sustained EB-1A Case: African Art

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U.S. Department of Homeland Security 
20 Mass. Ave., N.W., Rrn. A3042 
Washington, DC 20529 
U. S. Citizenship 
and Immigration 
PUBLlC COPY 
FILE: Office: NEBRASKA SERVICE CENTER Date: CCT 2 8 2005 
LIN 04 033 50288 
PETITION: Immigrant Petition for Alien Worker as an Alien of Extraordinary Ability Pwsuant to 
Section 203(b)(l)(A) of the Immigration and Nationality Act, 8 U.S.C. tj 1153(b)(l)(A) 
ON BEHALF OF PETITIONER: 
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 
%obert P. Wiemann, Director 
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 Office on appeal. The appeal will be sustained and the 
petition will be approved. 
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 1 153(b)(l)(A), as an alien of extraordinary ability in the 
arts. The director determined the petitioner had not established that she qualifies as an alien of extraordinary 
ability in her field of endeavor. Specifically, the director determined that the petitioner had only established that 
she met one of the regulatory criteria. As will be discussed below, a petitioner must meet at least three of the 
criteria to establish eligibility. 
On appeal, counsel submits a brief and new evidence that addresses the director's legitimate concerns. As the 
petitioner has overcome those concerns, valid at the time of the director's review, we find that the petitioner has 
established her eligibility for the classification sought. 
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 subparagraplis (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 abi1ity;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). 
An alien, or any person on behalf of the alien, may file for classification under section 203(b)(l)(A) of the Act 
as an alien of extraordinary ability in science, the arts, education, business, or athletics. Neither an offer of 
employment nor a labor certification is required for this classification. 
The specific requirements for supporting documents to establish that an alien has achieved sustained national or 
international acclaim are set forth in CIS regulations at 8 C.F.R. 5 204.5(h)(3). The relevant criteria will be 
discussed below. It should be reiterated, however, that the petitioner must show that the beneficiary has 
sustained national or international acclaim at the very top level. 
This petition seeks to classi% the petitioner as an alien with extraordinary ability as a curator of African art. The 
regulation at 8 C.F.R. $ 204.5(h)(3) presents ten criteria for establishing sustained national or international 
acclaim, and requires that an alien must meet at least three of those criteria unless the alien has received a major, 
internationally recognized award. The director concluded that the petitioner meets the criterion set forth at 
8 C.F.R. 5 204.5(h)(vi) relating to authorship of scholarly articles. We concur with that finding. As such, the 
petitioner need only establish that she meets an additional two criteria. While much of the evidence does not 
carry the weight ascribed to it by prior counsel, the-materials submitted on appeal satisfactorily establish that the 
petitioner meets the following two criteria. 
Published materials about the alien in professional or major trade publications or other major media, 
relating to the alien's work in the Jield for which classzj?cation is sought. Such evidence shall include the 
title, date, and author of the material, and any necessary translation. 
The petitioner initially submitted a 1998 article from the Agence Congolaise de Presse (ACP) reporting the 
petitioner's thesis as the first study on the art of the Holo of the Kwango. The petitioner also submitted a 2000 
biographical sketch of the petitioner following an article by Alek Kakalasi on African masks in Couleurs 
Locales. The biographical sketch credits the petitioner with furnishing the publication with the information in 
Mr. Kakalasi's article. The petitioner further submitted discussions of her work in Arts DYPique Noire, 
Library Journal and www.tribalarts.com. Finally, the petitioner submitted coverage of her work at the Dayton 
Art Institute in a local Dayton newspaper. 
In his request for additional evidence, the director requested evidence of the significance of the published 
material, such as the circulation of the publications. In response, prior counsel asserted that the ACP is 
comparable to the Associated Press and is a government-owned national publication available on the Internet 
and through the 18,000 printed copies. Prior counsel further asserted that Couleurs Locales is a Brussels 
publication that prints 1,500 copies per month. Finally, prior counsel asserted that the local Dayton articles 
appeared in the Dayton Daily News, which has a distribution of 45,000. 
The petitioner submitted a letter from Jackson Nsilulu. Mr. Nsilulu asserts that the ACP published a piece about 
the petitioner's thesis because it judged the petitioner's work "unique and scholarly important." Mr. Nsilulu 
continues that-ACP is read by over two million people worldwide. Mr. Nsilulu, however, lists an Ohio address 
and his curriculum vitae indicates that he is the director of the Soujourner Recovery Services. The education 
and employment listed suggests he has resided in Ohio since 199 1. Mr. Nsilulu does not explain how he has any 
first hand knowledge of the circulation of ACP or its decision to publish the article on the petitioner's thesis. 
The official materials about the ACP provided indicate that it has 189 journalists and is distributed "through 
newspapers, to the radio chains, public and private television, to the principal administrations, the ministries, the 
embassies and other international organizations." In addition, "the daily electronic bulletin is dispatched by 
email to the subscribers." The information does not indicate the number of subscribers. 
The petitioner submitted no evidence regarding the circulation of the remaining publications. The unsupported 
assertions of counsel do not constitute evidence.' Matter of Obaigbena, 19 I&N Dec. 533, 534 (BIA 1988); 
Matter of laureano, 19 I&N Dec. 1 (BIA 1983); Matter of Ramirez-Sanchez, 17 I&N Dec. 503, 506 (BIA 
1980). 
