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O-1A AAO decisions

Explore 128 Administrative Appeals Office decisions for O-1A petitions. Plain-English summaries, criteria breakdowns, and strategic lessons.

Remanded (6) Sustained (1) Dismissed (121)

Showing 40 of 128 decisions · Search all →

APR272026_01D8101 ·2026-04-27
Dismissed

The AAO dismissed an O-1A appeal for a technology company VP claiming extraordinary ability in business. The petitioner failed to meet even three of the eight required evidentiary criteria, falling short on published material, original contributions, and critical/essential capacity.
APR022026_01D8101 ·2026-04-02
Dismissed

A university's O-1A petition for a global engagement programs coordinator was dismissed after the Beneficiary failed to satisfy at least three of the required evidentiary criteria, meeting only two (judging and scholarly articles).
APR022026_02D8101 ·2026-04-02
Remanded

The AAO remanded an O-1A petition for a badminton player seeking to work as a coach after SCOPS overlooked evidence of his national team membership and failed to assess whether coaching falls within his area of extraordinary ability.
MAR242026_01D8101 ·2026-03-24
Dismissed

A pharmaceutical company's O-1A petition for a senior scientist in chemistry was dismissed because the petitioner could only demonstrate two of the three required evidentiary criteria — falling short on awards, judging, and original contributions.
MAR172026_01D8101 ·2026-03-17
Dismissed

An equestrian eventing business sought O-1A status for its trainer, but the AAO dismissed the appeal after finding the Beneficiary failed to satisfy even two of the required three evidentiary criteria.
MAY222025_01D8101 ·2025-05-22
Dismissed

A restaurant petitioned for a mixologist under O-1A classification, but the AAO dismissed the appeal because mixology falls under the arts (O-1B), not the sciences, education, business, or athletics covered by O-1A.
MAY212025_01D8101 ·2025-05-21
Dismissed

An archaeology company's O-1A petition for a beneficiary archaeologist was dismissed because the required peer consultation came from a Turkish-American community nonprofit with no expertise in archaeology.
MAY132025_01D8101 ·2025-05-13
Dismissed

AAO dismissed an O-1A petition for a technology startup CEO, finding that venture capital funding, startup accelerator participation, and blog posts did not satisfy the minimum three evidentiary criteria, even though prior employment at a well-funded AI company likely met one criterion.
MAY052025_01D8101 ·2025-05-05
Dismissed

The AAO dismissed an O-1A petition for a chief technology officer at an AI company after finding the Beneficiary failed to satisfy even one of the three required evidentiary criteria, and reversed SCOPS' finding on the judging criterion.
FEB252025_01D8101 ·2025-02-25
Dismissed

A youth soccer club's O-1A petition for a goalkeeper program director was dismissed because the Petitioner could only satisfy one of the three required evidentiary criteria, failing to adequately document awards, memberships, published materials, or original contributions of major significance.
FEB202025_01D8101 ·2025-02-20
Dismissed

AAO dismissed an O-1A appeal for a financial vice president in manufacturing who met only one of the required three evidentiary criteria; comparable evidence arguments for awards, memberships, judging, and original contributions all failed.
NOV132024_01D8101 ·2024-11-13
Dismissed

A mobile app company's O-1A petition for a Senior iOS Developer was dismissed after the Beneficiary failed to satisfy even three of the required evidentiary criteria, with the AAO finding the evidence for awards, memberships, published material, judging, and original contributions all insufficient.
OCT292024_01D8101 ·2024-10-29
Dismissed

A squash club's motions to reopen and reconsider an O-1A denial for a professional squash player were dismissed because the petitioner failed to properly submit its appellate brief to the AAO and could not substantiate its claims with evidence.
OCT172024_01D8101 ·2024-10-17
Dismissed

The AAO dismissed the appeal of a professional Armenian boxer seeking O-1A status, finding he met only one of the required three evidentiary criteria. Evidence for membership, original contributions, and high salary all fell short.
OCT112024_01D8101 ·2024-10-11
Dismissed

The AAO dismissed this O-1A appeal as moot because a separate O-1 petition for the same physiotherapist beneficiary was subsequently approved, rendering the appeal of the denied petition unnecessary.
OCT092024_01D8101 ·2024-10-09
Dismissed

AAO dismissed an O-1A appeal for an investment banking specialist because the petitioner failed to submit a compliant advisory opinion and the beneficiary satisfied only two of the required three evidentiary criteria.
SEP192024_01D8101 ·2024-09-19
Dismissed

AAO dismissed an O-1A petition for a biomedical researcher, finding the petitioner failed to establish at least three of the required evidentiary criteria despite the beneficiary having prior EB-1A approval.
AUG292024_01D8101 ·2024-08-29
Dismissed

The AAO dismissed untimely motions to reopen and reconsider an O-1 petition for an investment and marketing specialist, finding the petitioner's excuse—that counsel was not notified of the prior decision—insufficient to justify the 77-day delay.
AUG152024_01D8101 ·2024-08-15
Dismissed

A dance studio petitioned for an O-1 visa for a ballroom and Latin dance instructor, but the AAO dismissed the appeal after finding the beneficiary met only one of the required three evidentiary criteria.
AUG132024_01D8101 ·2024-08-13
Dismissed

