dismissed EB-1A Case: Acrobatics

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PUBLIC COFY 
U.S. Department of Homeland Security 
20 Mass. Ave., N.W., Rm. 3000 
Washington, DC 20529 
U. S. Citizenship 
and Immigration 
PETITION: 
 Immigrant Petition for Alien Worker as an Alien of Extraordinary Ability Pursuant to 
Section 203(b)(l)(A) of the Immigration and Nationality Act, 8 U.S.C. 5 1153(b)(l)(A) 
ON BEHALF OF PETITIONER: 
INSTRUCTIONS: 
This is the decision of the Administrative Appeals Office in your case. All documents have been returned to 
the office that originally decided your case. Any krther inquiry must be made to that office. 
..& 
 Robert P. Wiemann, Chief 
Administrative Appeals Office 
Page 2 
DISCUSSION: The immigrant visa petition was denied by the Director, Texas Service Center, and is 
now before the Administrative Appeals Office on appeal. The appeal will be dismissed. 
The petitioner seeks classification as an employment-based immigrant pursuant to section 203(b)(l)(A) 
of the Immigration and Nationality Act (the Act), 8 U.S.C. 5 1 153(b)(l)(A), as an alien of extraordinary 
ability. The director determined that the petitioner had not established the sustained national or 
international acclaim requisite to classification as an alien of extraordinary ability. 
Section 203(b) of the Act states, in pertinent part: 
(1) Priority Workers. -- Visas shall first be made available . . . to qualified immigrants who are 
aliens described in any of the following subparagraphs (A) through (C): 
(A) Aliens with Extraordinary Ability. -- An alien is described in this subparagraph if -- 
(i) the alien has extraordinary ability in the sciences, arts, education, 
business, or athletics which has been demonstrated by sustained national or 
international acclaim and whose achievements have been recognized in the 
field through extensive documentation, 
(ii) the alien seeks to enter the United States to continue work in the area of 
extraordinary ability, and 
(iii) the alien's entry into the United States will substantially benefit 
prospectively the United States. 
Specific supporting evidence must accompany the petition to document the "sustained national or 
international acclaim" that the statute requires. 
 8 C.F.R. tj 204.5(h)(3). 
 An alien can establish 
sustained national or international acclaim through evidence of a "one-time achievement (that is, a 
major, international recognized award)." Id. Absent such an award, an alien can establish the 
necessary sustained acclaim by meeting at least three of ten other regulatory criteria. Id. However, the 
weight given to evidence submitted to hlfill the criteria at 8 C.F.R. 5 204.5(h)(3), or under 8 C.F.R. 
5 204.5(h)(4), must depend on the extent to which such evidence demonstrates, reflects, or is 
consistent with sustained national or international acclaim at the very top of the alien's field of 
endeavor. A lower evidentiary standard would not be consistent with the regulatory definition of 
"extraordinary ability" as "a level of expertise indicating that the individual is one of that small 
percentage who have risen to the very top of the field of endeavor." 8 C.F.R. $ 204.5(h)(2). 
In this case, the petitioner seeks classification as an alien with extraordinary ability as an acrobatic 
artist. We address the evidence submitted and counsel's contentions in the following discussion of the 
regulatory criteria relevant to the petitioner's case. Counsel does not claim that the petitioner meets any 
criteria not discussed below. 
fi) Documentation of the alien's receipt of lesser nationally or internationally recognized prizes or 
awards for excellence in the field of endeavor. 
Counsel claims the petitioner meets this criterion through his receipt of the following honors in China: 
1. Second prize in the Huadong Qualification Contest for the Fourth National Acrobatic 
Competition in March 1995; 
2. Outstanding Budding Artistic Performer of Shenyang City in June 2000; 
3. Outstanding Performance Award at the Liaoning Province Qualification Contest for the Fifth 
National Acrobatic Competition on June 15,2000; 
4. Golden Chrysanthemum Award at the First Chinese Acrobatic Golden Chrysanthemum Award, 
granted to the Shenyang Acrobatic Troupe for the petitioner's "High Chair" performance in 
October 200 1 ; and 
5. First prize for the most popular show on China Central Television's 2002 Chinese New Year 
Special Program, jointly awarded to the petitioner and his partner for their acrobatic act, 
"Power," on February 26,2002. 
The first three awards were presented to the petitioner at local, regional or provincial events and the 
record contains no evidence that the honors were nationally recognized in China. Moreover, all of the 
awards were granted between over three and nine years before this petition was filed and do not 
demonstrate sustained national acclaim. Accordingly, the petitioner does not meet this criterion. 
fiii) Published material about the alien in professional or major trade publications or other major 
media, relating to the alien k work in the field for which classrfication is sought. Such evidence 
shall include the title, date, and author of the material, and any necessary translation. 
