dismissed EB-1A Case: Athletics

U.S~ Citizenship. 
and Immigration 
Services 
MATTER OF Y-E-A-
Non-Precedent Decision of the 
Administrative Appeals Office 
DATE: FEB. 26, 2019 
APPEAL OF NEBRASKA SERVICE CENTER DECISION 
PETITION: FORM 1-140, IMMIGRANT PETITION FOR ALIEN WORKER 
The Petitioner, a Taekwondo competitor and trainer, seeks classification as an individual of 
extraordinary ability in athletics. See Immigration and Nationality Act (the Act) section 
203(b)(l)(A), 8 U.S.C. § 1153(b)(l)(A). This first preference classification makes immigrant visas 
available to those who can demonstrate their extraordinary ability through sustained national or 
international acclaim and whose achievements have been recognized in their field through extensive 
documentation. 
The Director.of the Nebraska Service Center denied the Form 1-140, Immigrant Petition for Alien 
Worker, concluding the Petitioner had not satisfied any of the ten initial evidentiary criteria, of 
which he must meet at least three. 
On appeal, the Petitioner claims that he meets three criteria. He argues that the Director's decision 
was erroneous and did not reflect the documentation contained in the record. With his appeal, the 
Petitioner submits a brief and additional evidence. 
Upon de nova review, we will dismiss the appeal. 
I. LAW 
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 
ex:traordinary ability, and 
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Matter of Y-E-A-
(iii) the alien's entry into the United States will substantially benefit 
prospectively the United States. 
The term "extraordinary ability" refers only to those individuals in "that small percentage who have 
risen to the very top of the field of endeavor." 8 C.F.R. § 204.5(h)(2). The implementing regulation 
at 8 C.F.R. § 204.5(h)(3) sets forth two options for satisfying this classification's initial evidence 
requirements. First, a petitioner can demonstrate a one-time achievement (that is a major, 
internationally recognized award). Alternatively, he or she must provide documentation that meets 
at least three of the ten categories of evidence listed at 8 C.F.R. §204.5(h)(3)(i)-(x) (including items 
· such as awards, memberships, and published material in certain media). 
Where a petitioner meets these initial evidence requirements, we then consider the totality of the 
material provided in a final merits determination and assess whether the record shows sustained 
national or international acclaim and demonstrates that the individual is among the small percentage 
at the very top of the field of endeavor. See Kazarian v. USCIS, 596 F .3d 1115 (9th Cir. 2010) 
(discussing a two-part review where the documentation is first counted and then, if fulfilling the 
required number of criteria, considered in the context of a final merits determination); see also 
- Visinscaia v. Beers, 4 F. Supp. 3d 126, 131-32 (D.D.C. 2013); Rijal v. USCIS, 772 F. Supp. 2d 1339 
(W.D. Wash. 2011). This two-step analysis is consistent with our holding that the "truth is to be 
deterniined not by the quantity of evidence alone but by its quality," as well as the principle that we 
examine "each piece of evidence for relevance, probative value, and credibility, both individually 
and within the context of the totality of the evidence, to determine whether the fact to be proven is 
probably true." Matter ofChawathe, 25 l&N Dec. 369, 376 (AAO 2010). 
II. ANALYSIS 
At the time of filing, the Petitioner was training at the 
master/owner of the martial arts academy, indicated he intends to hire the Petitioner as the head· 
instructor and that his duties will include "teaching and coaching students, ages 4 years and up, the 
Olympic Sport of.Taek,wondo." 
As the Petitioner has not established that he has received a major, internationally recognizecl award, 
he must satisfy at least three of the ten criteria at 8 C.F.R. § 204.5(h)(3)(i)-(x). On appeal, the 
Petitioner asserts that he meets the following criteria: awards at 8 C.F.R. § 204.5(h)(3)(i), 
membership at 8 C.F.R. § 204.5(h)(3)(ii), and published material at 8 C.F.R. § 204.5(h)(3)(iii). 
Upon review of all of the evidence , we conclude that it does not support a findin g that the Petitioner 
meets the plain language requirements of at least three criteria . 
. Documentation of the alien 's receipt of l esser nationally o r internationally recognized prizes 
or awards.for excellence in the.field of endeavor. 8 C.F.R. § 204 ,5(h)(3)(i). 
The Petitioner provided evidence demonstratin g that he won a gold medal at the 2015 
In addition , the record i_ncludes documentation such as media coverage indicating the 
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Matter of Y-E-A-
national recognition of awards from this,event. Accordingly, the Petitioner has demonstrated that he 
satisfies this criterion. 
Documentation of the alien's membership in associations in the field.for which class(fication 
is sought, which require outstanding achievements of their members, as judged by recognized 
national or international experts in their disciplines or.fields. · 8 C.F.R. § 204.5(h)(3)(ii). . 
