Source-backed decision research

Explore how AAO evaluates evidence.

Search a substantial collection of case-specific reasoning, then narrow it by petition, field, legal issue, or date.

This expanded collection favors source-backed access over perfect automated classification. Fields, labels, summaries, and relevance may contain errors; records marked ‘broader context’ need extra care. Review the cited source before relying on any record. These appeals and motions do not show approval odds or denial rates, and are not legal advice or a prediction.

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10,847 decisions / 36,849 findings

Showing 13991–14000

EB-1AEB-1A · MembershipNot establishedAutomated extraction · broader context

Case facts

Other

Issue evaluated

EB-1A · Membership

Membership in associations requiring outstanding achievements

Why AAO was not persuaded

AAO agreed with the Director that the Petitioner failed to provide objective evidence of membership requirements. The letters merely repeated regulatory language without identifying specific achievements or the experts who judged them, and the Petitioner did not submit the requested bylaws or evidence of the admitting authorities' qualifications.

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Use the reasoning to identify the specific factual or documentary gap AAO considered material.

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AAO agreed with the Director that the Petitioner failed to provide objective evidence of membership requirements. The letters merely repeated regulatory language without identifying specific achievements or the experts who judged them, and the Petitioner did not submit the requested bylaws or evidence of the admitting authorities' qualifications.
Exact record locator: findings_long.parquet filename_stem=2019-11-14_02_B2203; source_row=24671
Revision: 081d2cac29dcadfec88fdd675d7a0c4294d72b3c
Open source dataset ↗
EB-1AEB-1A · Leading / critical roleNot establishedAutomated extraction · broader context

Case facts

Other

Issue evaluated

EB-1A · Leading / critical role

leading or critical role for organizations or establishments with distinguished reputation

Why AAO was not persuaded

AAO found that while the Petitioner has a distinguished reputation, the supporting letters lacked detailed, probative information about the specific nature and outcomes of the Beneficiary's roles.…

Why this is useful

Use the reasoning to identify the specific factual or documentary gap AAO considered material.

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AAO found that while the Petitioner has a distinguished reputation, the supporting letters lacked detailed, probative information about the specific nature and outcomes of the Beneficiary's roles. The letters did not explain why the Beneficiary was deemed 'critical' or 'key,' and the Petitioner did not provide evidence of where his position fits in the organizational hierarchy or establish the standing of prior employers in the field.
Exact record locator: findings_long.parquet filename_stem=2019-11-14_05_B2203; source_row=24694
Revision: 081d2cac29dcadfec88fdd675d7a0c4294d72b3c
Open source dataset ↗
EB-1AEB-1A · Published materialNot establishedAutomated extraction · broader context

Case facts

Other

Issue evaluated

EB-1A · Published material

published material about the individual in professional or major trade publications or other major media

Why AAO was not persuaded

AAO found the Campaign US article did not relate to the Beneficiary's work in the field. The AdLatina articles were brief hiring/promotion announcements that did not discuss his work. Coverage of advertising projects he worked on did not mention the Beneficiary personally, and archived award-listing pages are not 'published material' about the Beneficiary.

Why this is useful

Use the reasoning to identify the specific factual or documentary gap AAO considered material.

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AAO found the Campaign US article did not relate to the Beneficiary's work in the field. The AdLatina articles were brief hiring/promotion announcements that did not discuss his work. Coverage of advertising projects he worked on did not mention the Beneficiary personally, and archived award-listing pages are not 'published material' about the Beneficiary.
Exact record locator: findings_long.parquet filename_stem=2019-11-14_05_B2203; source_row=24692
Revision: 081d2cac29dcadfec88fdd675d7a0c4294d72b3c
Open source dataset ↗
EB-1AEB-1A · AwardsNot establishedAutomated extraction · broader context

Case facts

Other

Issue evaluated

EB-1A · Awards

lesser nationally or internationally recognized prizes or awards

Why AAO was not persuaded

AAO found that while the competitions were international in scope, the Petitioner did not establish that the specific lower-tier awards the Beneficiary received (Silver, Bronze, Shortlist, 2nd Prize, Finalist, Merit) are nationally or internationally recognized for excellence relative to the top awards.…

Why this is useful

Use the reasoning to identify the specific factual or documentary gap AAO considered material.

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AAO found that while the competitions were international in scope, the Petitioner did not establish that the specific lower-tier awards the Beneficiary received (Silver, Bronze, Shortlist, 2nd Prize, Finalist, Merit) are nationally or internationally recognized for excellence relative to the top awards. Additionally, several awards were issued to the Beneficiary's employer rather than to him personally, and other claimed awards lacked supporting documentation.
Exact record locator: findings_long.parquet filename_stem=2019-11-14_05_B2203; source_row=24691
Revision: 081d2cac29dcadfec88fdd675d7a0c4294d72b3c
Open source dataset ↗
EB-1AEB-1A · Original contributionsNot establishedAutomated extraction · broader context

Case facts

OtherPhD55 citations

Issue evaluated

EB-1A · Original contributions

original contributions of major significance

Why AAO was not persuaded

Although the advisory letters and citing articles corroborate that individual researchers built upon the Petitioner's work, they do not demonstrate widespread impact or major significance to the overall field. The citation statistics for a single article do not automatically establish major significance without comparison to other highly cited articles recognized as majorly significant by the field.

Why this is useful

Distinguish original work from evidence that the contribution had major significance across the field.

