dismissed EB-1A Case: Mountain Climbing

U.S. Department of Homeland Security 
20 Mass. Ave., N. W., Rm. 3000 
Washington, DC 20529 
U. S. Citizenship 
and Immigration 
n 
FILE: Office: NEBRASKA SERVICE CENTER Date: FEB I 6 'ZBCJ; 
LIN 06 065 51450 
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. $ 1 1 53(b)(l)(A) 
ON BEHALF OF PETITIONER: 
SELF-REPRESENTED 
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 further inquiry must be made to that office. 
\_I 
>~obert P. Wiernann, Chief 
Administrative Appeals Office 
DISCUSSION: The employment-based immigrant visa petition was denied by the Director, Nebraska Service 
Center, and is now before the Administrative Appeals Ofice (AAO) 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 1153(b)(l)(A), as an alien of extraordinary ability in 
athletics. The director determined the petitioner had not established the sustained national or international 
acclaim necessary to qualify for classification as an alien of extraordinary ability. 
On appeal, the petitioner argues that the director's findings were "groundless and incorrect." 
Section 203(b) of the Act states, in pertinent part, that: 
(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 to the United States will substantially benefit prospectively the 
United States. 
Citizenship and Immigration Services (CIS) and legacy Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS) have 
consistently recognized that Congress intended to set a very high standard for individuals seeking immigrant 
visas as aliens of extraordinary ability. See 56 Fed. Reg. 60897, 60898-9 (November 29, 1991). As used in 
this section, the term "extraordinary ability" means 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. 5 204.5(h)(2). The 
specific requirements for supporting documents to establish that an alien has sustained national or 
international acclaim and recognition in his or her field of expertise are set forth in the regulation at 8 C.F.R. 
5 204.5(h)(3). The relevant criteria will be addressed below. It should be reiterated, however, that the 
petitioner must show that he has sustained national or international acclaim at the very top level. 
This petition, filed on December 23, 2005, seeks to classify the petitioner as an alien with extraordinary 
ability in athletics as a high-mountain climber and alpine instructor. As required by section 203(b)(l)(A)(i) of 
the Act and the regulation at 8 C.F.R. 5 204.5(h)(3), the petitioner must demonstrate that his national or 
international acclaim has been sustained. The record reflects that the petitioner has been residing in the 
United States since August 2001. Given the length of time between the petitioner's arrival in the United 
States and the petition's filing date (more than four years), it is reasonable to expect him to have earned 
national acclaim in the United States during that time. The petitioner has had ample time to establish a 
reputation in this country. 
The regulation at 8 C.F.R. 5 204.5(h)(3) indicates that an alien can establish sustained national or 
international acclaim through evidence of a one-time achievement (that is, a major, international recognized 
award). On appeal, the petitioner argues his successful climb to the summit of Mount Everest in May 1999 is 
evidence of a qualifying "one-time achievement" for classification as an alien of extraordinary ability. The 
plain language of the regulation at 8 C.F.R. 5 204.5(h)(3), however, requires a one-time achievement to be 
demonstrated through the alien's receipt of a major internationally recognized award. While commendable 
and extremely difficult, being one of thousands who have followed and- 
in successfully scaling Mount Everest is not tantamount to a one-time achievement for purposes of this 
criterion.' Given Congress' intent to restrict this category to "that small percentage of individuals who have 
risen to the very top of their field of endeavor," the regulation permitting eligibility based on a single award 
must be interpreted very narrowly, with only a small handful of awards qualifying as major, internationally 
recognized awards. See H.R. Rep. 101-723 (1990), reprinted in 1990 U.S.C.C.A.N. 6710, 1990 WL 20041 8 
at *6739. Given that the House Report specifically cited to the Nobel Prize as an example of a one-time 
achievement, examples of one-time awards which enjoy truly international recognition may include the 
Pulitzer Prize, the Academy Award, and (most relevant for athletics) the Olympic Gold Medal. These prizes 
are "household names," recognized immediately even among the general public as being the highest possible 
honors in their respective fields. 
Barring the alien's receipt of a major internationally recognized award, the regulation at 8 C.F.R. 
$ 204.5(h)(3) outlines ten criteria, at least three of which must be satisfied for an alien to establish the 
sustained acclaim necessary to qualify as an alien of extraordinary ability. The petitioner has submitted 
evidence pertaining to the following criteria. 
Documentation of the alien's receipt of lesser nationally or internationally recognizedprizes 
or awards for excellence in thejield of endeavor. 
