dismissed EB-1A Case: Chinese Opera Performer

U,S. Departrn~rat of Horr,eland! Srcoritp. 
2i) ?233i;. .4ve., N. W., RII-I. A304.3 
LVashingtun, UC 20529 
UU. S. Citizenship 
and Ilnrn-8 igratian 
, . . , .:: q "<'QF 
Office: VERMON'I' SERVICE CENTER Dare : ,;?,;$ ;; 2 .j., ~:.$i.~q-$ 
PEI'l'TTON: 
 Irnr?lrgrant Petition for Alien Worker ;is an Alien of Exttx~dinary Ability Puissant to 
Section 203(6)(1)(A) vf the Irrin~jgratioii and Nstiorrality Act, 8 U.S.C. $ I IS.?jh)(i)(A) 
'''his is the decisiiin of the Admini3vdti5t.e Appeals Office in your case. All docunrenlr have heen returned to 
the office that qjnaIIy decided yerw case. ~iz;lly f'urtfier inquiry niusi be ~nade to that oEit'c. 
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..d-Robert P. tP('ie~~rai~n, Director 
Administrative Appeals Oftke 
DIISCTiSSI9:)N: 'The Directtor, Vennozt. Service Center, denizd iha employment-based irnlnigrant visa 
peti.tion. which is now before the Adrninis~ative Appeals Of5ce on appeal, The appeal will be 
disir~issild. 
The petitioner seeks clns~ifrcztk,n a\ :in "alien oS extraosdina.rj :~hili~:)~'' in the xts, pilrcuastt to seeriasn 
TP03fb)(1)(:t) ofthe Xrnrnigrationmd hationihty Act. jthc Act), 8 T;.S.('. 1153(b)(1)(it). ['he tlirc~ctor 
determined thc pciitiitner had not estahlishcd tl-ic sustained national or international acclaim neccs5sr-v 
to quxlify for clasdfication as nil alicn c~fextrdord!narq zbility 
('bn appea!, thc pefitio~ler subn-iits n stateir~ent arid additional evidcncz. 
At thc oiitset. ivz: r~ote that the petitiois is signed by thc petitiormer ~mcjzr penally of perjury 3rd by 
counhel. declarirrg d:at the gctitron rb preya~cd based or: all infi~rn~alion of which he has hnowlcdgc. 
'1 he last question in I'xt 4 of IEic petition asks, in regard to ihc sclf-petitioner : "I: !as any inmigrant visa 
petition ever been lilcd by or 13n hehal f oi' this person?' TThc geti tjuner rc,pondcd "no." In fact, on July 
3 7, 2001, thc pttitloner filed another immigrant petition irl his ;>tvn behalf with receipt number EIZ('- 
0 1-225-50 I 7 1. IP;e director denicd that pelition on Jnnual-y 2. 2003. Ac the petitioner of tile prior 
pzxition, the inctant petitioner sh0tr2cJ has. h,~ hno.cvledge ot'the prior pc.titi&. Morzover, the petition 
was prcparcd bg. ar-rorher attorney nt counsel's k,ftke. In light of the failure 10 ~~SC'IOSC illis infori~~ation, 
the pctltiol~tr and counse1 haste significar~tly rcducect credil~ility. 
Sectilli~~ '503(ts) of the Act statcs. in pcrtincnt paxi, that: 
if) Priorltp Worber5 -- Visas shall 5rbt be n;;zde avtiilabIc . . . to qualified immigrants 7,vhtj zue 
alienb tle.;crihed i~ an) of tiiz fijllowing sl;bp:*ssgraphs ([I) ttrrough (C): 
(A) Aliens with Extraordinary tlbiliiy. -- An alien is cfescrihed in this subparagraph if -- 
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 the alien has cstraciriflndr> ahiliby 111 the sciences, arts, education, 
busiile5s. or atbieticb i~1Gc'h ITS beer1 demonstrated by sustained national or 
ir~tern:~tional acc:clalnr and wtri~se aelric~crncnts l~asle been recogni~cd in tlie 
field through exien~i~ c docurncntation, 
(ii) the alizn seek> el) e~d~r fhc I-;nitcd States to conlinrae work in the area of 
extraordiriary ability. x-~d 
(iii) the a.lien7r; entry to the T.lnited States tt;ilI substantially benefit 
prospec tiveiy the i ir~ited States. 