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Although the advisory letters and citing articles corroborate that individual researchers built upon the Petitioner's work, they do not demonstrate widespread impact or major significance to the overall field. The citation statistics for a single article do not automatically establish major significance without comparison to other highly cited articles recognized as majorly significant by the field.
Exact record locator: findings_long.parquet filename_stem=2019-11-14_04_B2203; source_row=24689
Revision: 081d2cac29dcadfec88fdd675d7a0c4294d72b3c
Open source dataset ↗
EB-1AEB-1A · Leading / critical roleNot establishedAutomated extraction · broader context

Case facts

Other

Issue evaluated

EB-1A · Leading / critical role

leading or critical role for distinguished organization

Why AAO was not persuaded

AAO disagreed with the Director and withdrew the finding. AAO found the Petitioner demonstrated a leading role but failed to establish the Foundation's distinguished reputation because evidence came primarily from within the Foundation itself and no meaningful comparison to other arts organizations was provided.

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Use the reasoning to identify the specific factual or documentary gap AAO considered material.

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AAO disagreed with the Director and withdrew the finding. AAO found the Petitioner demonstrated a leading role but failed to establish the Foundation's distinguished reputation because evidence came primarily from within the Foundation itself and no meaningful comparison to other arts organizations was provided.
Exact record locator: findings_long.parquet filename_stem=2019-11-14_06_B2203; source_row=24700
Revision: 081d2cac29dcadfec88fdd675d7a0c4294d72b3c
Open source dataset ↗
EB-1AEB-1A · JudgingNot establishedAutomated extraction · broader context

Case facts

Other

Issue evaluated

EB-1A · Judging

judging the work of others

Why AAO was not persuaded

AAO found the record provided only minimal, vague, and uncorroborated evidence of judging activity, lacking basic details such as judging criteria, date of competition, and exact location of the school. The invitation letter could not confirm participation, and academic assignment reviews are not evidence of formal judging.

Why this is useful

See how invitations, completed assignments, and the nature of judging were documented and weighed.

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AAO found the record provided only minimal, vague, and uncorroborated evidence of judging activity, lacking basic details such as judging criteria, date of competition, and exact location of the school. The invitation letter could not confirm participation, and academic assignment reviews are not evidence of formal judging.
Exact record locator: findings_long.parquet filename_stem=2019-11-14_06_B2203; source_row=24698
Revision: 081d2cac29dcadfec88fdd675d7a0c4294d72b3c
Open source dataset ↗
EB-1AEB-1A · Original contributionsNot establishedAutomated extraction · broader context

Case facts

Other

Issue evaluated

EB-1A · Original contributions

original contributions of major significance

Why AAO was not persuaded

AAO found the Petitioner demonstrated she made the claimed contributions but provided insufficient objective evidence of their major significance. The expert letters were general and unsupported by independent evidence; contributions appeared primarily local; and being original does not automatically make a contribution of major significance.

Why this is useful

Distinguish original work from evidence that the contribution had major significance across the field.

View full reasoning +
AAO found the Petitioner demonstrated she made the claimed contributions but provided insufficient objective evidence of their major significance. The expert letters were general and unsupported by independent evidence; contributions appeared primarily local; and being original does not automatically make a contribution of major significance.
Exact record locator: findings_long.parquet filename_stem=2019-11-14_06_B2203; source_row=24699
Revision: 081d2cac29dcadfec88fdd675d7a0c4294d72b3c
Open source dataset ↗
EB-1AEB-1A · Published materialNot establishedAutomated extraction · broader context

Case facts

Other

Issue evaluated

EB-1A · Published material

published material in major media

Why AAO was not persuaded

AAO found that most articles were not about the Petitioner as required—she was only briefly mentioned—and that the publications were regional Telugu-language newspapers concentrated in two Indian states, not shown to be major media. Brief mention, even including an opinion about a performance, does not make an article 'about' the petitioner.

Why this is useful

Use the reasoning to identify the specific factual or documentary gap AAO considered material.

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AAO found that most articles were not about the Petitioner as required—she was only briefly mentioned—and that the publications were regional Telugu-language newspapers concentrated in two Indian states, not shown to be major media. Brief mention, even including an opinion about a performance, does not make an article 'about' the petitioner.
Exact record locator: findings_long.parquet filename_stem=2019-11-14_06_B2203; source_row=24697
Revision: 081d2cac29dcadfec88fdd675d7a0c4294d72b3c
Open source dataset ↗
EB-1AEB-1A · AwardsNot established

Case facts

Medicine / Clinical16 papers

Issue evaluated

EB-1A · Awards

lesser nationally or internationally recognized prizes or awards

Why AAO was not persuaded

Nominations and finalist selections do not satisfy this criterion. The monthly competition award had too limited a pool and insufficient recognition evidence. The Best Director award lacked sufficient evidence of the competition's recognition level. The $25,000 prize was awarded by public online vote rather than for excellence as judged by experts.

Why this is useful

Use the reasoning to identify the specific factual or documentary gap AAO considered material.

View full reasoning +
Nominations and finalist selections do not satisfy this criterion. The monthly competition award had too limited a pool and insufficient recognition evidence. The Best Director award lacked sufficient evidence of the competition's recognition level. The $25,000 prize was awarded by public online vote rather than for excellence as judged by experts.
Exact record locator: findings_long.parquet filename_stem=2019-11-14_03_B2203; source_row=24681
Revision: 081d2cac29dcadfec88fdd675d7a0c4294d72b3c
Open source dataset ↗
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