Visalytics
Visalytics
remanded EB-1A RFE Issued

Water Polo Player

Water Polo Player · 2024-09-19

Decision Date
2024-09-19
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

0 of 3 criteria met
Lesser nationally or internationally recognized awards (Not Met)

The Director concluded the Petitioner did not demonstrate receipt of a major, internationally recognized award, and did not meet this criterion, though the AAO noted a partial list of awards was submitted.

Memberships in associations that require outstanding achievements (Not Met)

The Director's discussion was limited to a letter indicating membership in the Collegiate Water Polo Association (CWPA), disregarding claims of membership on specific water polo teams and the Petitioner's clarification that CWPA was the NCAA division, not the basis for the claim.

Published materials about the individual in professional or major trade publications or other major media (Not Met)

The Director acknowledged 'numerous articles' but concluded without comment that none were in major media, failing to acknowledge or analyze the Petitioner's submission of an article published in Sports Illustrated.

Performance in a leading or critical role for organizations with a distinguished reputation (Not Met)

The Director's decision included a conclusory determination, generally noting 'several letters of recommendation' but failing to acknowledge specific claims or much of the evidence submitted in support of this criterion.

Why This Petition Was Remanded

The AAO withdrew the Director's decision and remanded the matter because the Director failed to adequately analyze the evidence, including the RFE response, and did not fully explain the reasons for denial. Specifically, the Director made conclusory determinations regarding claimed criteria such as memberships (8 C.F.R. § 204.5(h)(3)(ii)), published materials (8 C.F.R. § 204.5(h)(3)(iii) - failing to acknowledge a Sports Illustrated article), and leading roles (8 C.F.R. § 204.5(h)(3)(viii)), without specific reference to or analysis of the submitted evidence.

Request for Evidence (RFE)

Unsuccessfully Addressed

The RFE requested additional evidence and arguments regarding the Petitioner's eligibility. The Petitioner submitted a response, but the Director's subsequent decision failed to analyze the additional evidence or arguments provided in the RFE response, leading to the AAO's remand.

RFE Targets
Lesser nationally or internationally recognized awardsMemberships in associations that require outstanding achievementsPublished materials about the individual in professional or major trade publications or other major mediaPerformance in a leading or critical role for organizations with a distinguished reputation

Evidence

Evidence Types
Awards
Professional Memberships
Media Coverage
Leading Role
Reference Letters Dependent
Evidence Submitted
  • lesser nationally or internationally recognized awards
  • memberships in associations that require outstanding achievements (Collegiate Water Polo Association, specific water polo teams)
  • published materials in major trade publications or other major media (article in Sports Illustrated)
  • performance in a leading or critical role for organizations with a distinguished reputation
  • letters of recommendation

Similar Cases

Others

Sports

USCIS EB-1A dismissed
2025-03-13
The appeal was dismissed because the Petitioner met zero of the required three criteria. Specifically, evidence for awards (8 C.F.R. § 204.5(h)(3)(i)) lacked context on significance, and membership evidence (8 C.F.R. § 204.5(h)(3)(ii)) failed to prove the 'outstanding achievements' requirement for the National Snowboarding Team. Other claimed criteria (published material and judging) were not reached as the first two were dispositive.

Others

Sports · Belarus

USCIS EB-1A remanded
2023-02-21
The Petitioner satisfied the membership criterion (8 C.F.R. § 204.5(h)(3)(ii)) through her selection to the Belarus National Water Ski Team's main squad, which involves a multi-level selection process by national experts. Combined with the Director's previous findings on published material and scholarly articles, she met the minimum of three criteria. The previous denial was withdrawn because the Director failed to conduct a final merits determination after the threshold criteria were met.

Others

Sports

USCIS EB-1A dismissed
2025-02-13
The appeal was dismissed because the Petitioner failed to meet at least three of the ten evidentiary criteria for extraordinary ability. While the Director found two criteria met (receipt of lesser awards and being the subject of published material), the AAO affirmed that the Petitioner did not demonstrate membership in professional associations requiring outstanding achievements by experts, nor a leading/critical role for organizations with distinguished reputations. For memberships, the evidence did not show recognized national or international experts judged team members. For leading/critical role, while a leadership role on a university team was acknowledged, the team's distinguished reputation was not established.

Coach

Sports

USCIS EB-1A rfe dismissed
2024-10-01
The appeal was dismissed because the Petitioner failed to establish eligibility under any of the claimed EB-1A criteria. Specifically, the Petitioner did not demonstrate memberships in associations requiring outstanding achievements, published material relating to his coaching work in major media, original contributions of major significance in his coaching field, a leading or critical role in distinguished organizations, a high salary relative to others in his field, or commercial successes in the performing arts (as his field is not performing arts). The AAO found that the evidence presented, including a base salary of $30,000.00 and total income of $40,951.00, was insufficient to meet the high salary criterion without comparative data.

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.

Browse More Cases

More remanded cases More Sports cases

Case data sourced from publicly available petition decisions and case studies. Decision date: 2024-09-19.

Browse all cases

At a Glance

Outcome remanded
RFE Issued
Criteria Met 0 / 3
Evidence Types 5

EB-1A Case Data

Scraped Case Data

Total Cases 881
Success Rate 52.9%
Sustained 466
Dismissed 299

Related Pages

EB-1A Overview All EB-1A Cases EB-1A Dashboard

Get Case Insights

Compare your profile against thousands of real petition outcomes. Join the waitlist for personalized analysis.

Join Waitlist