As used in this section; the term "extrai:.riiinarj abilit;v;;." 1;-leans a Itwl of expeflisi: itldicatirlg thai the 
indi5:ictuai is one of thst. srn~ili percentage who have ristx ri? the very top of the t-idd oC endeavor. 
8 C.E'.IP. 
 204,5(hj(2). The specific requiren~erlt.~ hr supporting Jcic~rrt~erlts ro esrablish that 3121.1 aiien 
has sustaintd national cjr intematiortat nccl~lim and recogniiiun in his or her field CI~' expenisc are set 
fi?rr>~ in the repixtion at 8 C.F.R. 4 204.i{h)(~') 
 Thc rclevmr criteria will 
 addressed helow. It 
should be reitcratcd. hou~ever. that ike petitioner nlusr show tl~at he has susrai~cd nxionai i3r 
intcrnabionai accldirrl :it ihe very top level. 
'This pctitim seeks to classif? thc petitioner as an alien trrth cxtraordinar,t ahili~ as a C'hinex Upcr'i 
;~eiforrrier. The regulation at 8 G.F R. 4 204.5(h)(3) in~iicates that 31% alien ciuj esi:blish sustainecf 
natlondl intentation31 acciaim through evi{fencc of a one-time ~cf~icveme~~t (that is. a major, 
intematic~rlal recognized aixisrd) Barring 111c alien-., receipt of such an av-ard. tlse regulaiion cutlines 
icn criteria. at least three of which must be :s~tirtYed for arm Sen tkj ehiablish thc ~;ustained 2icclnin-r 
necessdty to cfualify as ail aB ien ~:f ex tri-~or~1irsi-y abi lity. ['he yetitioner has subrni~ted evidence thnt, he 
clt~irns, meets the foliowing criteria.' 
The petitioner su[-~miited se\ver.aI original "f.ill-in-the-blank" a~vards. 
 While the certificates are 
preprkted, ilte petitioneres name is added il: Rsnd~t~itten ink. Some of the atxi~xds are age-based, such 
as the Exceiler~t F3erlc>rrr~:~ni:e Award in the Na~iorzal Mid-age and Youth Peking Opera 'X'V 
Perf~r~nance 6:'i~nies-t and thc Best XPer1-i>r~~larice AtvaraJ in the final round iif "Jing Jin {-Xu [-i[>ir~ Four-City 
Yolitlj. Pekii~g Opera I:'erfimnance Contest."' Others are purely regioilal: suctl 2s the New Performer 
Awad in 'I'lalajirig Ciiy and the Escetient XPrziv~go~~lst in the Fourth Fesiival of Opera from '-['ianjing's 
Hxreau of Clulture, The director. concli~ded ail of the alVxds were regional. 
As ilisted by t.he petitioner on appeal, ibur of the awards appear nado~;aI. although only t-wo oi' 1-lx: 
national aw:zds cto n~ot appear Iimi-ted by age. 'I'he most experiel~ced and renowned n;en-shers of the 
hielcf cfo not aspire ti) win yc3utl-r awards. As such, they are not indicati-ve <if placement amc-jng the very 
few at the -top of the field. Nevefi.hzless. llze petitioi~er sutsalitted the ccrtiticate for his 1'lrs.t Prize in the 
Iron Ox Cup Natiorial Peking Opcra Cor~test. While Tiamjing's Bureau iif Culture is one of ihe 
sponsors, rrtore national entities also :z;ponhri:d the contest, inctudirig Chinese Cent-ra! 'i'elevision. The 
petitioner also won the "(ioiden Dragofi A\vard" in the final roul~d of the Beijir~g lniemationa1 I'ekirlg 
Opera Qiln C>per:~ TV Perfctrixance i:'c?niest sponsored by Chinese Central Telcxrisiors. Not every 
cornpelition ctperr to perhnnzrs n:xtionu7ide. however, is r~ecessarily natiollally recognized. Fullher, the 
distirmguished rzpuiatir-ii~r~ of a sponsor does not necessarily irqly ihat (he ;x\\iard itself is txl?.ion:~Ily 
recog~ii~ed. Significant nation;zi cornpetitions tqpicaily gamer mqjor media attentiori. 'The record lack:; 
any evicience that the nr@r media in 6:'hina covered or cur?-entiy cover the Iran Ox Cup National 
Peking Opera Contest or the 'I'V perf-i~m~~.~~ce cc~i~tesi. !vforeover, iI-re recr~rd lacks evicfe~~ce as tu the 
signiiicar~ce of thc "(:'rolden Pkagcrl Award," such as j.i~\v IZI~IY individuals won this award an~l how it 
con~pares to (~otkrzr a~va~-& tl~itt might have beer\ p-esented, such as fYrs1. seczincl and third place. i%'hi!e 
sve acknowledge that Ellen So~nelraiva, Execut;ive Director of Aslar: Americal-zs Ui~ited, asserts thar the 
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The petitii:ner does ::ot ciaini to mecf or submit evicleilce relating to the criteria n(;t discrrssed jn this 
decision. 
