sustained EB-1A Case: Magic

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prevent dearly am 
invasion of penrolrl prhry 
jqJBuc COfY 
U.S. Department of Homeland Security 
20 Mass. Ave., N.W., Rm. A3042 
Washington, DC 20529 
U.S. Citizenship 
and Immigration 
FILE: Office: CALIFORNIA SERVICE CENTER Date: NOV 1 0 2005 
WAC 03 192 52458 
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. 8 1 153(b)(I)(A) 
ON BEHALF OF PETITIONER: 
INSTRUCTIONS: 
This is the decision of the Administrative Appeals Office in your case. A11 documents have been returned to 
the office that originally decided your case. Any further inquiry must be made to that office. 
Robert P. Wiemann, Director 
Administrative Appeals Office 
DISCUSSION: The employment-based immigrant visa petition was denied by the Director, California Service 
Center, and is now before the Administrative Appeals Office on appeal. The appeal will be sustained and the 
petit ion 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. # 1 153(b)(I)(A), as an alien of extraordinary ability in the 
arts. The director determined that the petitioner had not established the sustained national or international 
acclaim requisite to classification as an alien of extraordinary ability. 
Section 203(b) of the Act states, in pertinent part: 
(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. 
Specific supporting evidence must accompany the petition to document the "sustained national or international 
acclaim" that the statute requires. 8 C.F.R. fj 204.5(h)(3). An alien can establish sustained national or 
international acclaim through evidence of a "one-time achievement (that is, a major, international recognized 
award)." Id. Absent such an award, an alien can establish the necessary sustained acclaim by meeting at least 
three of ten other regulatory criteria. Id. However, the weight given to evidence submitted to fulfill the criteria 
at 8 C.F.R. 5 204.5(h)(3), or under 8 C.F.R. 5 204.5(h)(4), must depend on the extent to which such evidence 
demonstrates, reflects, or is consistent with sustained national or international acclaim at the very top of the 
alien's field of endeavor. A lower evidentiary standard would not be consistent with the regulatory definition 
of "extraordinary ability" as "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. fj 204.5(h)(2). 
In this case, the petitioner seeks classification as an alien with extraordinary ability in the arts as a magician. 
The petitioner submitted supporting evidence with his petition and in response to the director's Request for 
Evidence (RFE) including documentation of his awards and their significance, numerous media articles about 
his work, documentation of his performances at various venues in his native Argentina and abroad, his 
membership in a professional magician's association, and five letters of recon~mendation from other magicians 
including Siegfried and Roy. On appeal, the petitioner submits a second letter from Sigfried and Roy, a letter 
from the International Federation of Magic Societies (FISM) and additional information about FJSM and the 
Worldwide Magic Competition. We find the record sufficient to satis@ three of the eligibility criteria discussed 
below and only briefly address counsel's far less persuasive arguments regarding the remaining criteria the 
petitioner claims to meet. 
(i) Documentation of the alien '.Y receipt of lesser nationally or internationally recognized prizes or awards 
for excellence in the field of endeavor. 
The record shows that the petitioner won the First Prize in Stage Illusions at the FlSM orld Magic 
Championships in 1997. The letter submitted on appeal from FISM Secretary General, 9 xplains that 
FlSM organizes the World Magic Championships once every three years and that magicians compete in eight 
categories. The winner of each category is deemed "World Champion" for their specific category. ~r.- 
notes that a World Champion may not be named if the jury feels that none of the competitors deserve this title. 
~r. confirms that before the petitioner won his World Champion of Stage illusions in 1997, that title had 
not been awarded for 15 years. 
~r. statements are corroborated by the submitted printouts from the FISM website, which shows that 
prior to the petitioner's Stage lllusion title in 1997, no championship had been awarded in this category since 
1982. National President of the Society of American Magicians (SAM) further explains that 
"[tlo wm at FISM is to be awarded the most prestigious award in magic. Only a handful of magicians in the 
world have won at FISM. Anyone that wins first place at FISM is recognized internationally as a world 
champion. . . . To say this is the Academy Award of magic would be an understatement." The 
competitiveness and intemational recognition of the petitioner's FISM World Magic 
also affirmed by seven recommendation letters from magicians, includin and 
who the record shows won First Prize in the Manipulations category at the 
Championship. In their second letter submitted on appeal Siegfried and Roy explain that they were present 
during the petitioner's performance at the 1997 championship and that "FISM is the most difficult international 
award to obtain in the field of magic. . . . Any magician who wins the FlSM is one of the best magicians in the 
world. . . . To win a FlSM is to attain the highest accolade in magic." The record contains 27 articles about the 
petitioner that discuss or mention his FISM award and that were published in Argentine newspapers and 
magazines between 1997 and 2002. One article, "Tribute Paid to ~agician 
21, 1997 edition of Crdnica reports that the Argentine Minister of Culture, paid 
tribute to the petitioner as the "new World Magic Champion." The 
which we find establishes the international iecogniti;n of the petitioner's FISM award and his resultant 
sustained national acclaim as a magician in Argentina. 
