sustained EB-1A Case: Athletics

identifling &a (rlcted 
prevent ctl- unwarranted 
invasian Oa pcnenal privacy 
U.S. Department of Homehnd Security 
20 Mass. Ave., N.W., Rm. 3000 
Washington, DC 20529 
U. S. Citizenship 
and Immigration 
Services 
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: 
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. 
"".-&b- 
Tobert P. ~iema&, Chief 
Administrative Appeals Office 
DISCUSSION: The Director, Nebraska Service Center, denied the employment-based immigrant visa 
petition, which is now before the Administrative Appeals Office (AAO) on appeal. The appeal will be 
sustained and the petition will be approved. 
The petitioner seeks classification as an "alien of extraordinary ability" in athletics, 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). The director 
determined the petitioner had established sustained national or international acclaim as a competitive 
athlete but not as a coach, the proposed employment. 
On appeal, counsel submits a brief and resubmits previously submitted evidence that is already part of 
the record of proceeding. For the reasons discussed below, we find that the petitioner, who is coaching 
at an elite facility that attracts skaters from all over the world, has demonstrated that coaching falls 
within his area of expertise. 
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 into 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 (Nov. 
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. fj 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 seeks to classifj the petitioner as an alien with extraordinary ability as a figure skating 
coach. The regulation at 8 C.F.R. 5 204.5(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 expressly concluded that the 
petitioner qualifies as a competitive skater of extraordinary ability. Thus, the only issue is whether the 
petitioner has demonstrated that coaching falls within his area of expertise. 
The regulation at 8 C.F.R. 
 204.5(h)(5) requires evidence that the beneficiary is coming to the 
United States to "continue work in the area of expertise." Counsel asserts that a top-level ice-skating 
coach must have demonstrated ability as a skater. While a figure skater and a coach certainly share 
knowledge of ice-skating, the two rely on very different sets of basic skills. Thus, we will not 
presume that coaching necessarily falls within the same area of expertise as competitive athletics. 
Even if, as counsel asserts, that every nationally acclaimed skating coach was previously a nationally 
acclaimed skater, this does not imply or suggest that every nationally acclaimed skater must be a 
skilled skating coach. This interpretation has been upheld in Federal Court. See Lee v. I.N.S., 237 F. 
Supp. 2d 914, 918 (N.D. Ill. 2002)(noting a consistent history in this area). 
Nevertheless, this office has recognized that there exists a nexus between competing and coaching. 
To assume, as counsel implies, that every extraordinary athlete's area of expertise includes coaching 
would be too speculative. To resolve this issue, the following balance is appropriate. In a case where 
an alien has clearly achieved national or international acclaim as an athlete and has sustained that 
acclaim in the field of coaching at a national level, we can consider the totality of the evidence as 
establishing an overall pattern of sustained acclaim and extraordinary ability such that we can 
conclude that coaching is within the petitioner's area of expertise. Specifically, in such a case we 
will consider the level at which the alien acts as a coach. A coach who has an established successful 
history of coaching athletes who compete regularly at the national level has a credible claim; a coach 
of novices does not. 
petitioner served on the coaching team, led by Head Coach - 
, for and 
 Senior European Champions in 1999 and 2000 and 
Senior World 
 From 2001 through 2002, the petitioner coached - 
who were members of the Italian National Junior 
coach at the Figure Skating Club of the Quad-Cities, the petitioner coached 
who competed at the junior level at national U.S. Figure Skating Championships and 
won a bronze medal in the junior pairs division at the Triglav Trophy in Slovenia. In 2005, the 
petitioner began working as a coach at the Ice Castle International Training Center in Lake Arrowhead, 
a training facility where trained and which a internationally. At the 
e, the petitioner has been coaching Israeli pairs team 
1 
d Mr. 
is a five-time Israel National Champion who has compete at two European and World 
Championships. He and his partner strive to compete in the 201 0 Winter Olympics. 
The director concluded that the petitioner had only coached at the junior level and, thus, had not 
demonstrated his national or international acclaim as a coach. As stated above, however, we will not 
wholly discount the petitioner's acclaim as a skater. Rather, where an alien is clearly a nationally or 
internationally acclaimed athlete, we look to see whether the petitioner has demonstrated an overall 
pattern of acclaim that demonstrates that coaching is within his area of expertise. While the petitioner 
coached junior competitors, these athletes were competing nationally and internationally at the highest 
level for their age group. Moreover, as stated above, at the time of filing this petition, the petitioner 
was already coaching a team that included a five-time national champion at the senior level. Thus, we 
are persuaded that the petitioner was not merely serving as a coach of novices drawn from the local 
area, but as a coach of athletes who had proven themselves in national and international competition 
and were preparing for top-level competition at the senior level. Given all the evidence of record in the 
aggregate, both the evidence mentioned above and the remaining evidence of record, we are persuaded 
that coaching falls within the petitioner's area of expertise. 
In review, while not all of the petitioner's evidence carries the weight imputed to it by counsel, the 
petitioner has established that he has been recognized as a skater of extraordinary ability who has 
achieved sustained national or international acclaim and whose achievements at the national level 
include coaching. Therefore, the petitioner has established eligibility for the benefits sought under 
section 203(b)(l)(A) 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. tj 1361. The petitioner has met that burden. 
ORDER: 
 The decision of the director is withdrawn. The appeal is sustained and the petition is 
approved.