has sustair~ed national or international acclain~ and recogisitic'ri~ in his or her field of expertise are set 
hrth in the regtllatioi~ a:, 8 B?.1'.R, tj 26)1.5(h)(3). 'The relevant criteria will be addressed below. It 
should be reiterated, however, that the peti-doner must slroiv that he has silst:+iiled natiorlal or 
irrternational acclaim at the very LC)~ level. 
'This pciitlun sccks tc, i;XassiJ:Si fhc petitloilcr as an alien milkl extrai~rdinary ability as a C:hirxcc Opera 
peY-ft3rmer. 'Thc reguldtion at 8 C:.I:.R. 
 304.5(h>(3) indicates that ail alien can eslaEIisk sustairled 
r~atic~nal or intematior~al acciaim thro~gl: esidence of it one-rime :ichicvcment (that ib, a major. 
iiiternaticsndl recognized award). Barring the d11cn93 receipt of SUC~ ail award, the regulation outliiaes 
ten criteria, at least three 01 wbtich must be satisfied for dn alien ho esrablisk ths: sustaineci acclain; 
ncceqsxy tt., qudiify as 31: nIien of cutrai~rJinaq dhiliiy. Thc petitioner has subrni~ied evide:lcc that. hc 
ctaimc, meets the fi2llos%iasg criteria.' 
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I he pelitioner subn-~itted sever211 original "5ll-ii1-Ble-biai1k" atw.rds. 
 lV91ile the certificates are 
preprii~ted, the  petitioner"^ alme is added iii hand~z~~ritten ink. Some of the awa-rds are age-based, such 
as the I<xcellent Fserfonnmc,e Ai,va.rd irz the National Mid-age and Youth Peking Ope-ra 'I'V 
Perfcjr~~~a~lce Contest and the Best Perfctnnance Aivard in the iinal rou~ld of "Jii~g ,)in I--lu I-[an I1;cx~r-City 
Youth Peking Opera Perfom~al-ice C'oniest." Others are ptirely regional, such as ltle New Perk3rmer 
.Award in Tifilljing City and the E:xci:Ilzn~ Protagonist in gie Fourth :Festii.al of Opera from 'I'iai?jing's 
Bureau of C:irlture. 'The director concluded a1 of the awwds tvertt regional. 
i-2~ iwted t7y llxe petitioner on :ippeaI, four of the awards i1ppz;x aa~ional, although oniy two of the 
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national avv:irds do not appear limited by age. i he n~ost experienced asd reasoti~~ed members of the 
Geld ds not aspire to win yotr!h :i:i.,ri~rd~. As such, tlrey are not irdicaiive of placement arnong the very 
fesv at the top of the field. Nevertheless, the petitir>ner submitted the ce~?ificztte for his First Priae in the 
Iron Ox Cup National £'eking Opera Clontest. iF7hile Tianjing7s Bureau of Culture is one of the 
si~crnsors, nlore nadoaal entities also spor3sored the cijriIest, incltiding Chinese Central '-l'elevision. The 
petitioner also WOII the 'vCiolde!s :I:kagon Award" in the iji~al round ofthe ISeijing TizcernaaionaI Peking 
Opera Qrui Operri 'I'V PerHbnxa1:ce Ccntes-i sponsored by Chinese Central 'fete-\.iision. Not ever); 
cornpetition open '10 performers nationwide. hoivttver. is necessaily nationally recognized. Further, the 
distinguished repuration of' a sponsor does not necessarjly impiy that the award itself is nationally 
recogrlizzd. Significant isational competiiians typically gamer m?j!jor inedla atieri~ion. The record Lacks 
any et;idei-ice that the rr~ajiyor media in China covered or currently cover the Iroi~ Ox Cup Narional 
XPekirig Opera Contest or the 
 per&-~rr~liince contest. Moreover, the record lacks evidence as to the 
significailce of the "C;islderi Dragon Award,'' such as Irriv mlmj iildivid-uals won t.h.is atvard and hoxv it 
coinpares tc? other awards that might have beeir presented, suck as first, second anif third place. \4iri-iile 
\lie acknowleclgc: that Somekawa. I:xecuiive I>irectr?r oi' Asian ~:hericms !h~ited, asserts th:it 111t: 
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The petitioner does nirrt claim to meet or submit evidence relating ro the criteria not discilsseci in this 
decision. 
