dismissed EB-1A Case: Peking Opera Actress

U.S. Department of Homeland Security 
20 Mass. Ave., N.W., Rm. A3042 
Washngton, DC 20529 
U. S. Citizenship 
and Immigration 
Office: VERMONT SERVICE CENTER Date: SE$ 2 1 jrqr L7u&JII 
EAC 04 039 52166 
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. $ 1 153(b)(l)(A) 
ON BEHALF OF PETITIONER: 
SELF-REPRESENTED 
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. 
*k- 
-z,# Robert P. Wiemann, Director 
Administrative Appeals Office 
i 
Page 2 
DISCUSSION: The employment-based immigrant visa petition was denied by the Director, Vermont 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. $ 1153(b)(l)(A), as an alien of extraordinary ability in 
the arts. 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. 
Section 203(b) of the Act states, in pertinent part, that: 
(1) Priority Workers. -- Visas shall ft-st 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. 
$ 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. $ 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 November 24, 2003, seeks to classify the petitioner as an alien with extraordinary 
ability as a "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 2001. 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 
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 and accompanying English language translations indicating that she received 
the following: 
1. Special Prize fov Chinese Traditional Opera Contest (1998) 
2. Second Place Prize in 2nd North of China Peking Opera Performer Television Grand Prize Contest 
(1998) 
3. Second Place Prize in 
4. Third Place Prize in the Opera Performer Television 
Grand Prize Contest (19 
Pursuant to 8 C.F.R. 5 103.2(b)(3), any document containing foreign language submitted to Citizenship and 
Immigration Services (CIS) 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. 
We note that item 2 reflects regional recognition rather than national or international recognition. In regard to 
item 4, there is no indication that the petitioner faced competition from throughout her field, rather than her 
approximate age group within the field. A young performer award offers no meaningful comparison between 
the petitioner and established performing arts professionals. 
In regard to items 1 through 4, there is no documentation indicating the total number of prizes annually 
distributed by the awarding entities, the criteria used in determining recipients for each particular prize, or the 
level of media coverage associated with the contests. We note here that section 203(b)(l)(A)(i) of the Act 
requires "extensive documentation" of sustained national or international acclaim. Pursuant to the statute, the 
petitioner must provide adequate evidence to establish that the prizes presented under this criterion enjoy 
significant national stature. Simply alleging that an award is nationally recognized cannot suffice to satisfy 
this criterion. Contemporaneous evidence of national recognition associated with the awards is of far greater 
evidentiary value, particularly when the statute requires "extensive documentation" of sustained national or 
international acclaim.' In this case, there is no documentation from the awarding entities or print media to 
establish that items 1 through 4 are nationally recognized performing arts awards. 
1 For example, large-scale competitions typically issue event programs listing the order of events and the names of all of 
the participants. At a competition's conclusion, results are usually provided indicating how each participant performed in 
relation to the other competitors in his or her events. The petitioner, however, has provided no evidence of the official 
comprehensive results for the competitions in which she received prizes. 
In addition to the above deficiencies, the record contains no evidence showing that the petitioner has won any 
significant performing arts competitions subsequent to 1998. The absence of such awards suggests that 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 classification is 
sought, which require outstanding achievements of their members, as judged by recognized 
national or international experts in their disciplines or fields. 
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. 
In response to the director's request for evidence, the petitioner submitted what is alleged to be her 
"Membership Card" for the Association of Chinese Artists (ACA). The record does not include the 
membership bylaws or official admission requirements for the ACA. There is no indication that admission to 
membership in this organization required outstanding achievement or that the petitioner was evaluated by 
national or international experts in consideration of her admission to membership. 
Evidence of the alien's authorship of scholarly articles in the field, in professional or major trade 
publications or other major media. 
In response to the director's request for evidence, the petitioner submitted evidence of her alleged authorship 
of an article entitled "The Actress Puts on Makeup." There is no evidence showing that this article was 
published, and the name of the publication in which the article appeared has not been identified. Without 
evidence of the article's significant national distribution or substantial influence within the performing arts 
community, we cannot conclude that it fulfills this criterion. 
Beyond the decision of the director, the r~egulation 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 arrival in 
2001as a P-3 nonimmigrant Chinese Opera performer (LIN 01 221 52202), there is no evidence showing that 
the petitioner's primary occupation in the United States involves Peking Opera. For example, there is no 
documentation showing that the petitioner has regularly taken part in performances here in the United States. 
On appeal, the petitioner submits what are: alleged to be photos of her stage performances, but these photos do 
not satisfy any of the regulatory criteria at 8 C.F.R. 5 204.5(h)(3). 
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 his 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. 8 1361. Here, the petitioner has not sustained that burden. Accordingly, the appeal will be dismissed. 
ORDER: The appeal is dismissed.