The record also documents the petitioner's receipt of three awards from the Entidad Mdgica Argentina (EMA): 
a Grand Prize and the First Prize in Great Illusions at the Fourth Argentine Convention of Illusionism in 1996 
and the Chevalier Andrey Award in 1997. With his RFE response, the petitioner submitted a printout from the 
EMA website which states that the organization is "the biggest and most important magic society in Latin 
America" and has "organized four Argentine Conferences of Illusionism." A second printout submitted with the 
RFE response explains that the Chevalier Audrey Award is "the highest honor [ofJ the Entidad Magica 
Argentina yearly awarded to those magicians whose important work in the field of magic has been prominent." 
The printout features a photograph of the petitioner as the 1997 recipient of this award. Two articles published 
in an Argentine newspaper and a magazine discuss the petitioner's receipt of these awards. 
The record establishes that the petitioner received one internationally recognized and three nationally recognized 
prizes in his field between 1996 and 1997. Repeated media coverage of the petitioner between 1997 and 2002 
shows that his FISM award brought him sustained acclaim in Argentina. Accordingly, the petitioner meets this 
criterion. 
(ii) Documentation of the alien's membership in associations in the field for which classijication is sought, 
which require outstanding achievements of their members, as judged by recognized national or international 
experts in their disciplines or fie Ids. 
The petitioner initially claimed to meet this criterion as a member of SAM, EMA, Federacion Latinamericana 
de Ilusionismo, Ciculo Magico Argentino, and Centro de Estudios Dedicados nl Ilusionismo. The record 
documents the petitioner's associate membership in the SAM, but the submitted printout from the SAM website 
states that the Society "recognize[s] and grant[sJ equal respect to professional magicians, amateur magicians and 
enthusiasts, youth magicians, collectors and historians, inventors, manufacturers, and dealers." This printout 
does not demonstrate that outstanding achievements are prerequisite to SAM membership. The profile of the 
petitioner contained in the FISM printout submitted on appeal lists his membership in the other four 
organizations, but the record contains no corroborative docun~entation of his membership in any of these 
associations. Simply going on record without supporting documentary evidence is not sufficient to meet the 
burden of proof in these proceedings. Matter of SofJici, 22 I&N Dec. 158, 165 (Comm. 1998) (citing Matler of 
Treasure Craft of Calrfornia, 14 I&N Dec. 190 (Reg. Comm. 1972)). 
On appeal, counsel claims the petitioner meets this criterion through his membership in the FlSM World 
Champion's Club. The submitted printout from the FISM website states, "Every winner of a World 
Championship of Magic title become member [sic] of the WCC (World Champion's Club). The WCC is a very 
exclusive club by nature and has as main objectives [sic]: to promote the Art of Magic around the world[,] to 
pronlote its members." The printout indicates that the sole criterion for WCC membership is winning a World 
Championship of Magic title. While the record shows that such titles are outstanding achievements, we will not 
find an alien eligible under more than one category based on a single accomplishment. The statute requires that 
an alien demonstrate sustained national or international acclaim and that his or her achievements be "recognized 
in the field through extensive documentation." Section 203(b)(l)(A) of the Act, 8 U.S.C. 1153(b)(l)(A). An 
alien may meet these requirements through a single achievement only if he or she has won a major, 
internationally recognized award. 8 C.F.R. ij 204.5(h)(3). Absent such an award, the petitioner must meet at 
least three of the ten other regulatory criteria or present comparable evidence of his or her eligibility if the 
those criteria do not readily apply to his or her occupation. 8 C.F.R. 5 204.5(h)(3), (4). In this case, the 
petitioner's WCC membership is a benefit and direct result of his primary achievement, the FISM award. We 
have discussed and credited the petitioner's FISM award under the first criterion. The record does not 
demonstrate that the petitioner's SAM or any of his other purported memberships satis6 this criterion. 
(iii) Published material about the alien in professional or major trade publications or other major media, 
relating to the ulien's work in the field for which clussijication is sought. Such evidence shall include the 
title, date, and author of the material, and any necessary translation. 