Golden X>ragc>lr A~vard is equivalznt ro Grsr place, sire docs not appear afiXiated niih the sponsor of 
th.3~ comjwlition and does not ewplain how shc has first hand knowledge of thc significz~ce of thic 
sum-d. 
Coansel initialiy asszrtcd IInt ilsc pctitit3ner iaitsn tito inicniaticrnai avnrds: tlsc 2003 Jx~rernatiicrnal Goct 
AwdTd from the Rcnnaissance Q'hjnecr: 0pcr;l Society in ;N2w 'fork arrd the 3,002 ,;P\\aard of Excellence 
from the i'hiiadelphis Chinese Opera Soc~etj. (I'COS 1. X'he petilioncr has pzrfc~r~~~ed with bod; troupcs. 
1 he only evictcnce of the award fr.i-c,nl fhc Rer~~aissance Ckiracse 0perr-l Society is a letter from heng-siu 
Sia, the president. Ti~e-\plicablj, the address an the seal of il~e society does nut match the addrew or, the 
letterhcnd Moreo~cr, tlie zddrebs ~t? rl-ie ccal and cl~c plrone nurnber on the seal 2nd thc Ictterhzad 
mxch those of an accoimting firm that advertises kin the sclcieij 's progran~s,' Jca md Ifo ('XPA's. lhc. 
petitioner has not rstablished the signrficar~ce of' the society, which is sornei+hat quebtionable since nt 
sh 3113 -.. n flsor artd phone rlurriher tvirh ars a~,countir,g fim. 
'X'he record contains no evidence of any awascls from i3CC)S. 
 Iiegardless, recognition fro~n one's 
employer is not indicative of national or internationa! acclairn. 
F~raal I j . as htr-lted ;~boaic., rile pctit-roner fiid a preifioub perifio~? cce6ing the sane classjf~catton '~LI 
petillon =S suppoltcd b~i a coraq~leteiy d~jrcr;n! sct of zxtard ie~?ifi~il~eb, alth;wgh soinc of the 
translations d~e similar. 16 is ii~cuinbent upon thi: petitioner lo resoice any incr~nslrtencie:; in the 
record by in~lcpendznt objective e\ jclence. A~zy attempt to cvj-ilain or reconcile vich inconsistencies 
w~li nor sui'iict: urllcss tbc petitiolrcr sukl-i:lth competent objective ctidcnce polntiny to where the 
trurlr Iics. i$lt:;tpr (if ffu, 19 i&N Xkc. 582. 581-92 iBI,4 1988). 
in iigttt of'the abote, t11c petitio~lcr has not ehtablished that he finzts tllis criterion. 
Tile petitioner subnljttecl a "Club Member 1der;tification" issued by China Opera Perf<,rnler C'lub, 
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.[ ic~r~ging f3r:fich. 'The petiti~sner's title is giver] as "National First Rate I'~'rfor~~lw" arid he is identilied 
as -the *'Director of 'X'imjing 13rdnch.'' 'PI:e director collcluded that the peti~icbner had not esbblislled that 
the club rec4uirr:s outstanding achie~~remel~ts for rrien:bership 21s judged by recognized ~lational or 
international experts. <::In aj.y?ea.l, tfre pztitioi~er asserts that he is a member of tl~e Association of 
~1;- ,~lnese ' I:)r:irn:jtis-ts, tr2nslaced as "Club" by counsel's assisiarrt, The pe~itioner does ilot subrtlit a np~y, 
certified translation of the doccinrrr~t.. Th12s. the record contains no evidence of -the petitioner's 
mernbersttip in the Assoi:ialion of Chinese Dramatists. Moreover. tile petitioner does not submit the 
!ntenlet materials he claims s?:.ppofi a f nding that the assc?ciation requires nutsta~aciing achievel-j-ients oi' 
its men?bt.rs. The certified transiation subrnirtzd ifiirjaliy i~zclicates o~lty that the petiiioner is a rnen.lher 
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The pelltioirer s~~bmitted ti-re proprams :is par? c;i'i:is iititial submission. 