The Petitioner contends on appeal that he meets this criterion based on his membership with the 
The Petitioner provided a document that indicated the 
"certifies that [the Petitioner] is registered in the federation registers (as a 
player) ... on 07/07/2001, Olympic sp01is club." It listed six "republican championships" in Egypt 
and 30 "international championships and camps" that he participated in as a member of the 
Taekwondo team. In addition, we note that the record includes a letter from Master/Owner 
of , stating that the Petitioner "is currently on the 
and is one of the top ranked competitors in Taekwondo," as well as internet print-outs from 
https://worldtkd.simplycompete.com listing the Petitioner's license number for 
GMS, and www.ma-regonline indicating he represented the at the 
2016 and placed second in his category. The Petitioner, however, did not 
provide information or. documentary evidence regarding the membership requirements or selection 
processes for the or the 
to establish that any of these associations require outstanding achievements of their members, 
as judged by recognized national or international experts. He therefore has not established that he 
, meets this criterion. 
Published material about the alien in pr<?fessional or major trade publications or other major 
media, relating to the alien's work in the field.for which classtfication is sought. Such evidence 
shall include the title, date, and author of the material, and any necessary translation. 8 C.F.R. 
§ 204.5(h)(3)(iii). · 
The Petitioner submitted two articles from the "Ahram Sport" website at http://sport.ahram.org.eg. 
· We note that any document in a foreign language must be accompanied by a full English language 
translation. 8 C.F.R. § 103.2(b)(3). The translator must certify that the English language translation 
is complete and accurate, and that the translator is competent to translate from the foreign language 
into English. Id. Because the Petitioner did not submit properly certified English language 
translations of the articles, we cannot meaningfully determine whether the translated material 1s 
accurate and thus supports the Petitioner's claims . 
Further, while the articles entitled '' 
" and " 
1" appear to be about-the Petitioner , the record does .not include evidence regarding the 
Ahram Sport website, such as, for instance , documentation regarding its circulation along with 
comparative statistics , to demonstrate that this publication is a form of major media . In addition, the 
submitted · article from the "Al Ahram " website at www.ahram.org.eg is about the Taekwondo event 
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Matter of Y-E-A-
(' 
in which he competed rather than the Petitioner himself. Specifically, the article entitled "' 
" summarizes numerous individuals' 
performances at the event and only briefly mentiot1s the Petitioner. The plain language of the 
regulatory criterion requires "published material about the alien." Articles that are not about the 
Petitioner do .not meet this regulatory criterion. See, e.g., Negro-Plumpe v. Okin, 2:07-CV-00820 at 
*I, *7 (D. Nev. Sept. 2008) (upholding a finding that articles about a show are not about the actor). 
Similarly, the record includes online articles from the "Wikipedia" website at 
https://en.wikipedia.org, "Elbalad.news" at www.elbalad.news, and "World Taekwondo United 
News" at www.wtu.kr. The Wikipedia article entitled'\ ," lists 
all first through third place competitors, including the Petitioner, in 16 events.' The Elbalad article 
entitled " " discusses the 
Taekwondo event and only references the Petitioner's participation. The World Taekwondo United 
News article entitled" ," summarizes the event's results and does 
not mention the Petitioner. Accordingly, these articles are not about the Petitioner as required by 
this criterion, nor does the record contain documentation demonstrating the qualifying nature of 
these publications. 
In addition, the Petitioner offered articles from the "Vetogate" website at www.vetogate.com and the 
"Al Bawabh" website at www.albawabhnews.com. Although these two articles are about the 
Petitioner, the authors were not provided and he has not shown that these websites qualify as a form 
of major media. Accordingly, he has not established that he meets this regulatory\criterion. 
Ill. CONCLUSION 
The Petitioner is not eligible because he has failed to submit the required initial evidence of either a 
qualifying one-time achievement or documents that meet at least three of the ten criteria listed at 
8 C.F.R. § 204.5(h)(3)(i)-(x). Thus, we do not need to fully address the totality of the materials in a 
final merits determination. Kazarian, 596 F.3d at 119-20. 2 Nevertheless, we advise that we have 
reviewed the record in the aggregate, concluding that it does not support a finding that the Petitioner 
has established the level of expertise required for the classification sought. The appeal will be 
dismissed for the above stated reasons, with each considered as an independent and alternate basis 
for the decision. In visa petition proceedings, it is the petitioner's burden to establish eligibility for 
1 We note that Wikipedia is an online, open source, collaborative encyclopedia that explicitly states it cannot guarantee 
the validity of its content. See General Disclaimer, Wikipedia. 
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:General_disclaimer; see also Badasa v. Mukasey , 540 F.3d 909 (8th Cir. 2008). 
· 2 In addition, as the Petitioner has not established his extraordinary ability under section 203(b)(l)(A)(i) of the Act, we 
need not detennine whether his intended teaching and coaching work constitutes coming to "continue work in the area of 
extraordinary ability" under section 203(b)(l)(A)(ii). See also USCIS Adjudicator's Field Manual (AFM), ch. 
22.22(i)( I )(C). 
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Matter ofY-E-A- . 
the immigration benefit sought. Section 291 of the Act, 8 U .S.C. § 1361; Matter ofSkirball Cultural 
Ctr., 25 I&N Dec. 799, 806 (AAO 2012). 
ORDER: 1he appeal is dismissed. 
Cite as Matter ofY-E-A-, ID# 2090747 (AAO Feb. 26, 2019) 
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