AAO research
EB-1A awards — AAO decision NOV242020_06B2203: Appeal dismissed. Review source status, procedural posture and the official USCIS PDF.
Decision summary: The AAO Appeal dismissed The AAO found only two initial criteria established (judging and artistic display), so no formal final-merits determination was required; the record also did not establish 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 source is an AAO Form I-140 EB-1A decision; any case-specific field-of-endeavor limitation is captured in the verified facts and caveats.. This is a source-review label, not a legal conclusion.
Decision snapshot
Decision ID | NOV242020_06B2203 |
|---|---|
Decision date as printed | November 24, 2020 |
Classification / field stated in source | Form I-140 EB-1A extraordinary-ability decision under INA §203(b)(1)(A). |
Procedural posture | Appeal of Texas Service Center denial of Form I-140; appeal dismissed. |
Operative disposition | Appeal dismissed |
Final-merits status | Only two initial criteria were established; AAO expressly said it need not provide the formal final-merits determination, though it reviewed acclaim in the aggregate. |
What the AAO decision addressed
The AAO found only two initial criteria established (judging and artistic display), so no formal final-merits determination was required; the record also did not establish 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 met — p. 3 |
Membership | Not met — p. 3 |
Published material about the person | Not considered — source PDF |
Judging the work of others | met — p. 4 |
Original contributions of major significance | Not considered — source PDF |
Scholarly authorship | Not met — p. 4 |
Artistic display or showcases | met — p. 4 |
Leading or critical role | Not met — p. 5 |
High salary or remuneration | |
Commercial success in the performing arts |
Source-cited findings recorded in review
claim: Petitioner worked primarily as a first assistant director; Director had found three criteria met and conducted final merits, but AAO found only judging and artistic display established.; pages: 1; 2; 3; 4
claim: An award claim failed because receipt and national recognition were not documented; association membership lacked proof that outstanding achievement was required for admission.; pages: 3
claim: Judging at two film events met the plain criterion, but the record did not establish top-of-field acclaim from those events.; pages: 4; 7; 8
claim: The Director’s artistic-display finding for seven films at festivals was left undisturbed, but festival significance did not establish acclaim in the aggregate.; pages: 4; 7; 8
claim: Assistant-director work did not establish a critical role for distinguished organizations; salary evidence postdated filing or lacked reliable comparative annual compensation; box-office rankings and film lists lacked context to show commercial success.; pages: 5; 6; 7
claim: AAO concluded fewer than three criteria were met and dismissed; it reserved formal final merits and prospective-benefit issues while stating aggregate review did not support acclaim.; pages: 7; 8; 9
How this record may be used in research
Comparison scope: Eligible for individual case discussion
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
Final Merits research
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