sustained EB-1A Case: Photography

U.S. Citizenship 
and Immigration 
Services 
In Re : 6986109 
Appeal of Nebraska Service Center Decision 
Non-Precedent Decision of the 
Administrative Appeals Office 
Date : MAY 27, 2020 
Form 1-140, Immigrant Petition for Alien Worker (Extraordinary Ability) 
The Petitioner , a photographer , seeks classification as an individual of extraordinary ability. See 
Immigration and Nationality Act (the Act) section 203(b)(l)(A), 8 U.S .C. § 1153(b)(l)(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 petition , concluding that although the record 
established that the Petitioner satisfied the initial evidentiary requirements , it did not establi sh, as 
required , that the Petitioner has sustained national or international acclaim and is one of that small 
percentage at the very top of the field. The matter is now before us on appeal. 
The petitioner bears the burden of proof to demonstrate eligibility by a preponderance of the evidence . 
Section 291 of the Act; Matter of Chawathe , 25 l&N Dec. 369,375 (AAO 2010). The Administrative 
Appeals Office (AAO) reviews the questions in this matter de novo . See Matter of Christo 's Inc. , 26 
l&N Dec . 537, 537 n.2 (AAO 2015) . Upon de nova review , we will sustain the appeal. 
I. LAW 
Section 203(b)(l) 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 in 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 a multi-part analysis. First, a petitioner can demonstrate sustained 
acclaim and the recognition of his or her achievements in the field through a one-time achievement 
(that is, a major, internationally recognized award). If that petitioner does not submit this evidence, 
then he or she must provide sufficient qualifying documentation that meets at least three of the ten 
categories listed at 8 C.F.R. § 204.5(h)(3)(i) - (x) (including items such as awards, published material 
in certain media, and scholarly articles). 
Where a petitioner meets these initial evidence requirements, we then consider the totality of the 
material provided in a final merits determination and assess whether 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. See Kazarian v. USCIS, 596 F.3d 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 final 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.D. Wash. 2011). This two-step analysis is consistent with our holding that the "truth is to be 
determined not by the quantity of evidence alone but by its quality," as well as the principle that we 
examine "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." Matter of Chawathe, 25 I&N Dec. 369, 376 (AAO 2010). 
II. ANALYSIS 
A. Evidentiary Criteria 
The Petitioner is a photographer who works in the genre of documentary portraiture, typically 
choosing members of the Chinese working class as his subjects. His work has been displayed in China 
and internationally from 2002 until the present time. 
Because the Petitioner has not indicated or 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). 
In denying the petition, the Director determined that the Petitioner had met three of the initial 
evidentiary criteria, pertaining to receipt of nationally recognized awards or prizes at 8 C.F.R. 
§ 204.5(h)(3)(i); published material in professional or major media under 8 C.F.R. § 204.5(h)(3)(iii); 
and display of his work in artistic exhibitions under 8 C.F.R. § 204.5(h)(3)(vii). The record supports 
the Director's determination that these criteria were met. On appeal, the Petitioner contends that the 
Director erred in determining that he did not satisfy a fourth criterion, relating to original contributions 
of major significance at 8 C.F.R. § 204.5(h)(3)(v), and that the Director also failed to consider relevant 
evidence pertaining to those contributions in his final merits analysis. 
As the Petitioner has established that he satisfied at least three alternative criteria, we will conduct a 
final merits determination of all the evidence, including evidence of his original contributions, below. 
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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 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 )(1 )(A)(i) of the Act; 8 C.F.R. § 204.5(h)(2), (3); see also 
Kazarian, 596 F.3d at 1119-20. When considered in the aggregate with the evidence discussed below, 
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). 
The record reflects that the Petitioner initijlly achieved national acclaim as a photographer in 2002 for 
his very first series of photographs titled and later attended and graduated from thel I 
OAcademy in 2009. The Petitioner, who was working as al I when he shot this series of 
documentary-style photographs ofl I received a bronze award at the I I 
Photographic Art Exhibition in 2002, receiving national recognition among works submitted by 
acclaimed professional photographers. The evidence reflects that the award is among the most 
prestigious national photography awards in China. 
Several of the submitted reference letters comment on the Petitioner's early success and sustained 
critical acclaim. A letter from photographe~ I who mentored the Petitioner early in his career, 
discusses the Petitioner's subjective documentary style, noting that "whenl I won the Bronze 
Prize at thd !Photographic Art Exhibition, a discussion of l I in the 
photography field was instantly spread." He states that China Photo Press, a professional publication, 
"also carried out a special report on.__~~---------' and states that the Petitioner's 
signature portrait style has had "groundbreaking significance" in China that has endured beyond the 
"instant fame" he received when he won the referenced award. Similarly, I ] 
llofthe China Photographers Association,! l andl I 
~ News Agency, confirms in her detailed letter that the Petitioner's earliest work "instantly 
attracted the attention of numerous mainstream media and led to widespread repercussion in the 
Chinese photography field." She further affirms that his work continues to cast influence in the 
photographic art field and has continued to receive broad attention both domestically and 
internationally. 