The petitioner submitted evidence showing that he is the recipient of an "Order of Honor" Medal through a 
"Decree of the President of Georgia" (June 10, 1999) for his "outstanding results in alpinism." We find that 
the preceding award is adequate to meet this criterion. 
Documentation of the alien's membership in associations in the peld for which classlJication 
is sought, which require outstanding achievements of their members, as judged by recognized 
national or international experts in their disciplines orjields. 
and were the first individuals to officially reach the summit of Mount Everest in 
May 1953,46 years prior to the expedition in which the petition 
 mit. See http://www.mounteverest.net 
accessed on January 29, 2007. while and 
 successful climb undoubtedly earned 
them widespread international acclaim, the thousands of 
 the top of Mount Everest have not 
been shown to have earned a level of acclaim comparable to that of the first summiteers. 
Page 4 
In order to demonstrate that membership in an association meets this criterion, the petitioner must show that 
the association requires outstanding achievement as an essential condition for admission to membership. 
Membership requirements based on employment or activity in a given field, minimum education or 
experience, standardized test scores, grade point average, recommendations by colleagues or current 
members, or payment of dues, do not satisfy this criterion as such requirements do not constitute outstanding 
achievements. In addition, it is clear from the regulatory language that members must be selected at the 
national or international level, rather than the local or regional level. Therefore, membership in an association 
that evaluates its membership applications at the local or regional chapter level would not qualify. Finally, 
the overall prestige of a given association is not determinative; the issue here is membership requirements 
rather than the association's overall reputation. 
The petitioner submitted evidence of his membership in the Georgian Mountaineers Federation, American 
Alpine Club, Edelweiss Alpine Club, International Mountaineers Association, United Team of Georgian 
Climbers. The record, however, includes no evidence of the membership bylaws or the official admission 
requirements for these associations. There is no indication that admission to membership in the preceding 
associations required outstanding achievement or that the petitioner was evaluated by national or international 
experts in consideration of his admission to membership. Thus, the petitioner has not established that he 
meets this criterion. 
Published materials about the alien in professional or major trade publications or other major 
media, relating to the alien's work in the field for which classification is sought. Such evidence 
shall include the title, date, and author of the material, and any necessary translation. 
In order for published material to meet this criterion, it must be primarily about the petitioner and, as stated in 
the regulations, be printed in professional or major trade publications or other major media. To qualify as 
major media, the publication should have significant national or international distribution. An alien would not 
earn acclaim at the national or international level from a local publication or from a publication in a language 
that most of the population cannot comprehend. Some newspapers, such as the New York Times, nominally 
serve a particular locality but would qualify as major media because of significant national distribution, unlike 
small local community papers.2 
The petitioner submitted an article entitled "The First Georgian Expedition to Everest" written by "Gia 
Tortladze, Head of the expedition" and published in the Winter-Summer, 1999/2000 edition of Georgia 
Traveler, a "Nonpolitical magazine about Georgia." The article contains a photograph of the expedition 
members, including the petitioner, but only mentions him in passing in the text of the article. The plain 
language of this criterion, however, requires "published materials about the alien." If the petitioner is not the 
primary subject of the material, then it fails to demonstrate his individual acclaim. A second article from an 
unidentified source dated February 12, 1998 and entitled "We Will Conquer Everest" features a photograph of 
the petitioner and discusses his accomplishments. The author and date of the second article were not 
identified as required by this criterion. A third article entitled "Thank you, to let me climb!" 
------ 
* Even with nationally-circulated newspapers, consideration must be given to the placement of the article. For example, 
an article that appears in the Washington Post, but in a section that is distributed only in Fairfax County, Virginia, cannot 
serve to spread an individual's reputation outside of that county. 
and published in the June 17'~ - 24", 1999 issue of Postd 
discussing his Mount Everest expedition. A fourth article b; 
1992 and published in Horizon. This article features an interview of 4 
Interview of the petitioner 
as dated November 1 1, 
and only mentions the 
petitioner in passing. There is no evidence showing that any of the preceding publications had significant 
national or international readership. 
The petitioner also submitted a document entitled "List of publications by and about [the petitioner]" which 
listed a total of 27 articles. The plain language of the criterion at 8 C.F.R. 5 204.5(h)(3)(iii), however, 
requires submission of the actual published material. The petitioner's listing of articles does not meet this 
requirement. Regarding the articles in this listing for which the petitioner has not submitted supporting evidence, 
we note that simply going on record without supporting documentary evidence is not sufficient for purposes of 
meeting the burden of proof in these proceedings. Matter of Sofici, 22 I&N Dec. 158, 165 (Comm. 1998) 
(citing Matter of Treasure Craft of California, 14 I&N Dec. 190 (Reg. Comm. 1972)). 