A dance studio's O-1 petition for a dance instructor was dismissed because the Beneficiary satisfied only one of the required three evidentiary criteria, failing on original contributions, critical/essential employment, and high salary grounds.
JUL312024_01D8101 ·2024-07-31
Dismissed

An O-1A petition for a tennis coach was dismissed because the petitioner failed to submit a valid, mutually signed employment contract, a basic procedural requirement for the visa.
FEB262024_01D8101 ·2024-02-26
Remanded

The AAO remanded an O-1A denial for a professional showjumping horse groom, finding the Director failed to properly analyze whether the occupation falls within 'athletics' and did not adequately evaluate comparable evidence arguments.
FEB142024_01D8101 ·2024-02-14
Dismissed

AAO dismissed appeal for O-1A visa for a senior software development engineer at a semiconductor company. The petitioner satisfied only two of the required three evidentiary criteria, failing on original contributions of major significance, critical/essential role, and high salary.
NOV162023_01D8101 ·2023-11-16
Dismissed

An O-1A petition for an Ecuadoran automotive technician and race driver was dismissed after the AAO reversed favorable findings on published material and judging criteria, leaving the beneficiary with only one of the required three criteria.
OCT022023_01D8101 ·2023-10-02
Dismissed

The AAO dismissed an O-1A petition for an animal science researcher because the filing agent failed to demonstrate it legally qualified as a U.S. agent under USCIS regulations. The agent agreement lacked required terms and no contracts with prospective employers were provided.
OCT022023_02D8101 ·2023-10-02
Dismissed

An international youth hockey program's O-1A petition for its head coach was dismissed because the coach only met one of the three required evidentiary criteria (high salary), failing to prove nationally/internationally recognized awards or original contributions of major significance.
MAY252023_01D8101 ·2023-05-25
Dismissed

An O-1A petition for a professional bodybuilder was dismissed because the fitness management company petitioner could not provide a valid, consistent employment contract and failed to resolve serious discrepancies suggesting it was a shell company formed solely to sponsor the beneficiary.
APR062023_01D8101 ·2023-04-06
Remanded

AAO remanded an O-1A denial for a Colombian professional soccer player hired as a soccer director at a children's sports camp, finding the Director wrongly ignored all of her athletic career evidence.
MAR232023_01D8101 ·2023-03-23
Dismissed

AAO dismissed an O-1A petition for an ophthalmology researcher after finding she met only two of the required three evidentiary criteria, failing to show original contributions of major significance or a critical role at a distinguished organization.
FEB142023_01D8101 ·2023-02-14
Dismissed

An Egyptian sumo wrestler's O-1A petition was dismissed because the petitioner could only prove one of the required three evidentiary criteria, failing to establish qualifying membership in an association or meaningful published media coverage about the athlete.
FEB062023_01D8101 ·2023-02-06
Dismissed

The AAO dismissed an O-1A petition for a cardiology fellow who met only one of the required three evidentiary criteria. The judging criterion found met by the Director was reversed on appeal.
JAN302023_01D8101 ·2023-01-30
Dismissed

AAO dismissed an O-1A appeal for a hydraulic research engineer, finding only one of three required evidentiary criteria met. The scholarly articles criterion was reversed in the beneficiary's favor, but published materials about the alien and original contributions of major significance were not established.
JAN242023_01D8101 ·2023-01-24
Dismissed

An O-1A petition for a professional basketball player was dismissed because the petitioner failed to contest two independently dispositive denial grounds — an insufficient contract and inadequate event documentation — on appeal.
JAN172023_01D8101 ·2023-01-17
Remanded

The AAO remanded this O-1A petition for an MMA athletic trainer after finding the Director wrongly concluded no evidence was submitted with the RFE response — delivery records proved otherwise.
JAN042023_01D8101 ·2023-01-04
Dismissed

The AAO dismissed an O-1 petition for a school and career counselor after finding she failed to satisfy even three of the eight required evidentiary criteria and the petitioner failed to provide a valid peer group consultation.
NOV012022_01D8101 ·2022-11-01
Remanded

The AAO remanded this O-1A extension petition after finding the Director improperly entered a willful misrepresentation finding without adequately considering the Petitioner's rebuttal evidence, and never evaluated whether the Beneficiary qualified as a person of extraordinary ability in business.
OCT042022_01D8101 ·2022-10-04
Dismissed

A martial arts school's O-1A petition for a Filipino martial arts coach was dismissed because the coach met only one of the three required evidentiary criteria; evidence for membership, published material, and original contributions fell short.
SEP082022_01D8101 ·2022-09-08
Dismissed

The AAO dismissed an O-1A petition for a skydiving instructor because the petitioner only proved one of the required three evidentiary criteria — an awards criterion — while failing to establish qualifying memberships, published materials, or judging experience.
AUG302022_02D8101 ·2022-08-30
Dismissed

A soccer club's O-1A petition for a head youth soccer coach was dismissed because the coach failed to demonstrate receipt of nationally or internationally recognized prizes or awards, leaving him short of the required three evidentiary criteria.
AUG152022_01D8101 ·2022-08-15
Dismissed

The AAO dismissed an O-1 appeal for a writer, academic, curator, and poet because the Petitioner failed to contest three of four grounds for denial — contract, events/activities, and advisory opinion — effectively waiving those dispositive issues on appeal.