sustained EB-1A Case: Fashion Design

U.S. Citizenship 
and Immigration 
Services 
MATTER OF C-D-A-R-
Non-Precedent Decision of the 
Administrative Appeals Office 
DATE: MAR.I6,2018 
APPEAL OF NEBRASKA SERVICE CENTER DECISION 
PETITION: FORM 1-140, IMMIGRANT PETITION FOR ALIEN WORKER 
The Petitioner, a fashion designer, seeks classification as an individual of extraordinary ability in 
arts. See Immigration and Nationality Act (the Act) section 203(b)(I)(A), 8 U.S.C. ~ 1153(b)(I)(A). 
This first preference classification makes immigrant visas available to those who can demonstrate 
their extraordinary ability through sustained national or international acclaim and whose 
achievements have been recognized in their field through extensive documentation. 
The Director of the Nebraska Service Center denied the Form 1-140, Immigrant Petition for Alien 
Worker, concluding that the Petitioner had not satisfied any of the ten initial evidentiary criteria, of' 
which she must meet at least three. 
On appeal, the Petitioner submits additional evidence and contends that she meets nine criteria. 
Upon de novo review, we will sustain the appeal. 
I. LAW 
Section 203(b)(I)(A) of the Act makes visas available to immigrants with extraordinary ability 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 m the area of 
extraordinary ability, and 
(iii) the alien's entry into the United States will substantially benefit prospectively the 
United States. 
The term "extraordinary ability" refers only to those individuals in "that small percentage who have 
risen to the very top of the field of endeavor." 8 C.F.R. § 204.5(h)(2). The implementing regulation 
at 8 C.F.R. § 204.5(h)(3) sets forth two options for satisfying this classification's initial evidence 
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requirem ents. First, a p etitioner can demon strate a one-tim e achievem ent (that is a major , 
internati onally recognized award) .. Alternatively , he or she m ust provide documentation that meets 
at least three of the ten categories of evid ence listed at 8 C.F.R. § 204.5(h)(3)(i) -(x) (incl uding items 
such as awards , member ships, and published material in certain media). 
Satisfaction of at least three criteria, however, does not, in and of it se lf~ establi sh eligibili ty for thi s 
classificati on. See Kazarian v. USCIS, 596 F.3d 1115 (9thCir. 2010) (disc uss ing a two-part review 
where the doc umentation is first counted and then, if fulfilling the requi red numb er of criteria, 
considered in the context of a final me rits determin ation); see also Visinscaia v. ·Beers, 4 F. Supp. 3d 
126, 131-32 (D.O. C. 20 13); Rijal v. USC IS, 772 F. Supp. 2d 1339 (W. O. Wash. 20 I I), q[fd, 683 
F.3d. 1030 (9 th Cir. 20 12); Malter ofChawathe, 25 I&N Dec. 369, 376 (AAO 20 10) (holding that 
the "truth is to be determin ed not by the quant ity of evidence alone but b y its qual ity" and that U.S. 
Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) examines "each piece of evidence for relevance, 
probative value, and credibilit y, both individu ally and within the context of the totality of the 
evide nce, to determine whether the fact to be prove n is probably true"). Accordingly, whe re a 
petitioner submits qualit)'ing evidence under at least 'three criteria, we will determine whether t he 
totality of the record sho ws sustained nation al or international accla im and demonstrate s that the 
individual is among the sma ll percentage at the very top of the field of end eavor. 8 C.F.R. 
§ 204.5(h)(2)-(3). 
II. ANALYSIS 
The Peti tione r i s a fashio n designer. As she has not established that she has rece ived a major , 
internation ally recognized award , she must satisfy at leas t three of the alterna te regulatory criter ia at 
8 C.F.R. § 204.5(h)(3)(i)-(x). 
A. Evidentiary Criteria 
The Director found that the Petitioner did not meet any of the ten criteria at 8 C.F.R . § 204.5(h)( 3). 
Here , we find that the Petitioner has establi shed that she mee ts the requirements for published 
material at 8 C.F. R. § 204.5(h) (3)( iii), display at 8 C.F.R. § 204.5(h)(3)(vii), and leadi ng or critical 
role unde r 8 C. F.R. § 204.5(h)(3)( viii). The Director found that the ev idence in the reco rd did not 
support the published material criterion becaus e the Petitioner was merely mentioned in the articles. 
Regardin g disp lay, the Director held that the accesso ries desi gned by the Petition er and worn by 
model s in runway sho ws was not direct ly a disp lay of her work as an art istic exhibition or showcas e. 
And wi th respec t t o t he lead ing or critica l role , the Director held that the two letter s from 
of discu ss ing the Petiti oner's role on three project s does not indicate how this 
constituted a leading or critic al role. 
On appe al, for published material , the Petitioner references piec es written abo ut her in 
and which discuss her design philo sop hy and background as a fashion des igner. for 
display, the Petitioner cites to her accessory line that was exhibited at seve ral artistic eve nts in 
and her handbags which were showed at the Californ ia. For 
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Matter ofC-D-A -R-
leading or critical role, the Petitioner cites documentation showing her role as a lead designer for 
Ferre's main line, in addition to her roles as a key creator for and , among 
other renowned fashion companies, noting that she has been con
tracted to design collections for 
and We conclude that this evidence estab lishes t hat the Petitioner 
meets these three initial evidentiary crite.ria, as required, and therefore, we w ill discuss the remaining 
documentation in the contex t of a final merits determination.' 
B. Final Merits Determination 
As the record satisfies at least three of the regulatory criteria at 8 C.F.R. § 204.5(h)(3)(i)-(x), we will 
analyze the Petitioner's accompli shments and weigh the totality of the evidence to determine if her 
successes are sufficient to demon strate that she has extraordinar y ability in the field of end.eavor. 
