Business
AAO appeal decision on the EB-1A talent visa
Updated: Author: Alina Kanametova
This is a real, anonymized AAO appeal decision on the EB-1A immigrant visa, in the field of Business (Business), 2024. The appeal was case remanded, and on the final-merits determination the petitioner did not clearly meet the standard. Of the regulatory criteria, 3 were counted: Published material about you, Leading role, High remuneration.
What this case shows
Bottom line: the case went back to the officer for another look, not a final decision. Of the 3 EB-1A criteria claimed, 3 were counted. It never reached the final-merits stage: that requires at least 3 counted criteria.
EB-1A criteria in this case
- Awardsnot claimed
- Membershipnot claimed
- Published material about youcounted
- Judgingnot claimed
- Original contributionnot claimed
- Scholarly authorshipnot claimed
- Exhibitionsnot claimed
- Leading rolecounted
- High remunerationcounted
- Commercial successnot claimed
- Comparable evidencenot claimed
The Business field in the database: 143 appeals
Outcomes in this field: 4 sustained, 33 remanded, 106 dismissed. How the AAO ruled in this field on the criteria argued in this case:
| Criterion | In this case | Counted in the field | How objections were answered |
|---|---|---|---|
| Published material about you | counted | 35 of 85 (41%) | breakdowns for this criterion (7) |
| Leading role | counted | 57 of 91 (63%) | breakdowns for this criterion (7) |
| High remuneration | counted | 19 of 65 (29%) | breakdowns for this criterion (7) |
Counted over our base of published AAO decisions; all Business appeals.
How to read this case
The record of this case has no criterion marked "not counted", yet it never reached the final-merits stage. That happens when the dispute was resolved another way - for example, the case was sent back to the officer - and the AAO did not record a verdict on each criterion. Use the decision excerpt and the similar cases below.
From the AAO decision (source, EN)
The initial denial was based on the petitioner failing to meet at least three of the ten evidentiary criteria. The AAO found the petitioner met three criteria (published material, leading role, and high salary) and remanded the case for a final merits determination.
The quote summarizes a fragment of the decision; the table above reflects the FINAL status of the criteria across all stages of the case (including ones conceded before the appeal), so the wording may not match one-to-one.
Full AAO decision of November 26, 2024 (PDF, uscis.gov)AAO decisions archive on uscis.gov
FAQ on this case
- Which EB-1A criteria were counted in this case?
- Criteria claimed: 3, counted: 3 (Published material about you, Leading role, High remuneration).
- How did this appeal end?
- The case was remanded: the AAO withdrew the decision and sent it back to the officer - not a final approval, but not a final denial either.
- Did the case reach the final-merits stage?
- No - the case did not reach final merits: fewer than the required 3 criteria were counted.