sustained EB-1A Case: Marketing Management

U.S. Citizenship 
and Immigration 
Services 
MATTER OF J-M-
Non-Precedent Decision of the 
Administrative Appeals Office 
DATE: JAN.29.2018 
APPEAL OF NEBRASKA SERVICE CENTER DECISION 
PETITION: FORM 1-140, IMMIGRANT PETITION FOR ALIEN WORKER 
The Petitioner. a professor of marketing management. seeks classification as an individual of 
extraordinary ability in business. 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 satisfied only two of the ten initial evidentiary criteria. of 
which he must meet at least three. 
On appeal, the Petitioner submits additional evidence and contends that he meets four criteria. 
Upon de novo review. we will sustain the appeal. 
I. LAW 
Section 203(b)(I)(A) ofthe 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 111 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 
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Matter of.l-M-
at 8 C.F.R. § 204.5(h)(3) sets forth two options for satisfying this classification's initial evidence 
requirements. First, a petitioner can demonstrate a one-time achievement (that is a major. 
internationally recognized award). Alternatively, he or she must provide documentation that meets 
at least three ofthe ten categories of evidence listed at 8 C.F.R. § 204.5(h}(3)(i)-(x) (including items 
such as awards. memberships. and published material in certain media). 
Satisfaction of at least three criteria, however, does not, in and of itsel[ establish eligibility for this 
classification. See Kazarian v. USCJS, 596 F.Jd 1115 (9th Cir. 2010) (discussing a two-part review 
where the documentation is first counted and then, if fulfilling the required number of criteria. 
considered in the context of a tina! merits determination); see also Visinscaia v. Beers. 4 F. Supp. 3d 
126, 131-32 (D.D.C. 2013}; Rijal v. USCIS, 772 F. Supp. 2d 1339 (W.O. Wash. 2011). aff'd. 683 
F.Jd. 1030 (9th Cir. 2012): Matter (?lChawathe, 25 I&N Dec. 369, 376 (AAO 2010) (holding that 
the "truth is to be determined not by the quantity of evidence alone but by its quality .. and that U.S. 
Citizenship and Immigration Services examines "each piece of evidence for relevance. probative 
value, and credibility. both individually and within the context of the totality of the evidence, to 
determine whether the fact to be proven is probably true"). Accordingly, where a petitioner submits 
qualifying evidence under at least three criteria, we will determine whether the totality of the record 
shows sustained national or international acclaim and demonstrates that the individual is among the 
small percentage at the very top of the field of endeavor. 8 C.F.R. § 204.5(h)(2)-(3 ). 
II. ANALYSIS 
The Petitioner is a visiting professor of marketing management employed by As 
he has not established that he has received a major, internationally recognized award. he must satisfy 
at least three of the alternate regulatory criteria at 8 C.F.R. § 204.5(h)(3)(i)-(x}. 
A. Evidentiary Criteria 
The Director found that the Petitioner met the judging criterion at 8 C.F.R. § 204.5(h)(3)(iv) and the 
authorship of scholarly articles criterion at 8 C.F.R. § 204.5(h)(3)(vi). We find that the evidence in 
the record sufficiently supports these conclusions based on his work as a peer reviewer and member 
of several editorial boards as well as his authorship of scholarly articles. The Director found that the 
Petitioner had not established that his role as Director of the 
constituted a leading or critical role under 8 C.F.R. ~ 204.5(h)(3)(viii). On appeal. the 
Petitioner references a copy of a letter from the Managing Director of the . renewing the 
Petitioner's appointment as Director of the and specifying his responsibilities as such. The 
appellate submission also includes letters from the President of the Board of Governors and the 
Director of the Board of Directors for praising the Petitioner's role leading the institution. We 
conclude that this evidence establishes that the Petitioner meets the leading role criterion. Because 
the Petitioner has met three of the initial evidentiary criteria, as required, we will discuss the 
remaining documentation in the context of a final merits determination.
1 
1 
On appeaL the Petitioner maintains that he also meets the criteria relating to contributions of major significance at 
2 
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Matter of.J-M-
B. Final Merits Determination 
As the record satisfies at least three ofthe regulatory criteria at 8 C.F.R. § 204.5(h)(3)(i)-(x). we will 
analyze the Petitioner's accomplishments and weigh the totality of the evidence to determine if his 
successes are sufficient to demonstrate that he has extraordinary ability in the field of endeavor. We 
evaluate whether he has demonstrated, by a preponderance of the evidence, that he has sustained 
national or international acclaim and that his achievements have been recognized in the field through 
extensive documentation, making him one of the small percentage who have risen to the very top of 
the field of endeavor. See section 203(b)(l )(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 his eligibility for this classification. 
The Petitioner received a Ph.D. in management from the Indian m 
India. The record indicates that the Petitioner has served on the editorial board of 
several reputable journals and that he served as the Director of the 
in for over three years, which represents a leading role in an organization 
with a distinguished reputation. Furthermore, he has consistently published highly cited and 
influential articles in his field of endeavor. Each of these aspects, together with the evidence 
discussed further below , support a finding that the Petitioner is among the small percentage at the 
top of his field of endeavor with sustained national or international acclaim. See 8 C.F.R. 
§ 204.5(h)(2)-(3). 
The Petitioner's participation in judging the work of others, individually and on a panel, is consistent 
with the classification sought. The evidence ret1ects that the Petitioner has conducted reviews for 
leading journals, has shepherded numerous conference paper reviews. and has served 
on the editorial 
board of three well-regarded journals including 
and the He 
continues to serve on the latter two, which demonstrates that he has experience judging the work of 
others at an accomplished level. These actions. in the aggregate. me consistent with a conL·iusion 
that the Petitioner is recognized in the field. 