We evaluate whether she has demonstrated, by a preponderanc e of the evidence, that she has 
sustained national or internationa l acclaim and that her achiev ements have been recognized in the 
field through extensive documentation, making her one of the small percentage who have risen to the 
very top of the field of endeavor. See section 203(b)( I )(A)(i) of the Act; 8 C.F.R. § 204.5(h)(2), (3): 
see also Kazarian, 596 F.3d at 1119-20. Here, the Petitioner has shown her eligibility for this 
classification . 
The Petitioner has been a leading fashion designer for many different top brands m the fashion 
industry, such as and 
demonstrating that she has performed a leading role in an organization with a distinguished 
reputation . The record contains a letter from Brand Director for 
stating that the Petitioner worked there as a lead designer from 2003 through 2005 and that 
her designs were "very lucrative for the company" and ''had very impressive sales on the 
international level." The record indicates that in 2004, the readers of the British magazine 
nominated as the ' as part of the 
The record indicates that the Petitioner was a lead designer for during 
this time and that her accessory items, particular a specific chain she designed, were in high demand 
during that period. 
The record contains a letter from who was the Director of Sales and Marketing 
for from 2005 through 2008. He indicates that himself personally requested the 
Petitioner to stay with his company upon learning that another leading design compan y was offering 
her a position there, and in the course of those discussions he nearly doubled her salary for her to 
remain with the compa ny. 
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On appeal, the Petitioner maintains that she also meets the criteria relating to awards at 8 C.F.R. § 204.5(h)(3)(i), 
membership at 8 C.F.R. § 204.5(h)(3)(ii), judging at 8 C.F.R. § 204.5(h)(3)(iv), original contributions of major 
significance a t 8 C.F.R. § 204.5(h)(3)(v), high salary at 8 C.F.R. § 204.5(h)(3)(ix), and commercial success at 8 C.F.R. 
§ 204.5(h)(3)(ix). Because she has established that she meets three other criteria to thus warrant e1 final merits 
determination, we will not address whether the Petitioner has established that she meets these additional ones. Instead, 
we will evaluate all of the submitted evidence in the linalmerits analysis. 
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Maller ofC-D-A-R-
the President and Co-Owner of the companies , which includes 
and attests in a letter to the Petitioner 's expe rience as a "one of the top 
accessor y designers in the tield " and that he hired her to rebr and as the lead designer. 
While the Director focused on the fact that hired the Petitione r fo r three projects , we 
tind the President of entru sting the Petition er with rebrand ing an entire collection more 
indicativ e of the caliber of her work. The record indi cates that the Petitioner has worked for many of 
the top brand s in the indu stry and that she has been so ught out to join co mpetin g comp anies at the 
top of the ind ustry. Ther efore, the length of time or number of projects she undertook is not as 
important as the impact she had in the position for these companies as a lead ing designer. 
Regardin g the Petitioner's origin al contribution s, the reco rd indic ates that her designs have received 
a great dea l of acclaim in the indu stry. The Petitioner submitted a photosh oot of 
posing with a that the Petitioner designed , which plays a pro minent role in the photograph . 
As stated above, the Petition er's designs were very lucrative for with impress ive 
internation al sales from 2003 through 2005. In add ition, states that the Petitioner 
"design ed the hugely successfu l chain accessor y that was all over the runwa ys and ca mpaigns for 
2004. " The record also demonst rates that she has developed her own luxury brand of Ital ian 
handbag s. 
The record contains articl es written about the Petitioner and her brand in and 
which discu ss her design philosophy and background as a fashion desi gner. The record 
contain s evidence that the Petitioner was nomin ated by the fashion ed itor, 
· as a ' · in 20 14. The reco rd reflects that the Petiti oner' s work has been on 
displa y at several artistic events in and that her handbag s w hich were displaye d at 
the director of the tilm that won the 2017 
at the among other awards, states that 
placed the Petitione r in the Creative Director position to choo se the accesso ries at the center 
o f the film .2 He s tates that this awa rd " is dir ectly att ributed to [the Pet itioner] because she chose and 
styled the acce sso ries to be used in the film" and that this festival i s equiva lent of t he ' 
Together, this evidence demonstr ates that the Petitioner has achieve d 
sustained acclaim in her field . 
Here, the reco rd reflect s that the Petitioner is well -rega rded by top desig n companie s in the fashio n 
indu stry. This e vidence , in totali ty, is consistent with a finding th at the Peti tione r is among the small 
percent age at the top of her field of endeavor. See 8 C.F.R. § 204.5( h)(2). When conside red in t he 
aggregat e with the evidence discussed above, the Petitioner has dem onstrated that her achievements 
are refle ctive of a ''career of acclaimed work in the field" as cont emp lated by Congress. H.R. Rep. 
2 While the award was granted after the filing of the petition, the evidence in the record establishes that the video upon 
which the award was based had a release date of December I, 20 16, which preceded the tiling of this petition. 
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Maller ofC-D-A-R-
No. 101-723,59 (Sept. 19, 1990). We conclude that the record supports a finding that the Petitioner 
is among the small percentage at the top of her field of endeavor with sustained national or 
international acclaim. See 8 C.F.R. § 204.5(h)(2)-(3). 
III. CONCLUSION 
The Petitioner has shown that she meets at least three of the evidentiary criteria listed at 8 C.F.R. § 
204.5(h)(3)(i)-(x). She has also demonstrated sustained national and international acclaim and that 
her achievements have been recognized through extensive documentation. Lastly, the Petitioner has 
indicated that she intends to continue working in her area of expertise. She therefore qualifies for 
classification as an individual of extraordinary ability. 
ORDER: The appeal is sustained. 
Cite as Matter ofC-D-A-R-, lD# 934470 (AAO Mar. 16, 2018) 
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