significance; coaching/team participation does not establish a leading or critical role.; evidence_pages: 8; 9; 10

  • claim: The appeal is dismissed after failure to establish three criteria.; evidence_pages: 9; 10

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

  • Athletics sector research

  • Threshold research

Browse the AAO decision index · Read EB-1A evidence guides · Review source and correction methodology.

Primary source

Official USCIS AAO decision PDF for NOV242009_01B2203