The petitioner submitted copies of 16 media articles, one printout of the contents of a video disc 
(VCD), and a stamp, which mention the petitioner or picture him performing. All but three of these 
documents are printed in foreign languages and were submitted without complete English translations. 
On appeal, counsel claims that the relevant portions of the articles were translated and included in the 
petitioner's September 29, 2005 letter. Yet the petitioner's letter includes only brief translations of one 
or two sentences from seven of the articles and provides no translations for the remaining seven 
articles. In addition, the petitioner's letter includes no certification of his translations. 
Any document containing a foreign language that is submitted to Citizenship and Immigration Services 
(CIS) must be accompanied by a full English translation, which the translator has certified as complete 
and accurate, and by the translator's certification that he or she is competent to translate from the 
foreign language into English. 8 C.F.R. 3 103.2(b)(3). Because the petitioner failed to submit certified 
translations of the articles, we cannot determine whether the evidence supports the petitioner's claim. 
Id. Accordingly, the evidence is not probative and will not be accorded any weight in this proceeding. 
Even if the petitioner had submitted complete and certified translations of the articles, the documents 
would not satisfy this criterion for two reasons. First, the record is devoid of any evidence that the 
sources of the articles are professional, major trade publications or other forms of major media. 
Second, four of the articles and the stamp are undated and the remaining articles are all dated in 2002, 
over three years before this petition was filed, and consequently do not reflect the requisite sustained 
national or international acclaim. The VCD entitled "1994-2003 Chinese Acrobatics Quintessence" 
was purportedly manufactured on May 1 1, 2004, but the petitioner did not submit an actual copy of the 
VCD. Rather, the petitioner submitted a printout from a website offering the VCD for sale. 
Accordingly, the petitioner does not meet this criterion. 
(v) Evidence of the alien's original scientific, scholarly, artistic, athletic, or business-related 
contributions ofmajor signrficance in the field. 
The petitioner claims to meet this criterion through his acrobatic act, "Power." Although the petitioner 
and his partner were awarded a prize for their performance of this act on the 2002 Chinese New Year 
Special Program of the China Central Television station, the record does not indicate that the petitioner 
has received recognition of his achievement in a manner consistent with sustained national or 
international acclaim. The petitioner submitted several support letters from individuals working in his 
or related fields who praise the petitioner's "Power" act. However, all but two of these letters are 
written by individuals who have worked directly with the petitioner as his sponsor, agent, or employer. 
While such letters provide relevant information about an alien's experience and accomplishments, 
they cannot by themselves establish the alien's eligibility under this criterion because they do not 
demonstrate that the alien's work is of major significance in his field beyond the limited number of 
individuals with whom he has worked directly. Even when written by independent experts, letters 
solicited by an alien in support of an immigration petition carry less weight than preexisting, 
independent evidence of major contributions that one would expect of an alien who has sustained 
national or international acclaim. 
, Director of the Office of Songs and Acrobatics, Department of Culture in the Bureau of 
Arts in China, certifies that the petitioner is "an outstanding young Chinese acrobat" whose "Power" 
act in China Central Television's 2002 
 e New Year Special Program was selected as the most 
popular performance in the program. iimr also states that the petitioner has won "a good number 
of top prizes and awards in national acrobatic competitions." However, as discussed under the first 
criterion, the record does not show that the petitioner has received national awards in a manner 
consistent with the requisite sustained acclaim. mprovides no further, probative information. 
The petitioner also submitted a letter from 
 of the Chinese Acrobatic Association, 
congratulating the Shenyang Acrobatic Troupe on the petitioner's performance of the "Power" act on 
the 2002 Chinese New Year Special Program broadcast on China Central Television. otes 
that "Power" was the first acrobatic act to be awarded the first-degree honor by the program in its 20- 
year history. also praises the "highest-level techniques, elegant body movements, innovative 
choreography, and smooth performance" of the "Power" act. However, 
 letter is dated 
March 6, 2002, over three years before this petition was filed. 
The record fails to establish that the petitioner has received recognition for his "Power" act or any 
other achievements as major, original contributions to his field in a manner consistent with sustained 
national or international acclaim. Accordingly, the petitioner does not meet this criterion. 
(vii) Evidence of the display ofthe alien's work in theJield at artistic exhibitions or showcases. 
