dismissed EB-1A Case: Peking Opera

U.S. Department of Homeland Securiv 
20 Mass. Ave., N.W., Rm. A3042 
Washington, DC 20529 
FILE: Office: VERMONT SERVICE CENTER Date: SEp 0 (j 2005 
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: 
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. 
V 
&-'Robert P. Wiemann, Director 
Administrative Appeals Office 
DISCUSSION: The employment based immigrant visa petition was denied by the Director, Vermont Service 
Center, and is now before the Administrative Appeals Office (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 
the arts. The director determined the petitioner had not established that she qualifies for classification as an alien 
of extraordinary ability. 
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. 
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 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 she has earned sustained national or international acclaim at the very top level. 
This petition, filed on September 17, 2003, seeks to classify the petitioner as an alien with extraordinary 
ability as a "Chinese Peking Opera Actress." The statute and regulations require the petitioner's acclaim to be 
sustained. The record reflects that the petitioner has been residing in the United States since January 11, 
1998. Given the length of time between the petitioner's arrival in the United States and the petition's filing 
date, it is reasonable to expect the petitioner to have earned national acclaim in the United States during that 
time. The petitioner has had ample time to establish a reputation as a performer 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). Barring the alien's receipt of such an award, the regulation outlines ten criteria, at least three of which 
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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 recognized prizes or 
awards for excellence in the field of endeavor. 
The petitioner submitted certificates with accompanying English language translations indicating that she 
t-eceived the following awards: 
I. "First Grade Award of Peking Opera Dan Role in Stage Art Group of Chinese Traditional Opera 
Performance Competition" (1997) 
2. "Second Grade Award in National Traditional Opera, Stage Play and Opera Contest" (1995) 
3. "Excellent Performance Award in 1987 National Young Artist of Peking Opera Grand Election 
Television Competition" 
4. 1997 Plum Blossom Award of Chinese Traditional Opera 
5. "First Grade Award of Outstanding Middle-age Artists in 1996 National Traditional Opera 
Exchange Show" 
6. "Best Middle-age Artist" award in the Xin Hui Art Festival of Guang Dong province (1997) 
7. "Best Hua Dan Award in the Fourth Art Festival of Shen Yang City" (1994) 
8. "Second Grade Award in the Second Northeast Peking Opera Art Television Competition" (1992) 
9. Flushing, New York 2002 Millennium Award, Intercultural Community Sidewalk Festival 
Items 6 through 9 above are reflective of local, regional, or provincial (rather than national or international) 
recognition. 
Also submitted was a certificate and accompanying translation indicating that the petitioner was "awarded for 
[her] contribution to the successful performance on behalf of Hubei Peking Opera Troupe in [the] Reporting 
and Exchange Show in Beijing" (1997). Another certificate and accompanying translation indicates that the 
petitioner "was awarded for [her] contribution to the Seventh National Contest held in Beijing" in September 
1993. An additional certificate and accompanying translation indicates that the petitioner "performed 
successfully" in the 1996 Spring Festival Evening Show of Si Chuan Province. The petitioner offers no 
evidence to show that these three certificates are nationally or internationally recognized awards, rather than 
simply an acknowledgment of her participation in the preceding events. 
Pursuant to 8 C.F.R. 5 103.2(b)(3), any document containing foreign language submitted to Citizenship and 
Immigration Services shall be accompanied by a full English language translation that 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. The translations accompanying the petitioner's award certificates 
were not certified as required by the regulation. 
The record contains no evidence of publicity surrounding the above competitions or evidence showing that 
the petitioner's awards enjoy significant recognition beyond the context of the event where they were 
presented. The level of recognition associated with the preceding certificates is not self-evident. Simply 
receiving an award certificate with the word "national" in the title does not satisfy this very restrictive 
criterion. The petitioner must provide evidence to establish that her awards enjoy significant national or 
international stature. In this case, the record contains no documentation from the awarding entities or print 
media to establish that the above certificates are nationally recognized performing arts awards. 