of' d 10~31 branch of the China Opera I~erfijrrner Club, c~lhi~h implics that he ikds j~ldgehf by li~cal 
cspc;-rs. IVjti~out evidence that the Chialr Opera Tecdbrmer Club requires outstdnc3ing achievements uf 
its ~rjcn~bers as j?:.dgcd by national or international euperts, thc petitioiicr cannot estsblibh that he meets 
tl-rls cri tcri on. 
The petitioner subrrsitted evidence of several neivs articles in local Philadelphia and New B'ork 
i:"hinese-langu2ige publications. Most of' the articles prornote fincure perfo~~nmces i3r review past 
pt..rfozxnances 17s. troupes lrrr td~ich the petitioner perfom15 and are not prinlarily about him. The 
director's discussion sf illis criterio~i is corzhsing. 'X'he director concludes that the petitioner has not 
demonslmted how "well received" the articies were or the circulation ofthe publications. '['he director 
also detemllned that ?.he record did not "indicale ilzdeper~dent expeps in your field of endeavor consider 
aiii-horship of scholariy articles about 7'01; or y~ur i?elcf of expertise to be of major sjg,ni.fican.ce," 
Notl-ring in the plain language ofthis criterion requires that the prrblisl~cd rnater-ials be "we1I-received," 
if there vvVere even a possible means of de~~onst~zting such receipt. We fiirt-her noie that this critcric~n 
does not require that the published materials aboirt the alien be '-scholarly3 or that independent experts 
in the tkId corrsicler such arricles to be of major significarrce. We eonc-ur with the director, i-rawever, 
that in order to establish that t1-x published materials appeared in m:~jojor nzedia, the petitioner  nus st 
provide evideisce of a rlatiorlal circulation. 
C9n appeal, the petiriorie~ s~rbrnits a plsotogapi-1 of hin~scif'  hat pur-pctrtedly appeared in the IIIocI~~L' '.s 
i)~lj&. 'T'he petitioner cXiiJ. raoi submit a certif?ed translation as required trl~der 8 C.I'.R. 5 203,5(h)(_?)(iii'j 
and 8 (:.FOR. 
 lii_?.Z(b)j3). Although the pict~rre appeiirs tcj have :I caption [hat does not include the 
characters in the petitioner's name. the characters in his name appear next to the caption in a different 
t~e set. siiggesling the petitioner may Be the a:l?hor oi'rhis articie. Pwmotisnal n~aterials authored by 
-the petitioner are not as persuasive as independent joi~rni~Iistic coverage of ghe petitiorler. bforeo-ver. 
the artlcte is dated eight days aRcr :he date of filing a~it cannot be considered evidence of the 
petiliorser's eligibility ;as of that drrt,e. .Si;k' 8 C. Ei. M. $ l03.2(b)(12); ikfl,ticr cf KuiigbiiR, 14 X&N Xlec. 
45, 49 (.[kg. f:'onrltri. 1071). 
1111 of the puhliahed rnatenai.; prior to thc date of filing appcar i~r Chinese-larlguage tlewcpaperc otrtride 
ol' Ch~na. in general, newspapers in a language rhe nmjority ofthe ciiilens cannot comprehcrid carnot 
he considered n~qor rtledic~. Morc;?ver, in tile instant casc, the ad.ccrtisernents IJI the paper.; suggest rl~:~t 
they crc: aII local 10 cithcr Philadelphn or Nc\$ Yerk, both plzces wherc the pi>tiiiuilcr resided. fhus, 
they ~rlc not e~idence indicative oi'natio~lal or ir;iercdijo!~al dccldim. 
El-id~rzci: c}i'tila alieri :s pa.rti~ij?z?aflon. c>ilht?i* iniliviil'~lr.rl(: or' ii?t a par;t'i, ar a ,jrr~!gc i!f'ihe ~sorrk qf 
orirpr..; in fJi~1 scme or. urz uliiei<fieli:i ~~/',~pec~fil'ica~Ii;u.ji:jr ,t:iiich ciirs.r[ficcir~o~~ is ..;olgJi/. 