The record shows that the petitioner has performed extensively as a member of various acrobatic 
troupes and performing arts programs. However, the record contains no documentation of any of the 
petitioner's performances after 2002 in the three years preceding the filing of this petition. In her 
November 16, 2004 lette- Vice President of the Evergreen Entertainment Corportation, 
states that the petitioner performed in Miami throughout 2003. In his December 30, 2005 letter, 
President of the Evergreen Entertainment Corporation, states that the petitioner 
performed at the Fontainbleu Hilton in Miami for a year between 2003 and 2004. However, the record 
contains no documentation of the petitioner's perf6rmances in 2003, 2004 or in 2005 preceding the 
Marketing Director of the 
in North Dakota, 
 performance with the 
ldoes not state the date of the 
Golden Dragon Acrobats as part of the "Medora Musical," but - 
petitioner's performance and the record does not otherwise document the petitioner's participation in 
the "Medora Musical." 
Accordingly, the petitioner has not established that he has displayed his work at artistic showcases in a 
manner consistent with the requisite sustained national or international acclaim. Consequently, the 
petitioner does not meet this criterion. 
(viii) Evidence that the alien has performed in a leading or critical role for organizations or 
establishments that have a distinguished reputation. 
The record shows that the petitioner performed a leading or critical role for the Shenyang Acrobatic 
Troupe as a co-performer of the "Power" act. However, even if the Shenyang Acrobatic Troupe has a 
distinguished reputation, the record indicates that the petitioner ceased performing with the troupe in 
2002, three years before this petition was filed. Hence, the petitioner's role with this troupe alone does 
not demonstrate the requisite sustained acclaim. 
Vice President of Asian Artists Productions, Incorporate 
 states that the 
petitioner joined her company in 2003 as one of its "guest performers." 
 notes that the 
company "pays high respect" to the petitioner and that he is "an integral part" of the company, but she 
does not indicate that the petitioner performs a leading or critical role for the company. The record also 
contains no independent evidence that AAPI has a distinguished reputation. 
In his January 2, 2006 letter, President of AAPI, states that the petitioner has performed 
with the Golden Dragon Acrobats through AAPI. 
 praises the petitioner's performance with 
the Golden Dragon Acrobats on an unspecified date at the "Medora Musical" in North Dakota and the 
record contains promotional materials about the troupe. However, the promotional materials do not 
name or picture the petitioner and the record contains no independent evidence that the Golden Dragon 
Acrobats have a distinguished reputation. Accordingly, the petitioner does not meet this criterion. 
(in) Evidence that the alien has commanded a high salary or other signijkantly high remuneration 
for services, in relation to others in the field. 
On appeal, counsel claims that the petitioner meet 
 erion and cites 
 letter as 
evidence of the petitioner's eligibility. However, mimply states that the petitioner is an 
outstanding young acrobat who won top prizes and awards and whose act was selected as the most 
popular show of China Central Television's 2002 Chinese New Year Special Program. oes not 
mention the petitioner's salary or remuneration in relation to other Chinese acrobats. The record is 
devoid of any evidence documenting the petitioner's high salary or other significantly high 
remuneration in relation to other acrobats in China or the United States. Accordingly, the petitioner 
does not meet this criterion. 
'(x) Evidence of commercial successes in the performing arts, as shown by box office receipts or 
record, cassette, compact disk, or video sales. 
In his September 29, 2005 letter, the petitioner states, "With my unique skills and extraordinary 
background, I have enjoyed great commercial success in the field of performing arts. My programs are 
always eagerly sought out and my performances are widely reported in media in different languages 
around the world[.]" The record contains no box office receipts or evidence of sales of videos or other 
media featuring the petitioner's performances. Simply going on record without supporting 
documentary evidence is not sufficient to meet the burden of proof in these proceedings. Matter of 
Soflci, 22 I&N Dec. 158, 165 (Comrn. 1998) (citing Matter of Treasure Craft of California, 14 I&N 
Dec. 190 (Reg. Comrn. 1 972)). Accordingly, the petitioner does not meet this criterion. 
An immigrant visa will be granted to an alien under section 203(b)(l)(A) of the Act, 8 U.S.C. 
8 1 153(b)(l)(A), only if the alien can establish extraordinary ability through extensive documentation 
of sustained national or international acclaim demonstrating that the alien has risen to the very top of 
his or her field. The evidence in this case indicates that the petitioner is an accomplished acrobat. 
However, the record does not establish that the petitioner has achieved sustained national or 
international acclaim as an acrobat placing him at the top of his field. He is thus ineligible for 
classification as an alien with extraordinary ability pursuant to section 203(b)(l)(A) of the Act, 8 
U.S.C. 8 1 153(b)(l)(A), and his petition may not be approved. 
The burden of proof in visa petition proceedings remains entirely with the petitioner. Section 291 of 
the Act, 8 U.S.C. 5 1361. Here, the petitioner has not sustained that burden. Accordingly, the appeal 
will be dismissed. 
ORDER: The appeal is dismissed.