The petitioner also submitted printouts from two internet websites that mention him in connection with his 
1999 Mount Everest expedition. The first printout is from Everest News and includes the petitioner's name 
among a list of numerous climbers who reached the summit in the Spring of 1999. The second printout is 
from a Risk Online June 1999 archive and contains a photograph of the petitioner identifLing him as one of 
the expedition members. The record is devoid of any evidence that these materials were published in 
professional, major trade publications or other major media. Consequently, they do not constitute evidence of 
the petitioner's eligibility under this criterion. 
Finally, we do not find that published material limited to the 1990's is adequate to demonstrate the 
petitioner's sustained national or international acclaim. Without evidence demonstrating that the petitioner 
has been the primary subject of major media coverage subsequent to 2000, we cannot conclude that he meets 
this criterion. 
Evidence of the alien's original scientzfic, scholarly, artistic, athletic, or business-related 
contributions of major signzficance in the field. 
The petitioner submitted several letters of support attesting to his standing, achievements, and experience. 
President, American Alpine Club, states that the petitioner "undoubtedly, is one of the top 
masters in mountaineerin : his conquering all the highest peaks in the world proved him to be one of the best 
in the field." also no- titioner has a "rich experience [as] an alpine master and 
instructor and brilliant technique." does not specify or explain the petitioner's "brilliant 
technique" and the record does not otherwise establish that his technique has made a major contribution to his 
sport. 
who the petitioner has accompanied on multiple climbing expeditions, has served as 
President of the International Alpinist Association, President of the Georgian Mountaineering Federation, and 
most recently as a Member of Parliament of the Republic of Georgia. In each of these capacities, 
letter of support in the petitioner's behalf. In an undated letter accompanying the petition 
states: 
[The petitioner] during his alpinist activity has accomplished more than 500 ascensions to different 
peaks of the world. He is a very skillful alpinist; he is a good strategist and excellent tactician. Each 
of the ascensions, planned by him has had a 100% success. It is worth mentioning during his the 32 
years of his alpinist activity, there were no accidents in his teams. 
President of Asian Trekking (P), Limited, who has coordinated expeditions involving 
the petitioner, states that the petitioner "conquered 6 out [ofl 14 highest peaks of the planet. We are familiar 
of his treks onto mountain systems in the world, 500 of which [the petitioner] conquered." 
"climbed and conquered more than 500 peaks throughout the world and six times he ascended the Himalayan 
8000-meter peaks." 
In response to the director's request for evidence, the petitioner submitted additional letters of support. 
Italian Alpine Club, states: "[The petitioner] is the alpinist of the high professional level and 
skills. He is an active sportsman and organizer of many complex expeditions. His name is well known 
among the best elite sportsman all over the world." 
, Professional Tour Guide, Asian Trekking (P), Limited, states: "There are eight hundred people 
who climbed Everest and died there. There is no more difficult win in any kind of sport than winning 
Everest. [The petitioner] is one of very few people in the world who solve the problem of Everest climbing." 
The petitioner's successful climb of Mount Everest, however, does not represent an "original" contribution as 
required by the plain language of the criterion at 8 C.F.R. 5 204.5(h)(3)(v). Hundred of climbers had 
successfully reached the summit of Mount Everest long before the petitioner's ascent in 1999. While 
and 
 successful climb undoubtedly represented an original contribution of 
major significance in mountaineering in 1953, we do not find that each of the thousands of subsequent 
climbers who have successfully reached the summit of Mount Everest are also responsible for an original 
contribution of major significance in their sport. 
In separate letters, 
 Member of Parliament of the Republic of Georgia, and 
Chairman of Parliament of the Republic of Georgia, state: 
[The petitioner] created a multitude of innovative and progressive branches in climbing. His were the 
first high Himalayan ascensions without oxygen during the international climbing expeditions when 
he took part in Georgian climbing team. He is a pioneer in the area of development of climbing 
technologies of ascension among Georgian climbers. 
request for evidence fail to specifically identify or explain the innovative climbing technologies developed by 
the petitioner and the record does not otherwise establish that any of his innovations or techniques represented 
a major contribution to his sport. 