The petrtiorrer subrrlitted a ce-rtiijcate aff'iirrning that in 1!11-)8, he T*\~as hired ";is a member in the Judge 
C'omrr~itrce oi'-thc Tfiird 'Peking Opera Karaoke Contest of China.'-' '1 he pefirio-a-ter .;ut?rnit~ed another 
ccrtifica~c contiming that in 1496, the petiiiuner w:~s "hired ds :in operrs. ar-t coilsuita~rt 174. 'l ia~jing 
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i eleviri:)~ Station," A third ccrtificatc chs~iiirrns that the pctitioller was hired as 
 art ciln.;taltant and 
"mcmbcr of the judge cornmitree" fix A Peking Opera conccrl in Guiqnng City in 1999 
 A thal 
cerlit?eate eonl?rn~s the pclitioner's positiuli as arz art cor~sultant fcsr the lkklng Opera (Iluh oL' Retired 
bJctrkcrs, Nhnkai Lnlversity. 1 he disect~s ackt!oi\ledgecjl this evidence, but Lippears to have ccsnsidercd 
it under the preciou.; cri-tcrion. On appcal. thc petitioner nssci-ts that the S'iaqjlng 'Xele.i/isior~ >tation is 
undcv the icadership of the I'iaqjlng sn~micipd gnslerrtanent, nuking the appointment 'ktfiicial nnd 
for~nal." 'I he petitioner also Llscerts that ~hc phase -'scr;iar professionals" nas mistakenly translated as 
'*rccireif work~>rs" for Kallkai University. one of the t<ip ten rrniversrties in C'hirla. 
While we do not require c~idencc that cutraordiiiary strllity is rcqutred for the judging po::itic)n in order 
tit nlcct this cntenorz. it is still the pe-iitro~ler's birrders to dernortstrate if79 sigliificancc of the judging 
respons~hiiifiel In other words, rhc: judging responsibilities must set the petrtior~er span from others in 
the field; c)tilcnniisa', thc statut07 stal'adag-d of sustdiiled national or intenlatiox~al 3ccl;zirn \vould h:~t.t. no 
incaning. More specificatly. judging inciderrt tc, one's err~yloymcnt, typical in thc tield 
 at a p~lrely 
lncdl 1e1.21 iktlcre onc resides is iar lcss pers~taisive tlun judging at thc rlat~orlal level or a consistent 
pattern of local j~ldgirrg aro1i11J the country. 
<. 
I hr: r~:eord does not contain my cviifcnec rcgar~lilig tl~c significnnce of the bxaoke cotnpetitiun the 
pctitia~cr judged. S'htas. the petitioner hab not established that ithis responsibility ccts him apart from 
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other:: in the fkld. Li'ifhotit evjtience a< to the duties i~d' 
 -'art consult:*lllt,'' ixe cannot cr>i~cludc that 
chc.;c positions mcolved judging the work of odscr t3,;ipcra perfor~~~ers. Moreover, these posiliorrs appear 
more akin to ernploynxent than sekction ac a judge. 
Finally. the pctltioner submitted a srngle cei-tificate confim~ing judging sespors.;ibilities in Guiyang City, 
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be;ii~nd his piace of'residerice C>nce agaln. ho\%ever, chc record Ir~cks cvidencc regarding thc prcstigc 
ol' this ~t}inp:~.iti~~i or the petitioner's actual Jutlcs. Woreai~er. the competrtion was irl 13c142, iijiir years 
prior to the date of'fii~~~g. As SUC~? it is nc~l evidertce of s~istained dccl:jim as of' illat date. 
In light of the abow. t11e petitioner has nr>t estabiished that he rneets thi> criierion. 
Such evidence wotild need to originate fron~ the cwganizsiii:tns that lrired tire petitioner; cue wctlld .a.rot accitpt 
the pctitior~cr's own self-serving staterrrer~t :is to his duties. Specifically, going ori record witiwuz supporting 
docurr~entaiy evidence is ricjt suffjcierit .f<?r pi~rposes 01 meeting the buyden of proof in these proceedings. 
LZ.Aatl~r qf' ,S'~.fjfici. 22 I&% Dee. j 5 8. 1 65 (Comrn. 1998) jc king ;Wii;iler (if l'rec~.v!rrc-: ~Z'rcrfi: qf (:.'~~/ij, I 4 
l&N Dec. I?O (Reg. Comrn. 19?7)). 
