Which EB-1A criteria were counted in this case?

Criteria claimed: 4, counted: 4 (Published material about you, Judging, Original contribution, Leading role).

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.

All EB-1A appeals

case remandedSports20244 criteria counted

Sports Event Planning/Athletics

AAO appeal decision on the EB-1A talent visa

Updated: September 10, 2026Author: Alina Kanametova

This is a real, anonymized AAO appeal decision on the EB-1A immigrant visa, in the field of Sports Event Planning/Athletics (Sports), 2024. The appeal was case remanded, and on the final-merits determination the petitioner did not clearly meet the standard. Of the regulatory criteria, 4 were counted: Published material about you, Judging, Original contribution, Leading role.

What this case shows

Bottom line: the case went back to the officer for another look, not a final decision. Of the 4 EB-1A criteria claimed, 4 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
Judgingcounted
Original contributioncounted
Scholarly authorshipnot claimed
Exhibitionsnot claimed
Leading rolecounted
High remunerationnot claimed
Commercial successnot claimed
Comparable evidencenot claimed

The Sports field in the database: 133 appeals

Outcomes in this field: 3 sustained, 17 remanded, 113 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	30 of 102 (29%)	breakdowns for this criterion (7)
Judging	counted	32 of 62 (52%)	breakdowns for this criterion (7)
Original contribution	counted	1 of 57 (2%)	breakdowns for this criterion (7)
Leading role	counted	21 of 68 (31%)	breakdowns for this criterion (7)

Counted over our base of published AAO decisions; all Sports 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 not meeting the requirements for extraordinary ability, either through a major international award or by meeting at least three of the ten regulatory criteria. The AAO found the petitioner met three criteria (judging, original contributions, and leading/critical role) 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 July 5, 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: 4, counted: 4 (Published material about you, Judging, Original contribution, Leading role).
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.

Terms in this case:RFE (request for evidence)final merits AAO (appeals office)

All EB-1A appeals O-1 / EB-1A criteria Analyze my case Which visa fits

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Same outcome in other fields

Talent visa for Sports What is the US talent visa

This is an anonymized public decision of the USCIS Administrative Appeals Office (AAO), shown for reference. Not legal advice and not a guarantee of your own outcome; every case is decided on its own facts.