Letters of support alone cannot serve as primary evidence of the original contributions required by the criterion at 
8 C.F.R. 5 204.5(h)(3)(v). 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. The benefit sought in 
the present matter is not the type for which documentation is typically unavailable and the statute specifically 
requires "extensive documentation" to establish eligibility. 
 See section 203(b)(l)(A)(i) of the Act. 
 The 
commentary for the proposed regulations implementing section 203(b)(l)(A)(i) of the Act provide that the "intent 
of Congress that a very high standard be set for aliens of extraordinary ability is reflected in this regulation by 
requiring the petitioner to present more extensive documentation than that required" for lesser classifications. 56 
Fed. Reg. 30703,30704 (July 5, 1991). Thus, the regulatory criteria require specific documentation beyond mere 
testimony and the petitioner cannot arbitrarily replace such evidence with attestations from those writing in his 
behalf, who assert that they find his abilities to be extraordinary. 
In this case, the evidence submitted by the petitioner does not establish that any of his accomplishments 
represent original contributions of major significance to mountaineering in a manner consistent with the 
requisite sustained acclaim. In order to satis@ this criterion, the petitioner must show that his mountaineering 
contributions have demonstrably influenced the greater field at the national or international level. The record, 
however, includes no evidence showing that the petitioner is responsible for developing specific equipment or 
climbing techniques that have had a major impact in the sport of mountaineering. We accept that the 
petitioner is a skilled and active climber, but the evidence does not establish that any of his past 
accomplishments rise to the level of an original contribution of major significance in his sport. Thus, the 
petitioner has not established that he meets this criterion. 
Evidence of the alien's authorship of scholarly articles in the field, in professional or major trade 
publications or other major media. 
The petitioner submitted evidence of his authorship of articles appearing in Imereti News (December 11, 
1998) and Kutaisi (October 10, 1986 and November 12, 1987). The Imereti News article is about the history, 
culture and traditions of Nepal rather than the sport of mountaineering. The articles printed in Kutaisi were 
personal memoirs from two of the petitioner's mountain climbing expeditions. We do not find that the 
preceding published material qualifies as "scholarly articles" in mountaineering. Further, without evidence of 
their national or international circulation, we cannot conclude that that the aforementioned publications 
qualify as "professional or major trade publications or other major media." Thus, the petitioner has not 
established that he meets this criterion. 
Evidence that the alien has performed in a leading or critical role for organizations or 
establishments that have a distinguished reputation. 
In order to establish that he performed in a leading or critical role for an organization or establishment with a 
distinguished reputation, the petitioner must establish the nature of his role within the entire organization or 
establishment and the reputation of the organization or establishment. 
The record indicates that the petitioner was a founding member of the Georgian Mountaineers Federation and 
a leading instructor for the Edelweiss Alpine Club. However, the petitioner submitted no evidence that these 
two organizations have distinguished reputations or that he has performed in a leading or critical role for 
either organization in a manner reflective of sustained national or international acclaim. 
In response to the director's request for evidence, the petitioner submitted articles of incorporation indicating 
that he formed the ( on February 23, 2006 in the state of Colorado. This 
organization was formed subsequent to the petition's filing date. A petitioner, however, must establish 
eligibility at the time of filing. 8 C.F.R. 5 103.2(b)(12); see Matter of Katigbak, 14 I&N Dec. 45 (Comm. 
1971). Accordingly, the AAO will not consider this evidence in this proceeding. Nevertheless, there is no 
evidence showing that this organization has a distinguished reputation. 
In light of the above, the petitioner has not established that he meets this criterion. 
In this case, we find that the evidence presented by the petitioner satisfies only one of the regulatory criteria at 
8 C.F.R. 5 204.5(h)(3). We concur with the director's finding that the petitioner has failed to demonstrate his 
receipt of a major internationally recognized award, or that he meets at least three of the criteria that must be 
satisfied to establish the national or international acclaim necessary to qualify as an alien of extraordinary 
ability. 
Review of the record does not establish that the petitioner has distinguished himself to such an extent that he may 
be said to have achieved sustained national or international acclaim or to be within the small percentage at the 
very top of his field. The evidence is not persuasive that the petitioner's achievements set him significantly above 
almost all others in his field at the national or international level. Therefore, the petitioner has not established 
eligibility pursuant to section 203(b)(l)(A) of the Act and the 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. tj 136 1. Here, the petitioner has not sustained that burden. Accordingly, the appeal will be dismissed. 
ORDER: The appeal is dismissed.