'I'he pe-titior~er subirlittecf letters ki-orn cultural organizations irs New Yc~rk and Philadelphia praising his 
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abilities in gerxsal ten11s. 1 he opir~ions of experts in the lield. while not ~vit'nout weight. cannot form 
the corrrerstoi~e of a SUCC~SSICLI. claim of strstained national or ir~terriational acclaim. (:'itizenship and 
Irmnigration Services (CIS) may. in its cfiscretion. us2 as sclvisoiy opinions statements submitted as 
expert lesliinony. 
 ,Tee !i/k.-ttlos. qf Ciurofi /t?lC!l'??illi~M~:/, I 
 X&N !:kc. 79 1, 7% ((lorr~m. L 988). 
However. C:lS is ultinlateiy resporlsihle for making the fjnal detemination regarding an alien's 
eligibility for the benefit soirght. ld The subrrrissi~n of letters from experts supporting the petition 
is nut presuri~ptive eafidsnce of eligibility: CIS may exraiuate the content of those letters as to whether 
tireg: support -the alien's eligibility. See id at 795-796. CIS may eilen give [ess weight to arl opinion 
that is not cor;.obor;ded. In accord wit81 other infinnation or is in any u7ay qtlestionable. Id. at 795; 
Spe L~~SO :\:farti;.r of Seffici, 22 I&N Dec. 15 8, 165 (Cornrn. i 998) (citing h,fufft;.r qf fis,j~csure (:'TL!/~ of 
I:aijfi~rnlu, L 4 I&N Eke. I Clbb (Reg. Comm. 3972jj. 
111 evdluil~ing the rckrcnc'e lett~:r.;, cqc note that Iettcrs corrtaining lrlere assertict~is of widespread 
azciaini and \/ague cldi~ns of coi-itr-lbutioris ore less persuasive t11ain Ictters tha~ ,;rpeecific:~IIy idcntify 
contrib~itit~ns 2nd provide specific ek:mplcs of hot\! thoct: contributio~~s have iriilucnced the field. 
In zdditiun, Irttcrs fiom inclcpendent refzrer~ces natioil\viJe wls(j were previo~~sly ai+xe of thc 
petitinller thrc3ugt1 his rep:jtatiorr arc hr rnore persuaslvc than letfcrc ti-om inclcpendent rcfkrcnces 
who were nut previcruslq aware of the pclitiorlcr siid aye nlerely respoilding zo a wlicitatiolx to review 
the pe:iiio:lcr's curriculurri vitde and wrk and provicft. an opiimior~ based colcly on tfiis re~iew or an 
ir-? tcr.ificw. I i l tirnatdy, ct iiiel~cc in zxiiltence prior to thc prepdr3ijon of the petition carries greater 
weight thsn il.ectz materials prepxed cspccially for submiscior, with the petiiion. An individual wi~h 
auctdined laational or iriterndtiomrtl acclairn shoiild bc: ablc to product: rrnsoliciied inaterial5 reflcciing 
thdt acc1~ill;. 
Accordiizg to the r2g~il;z-{.ion at 8 G.F'.JP. 
 304.5/hji3)(v). six alien's cc>ntributions must he not only 
ctrigirlal but of major significance. '@e nlust presume that the phrase "major signii-icallr-ace" is not 
supeduous rtr~it, thus, that it tias some 1nea17ing. See #ir/!ti~.s v. hjctrti. E~1'uc. lihfef~., 5 1%) Ij.S. 202, 
209 (I 997); Xjail~y v. Ci.5'. , 5 I G 1.l.S. 1.37, 4 45 11995). '1'0 he considerect a contribution of i~ii~jor 
signif'icai~ce iil the arts: it can be expected that the petitioner's work would be recognized for its 
intli~erzcs. The record contains no evider~ce that the petitioner has in~packd how CI~inese opera is 
performed or taugl~t. Tlzus, the pzlltioncr htis not established that he meets this criterion. 
