How often is the “Scholarly authorship” criterion counted?

Of the 473 appeals that argued this criterion, AAO counted it in 360 (76%) and rejected it in 113. Even when it was counted, only 4% of those cases passed the final-merits determination. This is an appeal sample skewed toward denials: the numbers show how AAO assesses the criterion, not visa approval odds.

In which fields is it counted more often?

Most cases arguing this criterion come from: Science (counted 121 of 127, 95%); Other (counted 75 of 94, 80%); Engineering (counted 52 of 65, 80%). The differences reflect the kinds of evidence typically submitted, not how “easy” a field is.

All EB-1A appeals

EB-1A appeals on “Scholarly authorship”: 473 AAO decisions

473 real anonymized AAO decisions on the EB-1A talent visa in which the petitioner relied on the “Scholarly authorship” criterion: AAO counted it in 360 cases and rejected it in 113. These are appeal lessons (mostly denials), not approval odds: a base for seeing which evidence for this criterion is accepted and which is discarded.

473cases argued it

76%counted when argued

4%passed final merits when counted

By field

Field	Counted	Not counted	%
Science	121	6	95%
Other	75	19	80%
Engineering	52	13	80%
Business	34	21	62%
IT	43	12	78%
Arts	17	24	41%
Education	10	2	83%
Marketing	5	7	42%
Sports	2	7	22%
Beauty	1	2	33%

What the decisions show

Counts scholarly articles in field-specific journals, backed by significance (citations).
Published material not ABOUT the person

Counted (360)

Newest first. A counted criterion does not mean approval - check the case outcome.

300 more cases are not listed here - all of them are reachable through the field archives.

Not counted (113)

Newest first. The most useful part of the archive: exactly why AAO discarded the evidence.

53 more cases are not listed here - all of them are reachable through the field archives.

FAQ

How often is the “Scholarly authorship” criterion counted?: Of the 473 appeals that argued this criterion, AAO counted it in 360 (76%) and rejected it in 113. Even when it was counted, only 4% of those cases passed the final-merits determination. This is an appeal sample skewed toward denials: the numbers show how AAO assesses the criterion, not visa approval odds.
In which fields is it counted more often?: Most cases arguing this criterion come from: Science (counted 121 of 127, 95%); Other (counted 75 of 94, 80%); Engineering (counted 52 of 65, 80%). The differences reflect the kinds of evidence typically submitted, not how “easy” a field is.

The “Scholarly authorship” criterion: what to prove RFE on “Scholarly authorship”Evidence: citations and h index Community questions: Scholarly authorship What is the US talent visa

Other criteria

Awards Membership Published material about you Judging Original contribution Exhibitions Leading role High remuneration Commercial success Comparable evidence

Decisions by field

Based on: 1,242 AAO EB-1A appeal decisions · issued Jan 2020 - Feb 2025 · USCIS: AAO non-precedent decisions · all decisions

Sources

Public anonymized AAO decisions. Reference information, not legal advice; the appeal sample skews toward denials and does not reflect approval odds.