In addition to the above deficiencies, the record contains no evidence showing that the petitioner has won any 
significant performing arts awards subsequent to her arrival in the United States in 1998. Participation in a 
community "sidewalk festival" in Flushing, New York is not tantamount to national recognition in the United 
States. Cleary, the petitioner has not sustained whatever acclaim she may have earned in China. 
Documentation of the alien's membership in associations in the field for which classij?cation is 
sought, which require outstanding achievements of their members, as judged by recognized 
national or international experts in their disciplines orfields. 
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, a fixed minimum of education or 
experience, recommendations by colleagues or current members, or payment of dues, do not satisfy this 
criterion because participation, employment, education, experience, and recommendations do not constitute 
outstanding achievements. In addition, membership in an association that evaluates its membership 
applications at the local or provincial level would not qualify. It is clear from the regulatory language that 
members must be selected at the national or international, rather than the local, level. Finally, the overall 
prestige of a given association is not determinative; the issue here is membership requirements rather than the 
association's overall reputation. 
Documentation accompanying the petition included evidence of the petitioner's membership in the 
Association of Chinese Artists (ACA). The record, however, contains no evidence of ACA's bylaws or 
membership requirements to demonstrate that it requires outstanding achievement in the performing arts. 
Assertions from the petitioner regarding the exclusive nature of the ACA's membership requirements are not 
adequate to satisfy the "extensive documentation" requirement for this classification set forth at section 
203(b)(l)(A)(i) of the Act. See also Matter of Treasure Craft of California, 14 I&N Dec. 190 (Reg. Comm. 
1972). 
In view of the foregoing, it has not been established that the petitioner's membership in ACA required 
outstanding achievement or that her admission to membership was evaluated by experts at the national or 
international level. 
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 an article she authored, entitled "Combination of Science and Art, Development of 
Traditional Opera," which appeared in Peking Opera of China in 1996. The record, however, contains no 
evidence (from an objective source such as a media guide, for example) regarding the national or international 
circulation of the edition in which the petitioner's article appeared. Nor is there any supporting evidence 
showing that the petitioner's article is widely viewed throughout her field as significantly influential. 
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Beyond the decision of the director, the regulation at 8 C.F.R. 5 204.5(h)(5) requires "clear evidence that the 
alien is coming to the United States to continue work in the area of expertise." Subsequent to her amval in 
1998, there is no evidence showing that the petitioner's primary occupation in the United States involves 
Peking Opera. 
We further note that the petitioner's People's Republic of China Passport lists her profession as a "teacher" 
rather than a Peking Opera actress. 
On appeal, the petitioner submits an additional article entitled "Life Daily." The translation - 
accompanying this article was not certified as required by the regulation. In addition, there is no information 
regarding the name of the individual who authored this article or its date of publication. Finally, the 
petitioner's name does not appear anywhere in the text. Based on the information presented, we find that the 
article is not adequate to satisfy the criteria at 8 C.F.R. 5 204.5(h)(3)(iii) or (vi). 
For the reasons discussed above, the record is ambiguous regarding the petitioner's acclaim throughout her 
native China, and there is no evidence showing that the petitioner has sustained whatever acclaim she earned 
in China since her 1998 arrival in the United States. Nor has the petitioner adequately demonstrated that she 
will "continue work in the area of expertise." 
The documentation submitted in support of a claim of extraordinary ability must clearly demonstrate that the 
alien has achieved sustained national or international acclaim, is one of the small percentage who has risen to 
the very top of the field of endeavor, and that the alien's entry into the United States will substantially benefit 
prospectively the United States. The petitioner in this case has failed to demonstrate that she meets at least three 
of the criteria that must be satisfied to establish the sustained 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 herself as a performer to such an 
extent that she may be said to have achieved sustained national or international acclaim or to be within the small 
percentage at the very top of her field. The evidence is not persuasive that the petitioner's achievements set her 
significantly above almost all others in her field at a 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. § 1361. Here, the petitioner has not sustained that burden. Accordingly, the appeal will be dismissed. 
ORDER: The appeal is dismissed. -..