Tlze pctitiorler subn~its programs. revies\:, m~cf photogr~pi~s of his perlbrmanccs. {'he director's oiily 
staternent relating ti] this criterion is that the petitioner failed to subinit e~lclencc "that indepenclent 
cxpeuts  IT^ yct~ir ilcld of c.~ziiccz$/or cifixsiJcr )011r 4iilpIay of work to he of IZI~JOT s~gplfic~tn~e..* On 
appeai. thz petitioner asscrts that he 1-135 perfi,nncc! at signifitarlt verlrres 
'i'his critzrion relates to the visd arts. Thus, it is not clcx that it is applicable io the petitiorser's field 
ol' perfomzing arts. Nevertheiess, we will ciinsiclier whether the petitioj-?er's perfc~rmal~ces are 
compzab!e evidence io meet this criteria11 pnrsuan'i to 8 4:'.B'.R.. $ 204.5(h)jrl). Performing on stage is 
inherent to the ije1i-S of performing, ;rrfs; not every on-stage pcrfornsar~ce czm sene to meet. tllis criterion. 
The petiiiorrer's perfonnmces do not appear ti-, be 11s~ qpe of exclusive sho\vcases contempIatei3 by this 
crit.erion. Thus: the petitioner laas not established that he mneets this ct-iterior?,. 
Er)id~~.zci. tr'zut the ~i.b:'i.i: hirs peqfi>rf~i~'if in ;I I~~di2g or i,c~.itii'(ll mkc .jb~. ur,rrtmizc:~iiov,v 
ssiisblishrnotr~.~ Ihr:; haw LZ ~d)i.~~i~zgtii.shed rep~itc:~fi~i~. 
dlrr appeal, the petjtic~ner asserts rhat the directa~r hiled tci consjJer his leading roles. He subrnitb a 
pl~otograph oi' hamsclf in the 1999 volume of '-Peking Qlperd in China." 'lVhj!e the chnracters li,r his 
nsalrie appcx under his ~41otograpt1, the pctationer did not submit a coxr~picte cer~ified trmslation as 
reqtrlrcd by the rcgulat-ltiun ai 8 C.F.R, 3 103,2(b)(?b. Thus, we are unahlc to determine \vI~etl~cr. or rrot 
this errtry references the petitioner h-2 ii 1eaJilsg role. hfcrrcovcr. the petirioner must not only 
clemc>nstratc thd~ he I~as played a leading or critical role. he IIIUS~ also dcrnonstrate that thc entity ft3r 
~41ich he performed the role enjoys a distmguistled reprrtation nationally. Such e\idelrcc might include 
published material about the cntity irz rndjor mcciia. Finally. in urdcr tts demonrtmtc sustained acclaim, 
the pctirioner rnust demor~strate acclai~x up slltil 2007, nhcn he filed the petition. 
Xn [ight of the abo~e, the petiticincr has ncx dc:mnnstrs.ced that he nlccts this criterion. 
While a petitioner need JIPT. ~rne't any parijcirtar critcriofi as long a< he meets a: leaqt three, we sirrrply 
rrlirte that rhc petitiorlcr docs not clairrl to meet this criterion despite its tsb.iicius rclc.i7arlce to his iicld 
'1 he Jocumciltation subrnicted in support (11' a claim of esrracjrdiaary ability must clearly demonstraw 
that the alien has achic.vcd s~stained n,~iional or iixernaeional acclaim md is one ofthc sn~all percentage 
.i%ho Isas risen to ehc very top oi I~c field of endeavor, 
Wevicvv of the rczord, boxever, rfors nor cstablirh that the pctitioncr has distinguishcd himself as a 
Chinebe opera yrfi~rnler 'ru such an exterlt that he m3jr be haj:i to have achicved rus-tained natjl~r~dl or 
irrtcrnaticr~al acclairn or to bc i~iitflin the sinall percentage at tthe very top of his ficld. 'I he ca~idcnce 
indicates tls;l? the petitioner shows talent 3s d Chinest. cspu-3 periixn~er, but is 11ot persuasive that tthe 
petitioner's achieverncnts set him sigr~if;~sntly above almost all atl~err, in his field. 'i hcrefc~re, ehc 
pctitii~ner hds 110t established eligibility pwsucrni to scction 2i)?(b)(l)(A) of the Act and thc pctitjun 
1~e apprmcd. 
The burderi of proof in visa petiricn proceedirrgs rcn~ains errtirely with the petitioner. Section 291 of 
the Act, 8 U.S.C. 5 136 l . I-lere, the petitioner h~is not sustained Illat burden. Accr?rdi~.rglj/, tile appeal 
will be dismissed.