AAO research
EB-1A leading or critical role — AAO decision OCT012019_03B2203: Appeal dismissed (p. 5). Review source status, procedural posture and the official USCIS PDF.
Decision summary: AAO decision OCT012019_03B2203: Appeal dismissed (p. 5). AAO found leading/critical role and distinguished organizational reputation unproven; performance engagements did not show role for organizations; salary evidence did not establish high remuneration compared with similar services. Judging/authorship findings were accepted but threshold remained short; final merits not reached (pp. 2–5).
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; verified in source review. This is a source-review label, not a legal conclusion.
Decision snapshot
Decision ID | OCT012019_03B2203 |
|---|---|
Decision date as printed | October 1, 2019 |
Classification / field stated in source | EB-1A extraordinary ability in arts; petitioner is a music composer and trombonist (p. 1). |
Procedural posture | Appeal of Nebraska Service Center denial; petitioner asserted leading/critical role and high salary; Director had found judging and authorship (pp. 1–2). |
Operative disposition | Appeal dismissed (p. 5). |
Final-merits status | Not coded in the normalized review fields |
What the AAO decision addressed
AAO found leading/critical role and distinguished organizational reputation unproven; performance engagements did not show role for organizations; salary evidence did not establish high remuneration compared with similar services. Judging/authorship findings were accepted but threshold remained short; final merits not reached (pp. 2–5).
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 coded — source PDF |
Published material about the person | Not coded — source PDF |
Judging the work of others | met — source PDF |
Original contributions of major significance | Not coded — source PDF |
Scholarly authorship | met — source PDF |
Artistic display or showcases | Not coded — source PDF |
Leading or critical role | not met |
High salary or remuneration | Not met — source PDF |
Commercial success in the performing arts | Not coded — source PDF |
Source holds and limits
"Masked organizations, identity and compensation; source does not support industry-wide pay conclusions."
Source-cited findings recorded in review
p1: Matter of J-T- cover; composer/trombonist.; p2: Claimed criteria and director findings.; p3: Leading/critical role standard and evidence concerning orchestra/performances.; p4: Letters/promotional material fail to show role or distinguished reputation.; p5: Salary comparisons deficient; threshold and dismissal.
How this record may be used in research
Comparison scope: Useful arts case for distinguishing performance bookings and promotional listings from critical role, and for comparing pay to the same services. Eligible for a narrow negative summary with two threshold criteria acknowledged.
Editorial use note: Eligible for a narrow negative summary with two threshold criteria acknowledged.
Page-level source trail
Use the official PDF and the cited physical page numbers to check each statement.
PDF page 3 — Leading/critical role standard and evidence concerning orchestra/performances.
PDF page 4 — Letters/promotional material fail to show role or distinguished reputation.
PDF page 5 — Salary comparisons deficient; threshold and dismissal.
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
Leading or critical role research
Performance sector research
Threshold research
Final Merits research
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