AAO research
EB-1A awards — AAO decision SEP242018_03B2203: Appeal dismissed (p. 6). Review source status, procedural posture and the official USCIS PDF.
Decision summary: AAO decision SEP242018_03B2203: Appeal dismissed (p. 6). Award evidence did not show national/international recognition; media screenshots did not reliably establish qualifying coverage; judging of a talent show was met, but display and commercial-success criteria were not established. The initial threshold and sustained acclaim were not shown (pp. 2–6).
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 | SEP242018_03B2203 |
|---|---|
Decision date as printed | September 24, 2018 |
Classification / field stated in source | EB-1A extraordinary ability in arts; petitioner is a guitarist (p. 1). |
Procedural posture | Appeal of Nebraska Service Center denial; petitioner argued four criteria; AAO independently reviewed the record (pp. 1–2). |
Operative disposition | Appeal dismissed (p. 6). |
Final-merits status | Not coded in the normalized review fields |
What the AAO decision addressed
Award evidence did not show national/international recognition; media screenshots did not reliably establish qualifying coverage; judging of a talent show was met, but display and commercial-success criteria were not established. The initial threshold and sustained acclaim were not shown (pp. 2–6).
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 |
Membership | Not coded — source PDF |
Published material about the person | not met |
Judging the work of others | met — 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 coded — source PDF |
High salary or remuneration | Not coded — source PDF |
Commercial success in the performing arts | not met |
Source holds and limits
"Source redacts identities and outlets; do not infer the nature or value of unnamed awards."
Source-cited findings recorded in review
p1: Matter of S-A-X cover; guitarist; appeal dismissal.; p2: Two-step criteria framework and appellate claims.; p3: Award and published-material analysis; award screenshots and letter insufficient.; p4: Publication screenshots and author/date/distribution deficiencies.; p5: Judging met; display not established; commercial success evidence insufficient.; p6: Conclusion and appeal dismissal.
How this record may be used in research
Comparison scope: Useful arts example for separating participation as a judge from award recognition, media qualification, exhibition and commercial success. Eligible for narrow, cited summary with clear one-criterion-met framing.
Editorial use note: Eligible for narrow, cited summary with clear one-criterion-met framing.
Page-level source trail
Use the official PDF and the cited physical page numbers to check each statement.
PDF page 1 — Matter of S-A-X cover; guitarist; appeal dismissal.
PDF page 2 — Two-step criteria framework and appellate claims.
PDF page 3 — Award and published-material analysis; award screenshots and letter insufficient.
PDF page 4 — Publication screenshots and author/date/distribution deficiencies.
PDF page 5 — Judging met; display not established; commercial success evidence insufficient.
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
Published material about the person research
Commercial success in the performing arts research
Performance sector research
Threshold research
Coverage research
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