The record contains 3 1 articles that discuss the petitioner and his work that were published between 1996 and 
2002. With his RFE response, the petitioner submitted evidence that the majority of these articles were 
published in major newspapers and magazines with national circulation in Argentina and some of which are also 
distributed to other Latin American countries, the United States and Canada. Almost all of the articles feature 
photographs of the petitioner and primarily focus on him and his work, including reports about his FlSM award 
and critical reviews of his magical musical, "Barragan, the Magician." These articles reflect the petitioner's 
sustained acclaim in Argentina from 1996 to less than a year before this petition was filed. The director did not 
fully address this evidence, which we find sufficient to meet this criterion. 
(vii) Evidence of the display of the alien S work in theJield at artistic exhibitions or showcases. 
This criterion generally applies to the visual - not performing - arts. However, counsel claims the petitioner 
meets this criterion and submits substantial relevant evidence. Accordingly, we have considered these 
supporting documents as comparable evidence of the petitioner's eligibility under this criterion pursuant to 8 
C.F.R. 9 204.5(h)(4). 
The record contains programs from the 2001 Shanghai lnternational Magic Festival with photographs and a 
short biography of the petitioner and which show that he was a featured performer in the opening ceremony of 
this festival. A cable dated November 9, 2001 from the Argentine General Consul in Shanghai to the Director 
of Cultural Affairs in Argentina states: 
I am pleased to inform Your Excellency that yesterday, at the opening of 'International Magic Festival 
and Competence' which takes place in the frame of the Shanghai International Festival of Arts, the 
Argentine World Magic Champion Carlos Barragan was the central figure, among a great number of 
outstanding magicians and illusionists. . . . His long awaited presentation - the 'Plat de Resistance' 
[sic] of the show which took place in a sold-out auditorium for 10,000 spectators - deserved the praise 
and approval of an enthusiastic audience. 
Peter J. Reveen, a fonner magician and now manager of the magician Lance Burton, also states that the 
petitioner's "brilliant routine, 'The Time is Now,' closed the Gala Opening Ceremony, to a standing ovation, at 
the Shanghai International Magic Festival." An article published in the September 7, 2002 edition of hbticias 
reports that "[llast year, when [the petitioner] made a presentation in China, his name was on the cover of all 
newspapers and the Chinese opened their eyes as never before and never after." 
The petitioner also submitted evidence that he was an invited and featured performer in the International Gala 
Ceremony of the FISM 2000 Worldwide Congress of Magic in Lisbon. In addition, the record shows that the 
petitioner performed at the royal wedding celebration for the Dutch Prince Willem-Alexander and his Argentine 
bride, Maxima Zorreguieta, on February 2,2002. A letter from the Ambassador of the Netherlands in Argentina 
thanks the petitioner and states, "Your performance contributed to making that day unforgettable." Finally, the 
record contains seven favorable reviews of the petitioner's musical magic show, "Barragan, the Magician," six 
of which were published in major Argentine newspapers. This show was presented at the Metropolitan Theater 
in Buenos Aires, which the record indicates is a distinguished performance venue. The evidence thus 
establishes that the petitioner was a featured performer at two major international magic festivals and that he has 
performed in Argentina in a manner reflective of sustained national acclaim. The record indicates that the 
petitioner's performance venues were comparable to exclusive artistic showcases or exhibitions and were of a 
much higher caliber than routine appearances by magicians in the regular course of their occupation. The 
director did not fully assess this evidence, which we find sufficient to meet this criterion. 
(viii) Evidence that the alien has performed in a leading or critical role for organizations or establishments 
that have a distinguished reputation. 
Page 6 
As evidence of the petitioner's eligibility under this criterion, counsel cites 1 1 of the petitioner's performances. 
Yet even when an artist works as part of an ensemble, his or her individual performances do not meet this 
criterion. To satisfy this category, a petitioner must show that the alien performs a leading or critical role for 
distinguished organizations or establishments as a whole, not individual shows presented by such organizations 
or establishments. Accordingly, the petitioner does not meet this criterion. 
In review, while not all of the petitioner's evidence carries the weight imputed to it by counsel, the petitioner has 
established that his achievements have been recognized in his field and that he has achieved sustained national 
acclaim in Argentina as an artist. The petitioner has established that he seeks to continue working in his field in 
the United States and that his entry will substantially benefit prospectively the United States. The petitioner has 
thus demonstrated his eligibility for classification as an alien with extraordinary ability under section 
203(b)(l)(A) of the Act, 8 U.S.C. fj 1 153(b)(l)(A). 
The burden of proof in visa petition proceedings remains entirely with the petitioner. Section 291 of the Act, 
8 U.S.C. 5 1 36 1. The petitioner has sustained that burden. 
ORDER: The decision of the director is withdrawn. The appeal is sustained and the petition is approved.