With respect to his scholarly articles, the Petitioner has co-authored a considerable amount of 
material published in highly ranked professional journals, such as 
and the 
As authoring scholarly articles is inherent to researchers. the citation history or 
other evidence of the int1uence of the Petitioner's articles is an important indicator of the impact and 
recognition that his work has had on the field and whether such int1uence has been sustained. The 
record contains an report to demonstrate how his citation count 
compares to others in the field. Here, the Petitioner has a high citation level in his field, particularly 
from 2012 through 2017. 
8 C.F.R. § 204.5(h)(3)(v). We will consider the evidence relating to this criterion in our final merits determination. 
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Matter ofJ-M-
Regarding the Petitioner 's original contributions. the record indicates that his scholarly articles have 
made significant impact in the field of marketing. The Petitioner submitted letters from marketing 
professors at leading business programs, attesting to his int1uence in the field. For example. the 
record contains a letter from Professor of Marketing at · in France. who 
references the Petitioner"s research regarding logos. He states that "the United States has the largest 
number of multinational companies in the world" and that the Petitioner's "design guidelines 
provide information 
that allows companies to design new or modify existing logos in order to ensure 
positive consumer response in any market. thus enhancing communication for American companies 
and ensuring profit !,TfO\vth."' 
The record contains a letter from Associate Professor at the 
who asserts that the Petitioner '·has proven himself as a frontrunn er in the effort to 
capitalize upon large sets of consumer behavior data through highly efficient CLV [customer 
lifetime value] estimation strategies." He further states that the due to the current ''prevalence of 
'big data' in systems analysis research, " the Petitioner's continued input "is vital to the improvement 
of widely consequential marketing techniques.'' 
In a letter from Professor of Marketing for 
Texas, she states that ·'[ c ]ustomer data quality is one of the most important factors tor business 
success today" and indicates that the Petitioner 's "creation of processes that produce more accurate 
market assessments and developments of model s that are easy to use is significant tor transforming 
organizations and implementing effective decision making guidelines for a numbe r of industries in 
the United States. including marketing organizations, credit card companies, credit unions. and 
banks ." A letter trom profe ssor at 
indicates that the Petitioner's work served as the benchmark for severa l other studies regarding 
consumer behavior in emerging economies. 
Regarding the Petitioner 's sustained acclaim in the field, the record indicates that he perform ed a 
leading role tor an organization that has a distinguished reputation tor over three years. The record 
demonstrates that he served as the Director of the m 
from 2012 to 2015. The record contains a article which ranks the top 
MBA universities accredited by the in the Unite d 
Arab Emirates (UAE) and which lists the as being seco nd. In a letter from 
Director of the Board of Director s. he states that the Petitioner "brought about 
profound changes at and ""bolstered the quality and reputation of the institute.·· 
indicates that the Petitioner hosted conference at expanding the 
institute's visibility and renown in the UAE and 
the rest of the world." In a letter from 
a member of the Parliament of India and also the President of the Board of Governors for the 
he states that the Petitioner 's "impact on was powerfully felf' and that "he played 
a pivotal role in making a standout insti tution in business and management training .'' 
2 As stated on the letterhe ad for this letter , is the . France. 
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Maller of.J-M-
The Petitioner's publication history has also led to sustained acclaim as his strong citation history 
demonstrates the impact his work has had in the field. In addition, the record contains a letter from 
Professor of Marketing at who states that the Petitioner's 
"research on the relationship between emerging markets and buyer behavior has taken significant 
steps to tilling in the gaps in literature in this field of study.' ' He further states that the Petitioner's 
conclusions "have motivated further investigations by researchers from the Americas, Africa. 
Australia, Vietnam, Romania , Spain, India, and Malaysia." In his letter, Professor 
of Marketing Research at the states that "[t]he importance and utility 
of [the Petitioner's] research has been recognized by professional and implemented in a number of 
marketing textbooks , including which is ''widely used in marketing 
management classes at the graduate level." Together , this evidence demonstrates that the Petitioner 
has achieved sustained acclaim in his field. 
Here. the record reflects that the Petitioner has been in a highly regarded position as Director of the 
he has a significant record as a judge of the work of others, a high citation rate 
compared to others in the field of economics and business and has continued to publish highly 
influential material in his field, which are together consistent with a finding that the Petitioner is 
among the small percentage at the top ofhis field of endeavor. ,)'ee 8 C.F.R. § 204.5(h)(2) . We note 
that the Petitioner's contributions have significantly influenced others in the field , and when 
considered in the aggregate with the evidence discussed above, the Petitioner has demonstrated that 
his achievements are reflective of a ''career of acclaimed work in the field" as contemplated by 
Congress. H.R. Rep. No. 101-723,59 (Sept. 19. 1990). 
Ill. CONCLUSION 
The Petitioner has shown that he meets at least three of the evidentiary criteria listed at 8 C.F.R. 
§ 204.5(h)(3)(i)-(x). He has also demonstrated sustained national and international acclaim and that 
his achievements have been recognized through extensive documentation. Lastly, the Petitioner has 
indicated that he intends to continue working in his area of expertise . He therefore qualifies for 
classification as an individual of extraordinary ability . 
ORDER: The appeal is sustained. 
Cite as Matter of.J-M-, ID# 825235 (AAO Jan. 29, 2018)