AAO research
EB-1A awards — AAO decision SEP272022_01B2203: Director decision withdrawn; remanded for a new totality/final-merits analysis. Review source status…
Decision summary: The AAO director decision withdrawn; Remanded for a new totality/final-merits analysis. Director found lesser awards, published material, and judging met. AAO finds the final-merits assessment did not adequately evaluate the record in totality and remands. Other claimed criteria (membership, original contributions, artistic display, leading/critical role) were not established by Director and are not needed to reach threshold.
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 | SEP272022_01B2203 |
|---|---|
Decision date as printed | September 27, 2022 |
Classification / field stated in source | EB-1A extraordinary ability; field: coach. |
Procedural posture | Appeal from denial; Director found three criteria met but denied at final merits; AAO remands. |
Operative disposition | Director decision withdrawn; Remanded for a new totality/final-merits analysis. |
Final-merits status | Director reached adverse final merits; AAO found that analysis deficient and Remanded; ultimate result unresolved. |
What the AAO decision addressed
Director found lesser awards, published material, and judging met. AAO finds the final-merits assessment did not adequately evaluate the record in totality and remands. Other claimed criteria (membership, original contributions, artistic display, leading/critical role) were not established by Director and are not needed to reach threshold.
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 — source PDF |
Membership | not met — source PDF |
Published material about the person | met — source PDF |
Judging the work of others | met — source PDF |
Original contributions of major significance | not met — source PDF |
Scholarly authorship | Not coded — source PDF |
Artistic display or showcases | not met — source PDF |
Leading or critical role | not met — source PDF |
High salary or remuneration | Not coded — source PDF |
Commercial success in the performing arts | Not coded — source PDF |
Source holds and limits
"No source hold; complete. Do not present the remand as approval or as AAO finding that final merits were met."
Source-cited findings recorded in review
PDF p. 1: Cover identifies coach and appeal date.
PDF p. 2: Director’s three accepted criteria and adverse final-merits decision outlined; AAO frames de novo review.
PDF p. 3: AAO finds totality analysis deficient and remands for reconsideration of the record as a whole.
How this record may be used in research
Comparison scope: Strong narrow comparator for an inadequate final-merits explanation after three criteria, especially when evidence needs totality review.
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
Artistic display or showcases research
Leading or critical role research
Athletics sector research
Threshold research
Final Merits research
Remand research
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