The director noted that Mr. Nsilulu's credentials as an expert on ACP were not established and concluded 
that the remaining materials regarding ACP contained insufficient information. The director further 
concluded that the petitioner had not established the significance of the book reviews or biographic sketch 
and that the Dayton articles did not appear in a nationally circulated publication. 
On appeal, the petitioner submits a letter from J. R. Mazanza Kindulu, Director of ACP Brussels. Mr. 
Kindulu affirms that CPA is the official news agency of the ~ekocratic Republic of Congo, that it has 
offices in all regions and that information diffused by the CPA "is used not only by Congolese media, but 
also by other media around the world." The petitioner also provides information from Tribal Arts' website 
indicating that it is the "only magazine dedicated to fine and antique traditional art from the Americas, 
Africa, Asia, Indonesia, Polynesia, Melanesia and Micronesia." The magazine has offices in San Francisco 
and Brussels. The petitioner further provides evidence that Library Journal is published 20 times annually, 
reviewing 250 to 350 adult books in each issue. An e-mail from Ron Shank indicating that Library Journal 
estimates a readership of 100,000. This readership estimate is confirmed by Internet information also 
provided. Finally, the petitioner provided evidence that the Dayton Daily News is ranked 77th or 72nd by 
circulation among U.S. newspapers, depending on the source of the rankings. The newspaper also has a 
circulation of 149,032 or 185,122, depending on the source. An e-mail from Lona Crovetti affirms that the 
Dayton Daily News has only a local circulation. 
We find that the director's concerns were valid based on the record at that time. The petitioner, however, has 
overcome those concerns with evidence from official sources establishing the significance of ACP and the 
journals that published discussions of the petitioner's works. While the Dayton Daily News is a local 
publication, the remaining evidence, considered in the aggregate, serves to meet this criterion. 
Evidence of the alien's original scientiJic, scholarly, artistic, athletic, or business-related contributions of 
major signiJcance in thejeld 
Prior counsel asserted that the petitioner's dissertation, her work at the Dayton Art Institute, her work on the 
Chokwe traveling art exhibit and her books constitute contributions of major significance. The director 
concluded that while the petitioner is accomplished and has produced original work, the record lacked evidence 
that her contributions to the field were of major significance. On appeal, counsel reiterates the petitioner's work 
in the field and concludes that the "supporting letters from a remarkable array of scholars, critics and curators 
make it absolutely clear that [the petitioner's] scholarly and artistic contributions make a significant and unique 
impact upon the field of Afi-ican art curator ship [sic] on a global level." 
On appeal, the petitioner submits letters explaining her contribution to several exhibits around the United States. 
Several of these letters are submitted for the first time on appeal. For example, Dr. Manuel Jordan, Curator of 
the Arts of Africa, Oceania and the Americas at the Iris & B. Gerald Cantor Center for Visual Arts, asserts that 
in 1993, he sought the petitioner's collaboration on a large exhibit at the Birmingham Museum of Art. The 
petitioner served as one of the main consultants, "shaping the thematic framework of the show (coming of age in 
African cultures) and contributing an essay for the book." The exhibit traveled to the Baltimore Museum of Art 
and the Minneapolis Institute of Art, gaining national exposure. 
Joseph D. Horse Capture, Acting Curator for Africa, Oceania and the Americas at the Minneapolis Institute of 
Arts, discusses the petitioner's work for that institute's Congo art exhibit in 1999. Specifically, the petitioner 
selected and researched the artwork used in the exhibit. "She also wrote a substantial essay, nine introductory 
essays on ethnic styles and seventy individual objects captions." The petitioner also "reviewed the entire 
permanent collection of Central African art at the Minneapolis Institute of the Arts and offered unique insights 
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into the context of each item." In this work, the petitioner was able to "correct some erroneous preconceived 
notions that [the institute's] curatorial staff had about several of our pieces." 
As Assistant Curator of African Art at the Dayton Art Institute, the petitioner was responsible for expanding 
their African art collection. This expansion received local press coverage crediting the petitioner with the 
exhibit. The petitioner also contributed essays to several books accompanying major African art exhibits around 
the United States. Additional letters submitted on appeal attest to the significance of this work. 
The exhibits to which the petitioner has contributed are not limited to a local area. Considering the above 
evidence in the aggregate, we find sufficient evidence that the petitioner meets this criterion. 
As the petitioner meets the above two criteria in addition to the scholarly articles criterion as determined by the 
director, we need not address the less persuasive assertions made by prior counsel. 
In review, while not all of the petitioner's evidence carries the weight imputed to it by prior counsel, the 
petitioner has established that she has been recognized as an alien of extraordinary ability who has achieved 
sustained national acclaim and whose achievements have been recognized in her field of expertise. The 
petitioner has established that she seeks to continue working in the same field in the United States. The 
petitioner has established that her entry into the United States will substantially benefit prospectively the United 
States. Therefore, the petitioner has established eligibility for the benefits sought under section 203 of the Act. 
The burden of proof in visa petition proceedings remains entirely with the petitioner. Section 291 of the Act, 
8 U.S.C. 5 1361. The petitioner has sustained that burden. 
ORDER: The decision of the director is withdrawn. The appeal is sustained and the petition is approved.