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remanded EB-1A RFE Issued

Violist, Adjunct Professor

Violist · 2025-03-11

Decision Date
2025-03-11
This case is from a USCIS Administrative Appeals Office (AAO) appeal decision. Appeal cases represent a subset of petitions and may not reflect typical outcomes.

Framework Evaluation

3 of 3 criteria met
Participation as a judge of the work of others (Met)

The Petitioner demonstrated participation as a judge by evaluating students seeking admission to the school of music and screening online audition portfolios, which the AAO found comparable to peer review for scholarly work or dissertation committees.

Display of work at artistic showcases (Met)

The Director determined, and the AAO agreed, that the Petitioner established this criterion by displaying her work at artistic showcases.

Leading or critical role in distinguished organizations (Met)

The Director determined, and the AAO agreed, that the Petitioner established this criterion by holding a leading or critical role in a distinguished organization.

Why This Petition Was Remanded

The AAO found the Petitioner met three criteria: displaying work at artistic showcases, holding a leading or critical role in a distinguished organization, and participating as a judge of the work of others. The judging criterion was satisfied by the Petitioner's role as an adjudicator for university music admissions, evaluating student auditions and screening online portfolios, which the AAO likened to serving on a Ph.D. dissertation committee. This satisfied the initial evidence requirement of meeting at least three criteria, leading to the remand for a final merits determination.

Request for Evidence (RFE)

Unsuccessfully Addressed

The Petitioner neglected to provide the required certificates of translation under 8 C.F.R. § 103.2(b)(3) for several of her translated documents. Documents not translated in accordance with these requirements do not have any evidentiary weight and will not be considered. For the documents to be considered on remand, the Petitioner must rectify this issue.

Evidence

Evidence Types
Reference Letters Dependent
Judging Experience
Leading Role
Exhibitions
Evidence Submitted
  • participation as a judge of the work of others
  • displayed work at artistic showcases
  • held a leading or critical role in a distinguished organization
  • employment contracts
  • letter from Divisional Dean of Fine Arts
  • letter from Professor of Music
  • exhibitions

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Frequently Asked Questions

A remanded EB-1A petition means the case was sent back to the field office for further review. This happens when procedural errors are found or additional evidence should be considered. It is neither an approval nor a denial.

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Case data sourced from publicly available petition decisions and case studies. Decision date: 2025-03-11.

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At a Glance

Outcome remanded
RFE Issued
Criteria Met 3 / 3
Evidence Types 4

EB-1A Case Data

Scraped Case Data

Total Cases 881
Success Rate 52.9%
Sustained 466
Dismissed 299

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