The supporting documentation supports these conclusions. The Petitioner provided evicience that he 
drew international recognition for his work in 2003, when I I was selected for the I 
International Photography Encounter i~ , IFrance. That same year, several photographs from the 
series appeared in a New York Times Magazine article titled I I' which discussed 
the Petitioner's photographs, his unusual background, and his upcoming exhibitions at D and at 
th9 I International Photography Festival in China. The New York Times article praised his 
work, noting that his portraits "are uncannily reminiscent of [ American photographer Richard] 
Avedon's, yet unique in their intimate acquaintance with their subjects." 
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Later, the Petitionr's plrtrait photographs of Chinese I ~ were prominently featured in 
Time Magazine's Person of the Year special issue in which "the Chinese received 
runner-u status. He later shot a series of photographs of Chinese titled 
,..__ _____ __,_w~hich were featured in a Slate magazine article titled ''-----------~ 
' In the Slate article, the Petitioner was interviewed about his background as a 
.__p_h-ot_o_g_ra_p_h_e_r_a_n_d_h~is approach and artistic treatment ofthel lpeople who are often his subjects. 
In addition to having his documentary portrait photography featured in major media, the record reflects 
that the Petitioner has taken photographs to accompany articles for other Time magazine issues, the 
New York Times Magazine, and GQ. 
The Petitioner has also continued to display his work in solo and group exhibitions, photography 
festivals, and in permanent museum collecti n in hin n road from 2002 through 2018. He was 
the only Chinese hoto ra her selected fo s inaugural global touring exhibition 
titled ' in 2005, which highlighted 50 
photographers whr were still new to the international scene. 
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I, former director of the 
I I in,__ __ __, Switzerland and lllf the 2005 I exhibition, states that 
"[a]mong a field of several hundred Chinese Eaffiiiillifes, [the Petitioner's] work stood out as among 
the most exceptional." I f nres that the Petitioner has been invited to participate in the launch 
of the museum's 2020.__ ___ ___. exhibition (which is organized every five years) and to lecture 
about his work. 
Recently, the Petitioner's work has been featured in survey and retrospective exhibitions that lighlight I 
the work of prominent Chinese and international! !artists. These include 
at the I I in France, where the '-----------------------~ Petitioner's work was presented alongside international artists discovered by the museum, including 
Ansel Adams, Richard A vedon and others. The Petitioner's work was also selected for the exhibition 
which traced the histol)'. of the medium and 
~it_s_r_o-le-in_C_h_i_n_e-se-cu-ltu-re-an_d_w_a_s-sh_o_w_n_i_n_s_e_v_e_ra_l_c_-o_u~ntries. The exhibition [ I which 
featured 30 hoto ra hers from 11 countries, I 
' and was discussed.__in_a_Ni-ew_J;_o_r_k_T_im-es_a_rt-ic_l_e_t-it-le-d----.-1----------1 
----~-----~ ,__ ___ _,," in which the Petitioner was interviewed along with the exhibit's curators and organizers. 
These and other major exhibitions also speak to the international recognition the Petitioner continues 
to receive for his work and his reputation as a leading contemporary photographer in China. Further, 
the Petitioner rovided evidence that his work has been included in the permanent collectio?s ofl I 
, rt Museum, Museum of Contemporary Photograph)l I, ...... --.-----------,-'-'-'-----,_J 
.___~Museum, and the.__ __ ___.Center of Photography. 
Additional evidence of the Petitioner's acclaim and commentary about his work can be found in 
submitted journal articles and books that discuss his photographs. A photograph from his I I 
series appears on the cover of the book I I I I in which the author, a professor of media and communications at the Universit 
Technologyj I discusses the use of his photographs in the Time magazine articl'l'--'-'f"""'""'........,.........__----,1 
" Among other publications, the Petitioner is the subject of the article 
'---------------------------------.------ 'published in 
the professional publication Art and Design, and an essay published b . ._ ___ __, an acclaimed 
photographer, curator and associate professor atl I University, published by arts magazine Photo 
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China. His work also appears in The Daily Book of Photography and several major exhibition 
catalogs, and he is the subject of the monograph titled I I published in~ as part of a series 
on Chinese contemporary photographers. 
The Petitioner also provided evidence that examples of his work, including discussions of his artistic 
approach and photography techniques, have been included in at least five Chinese photography 
textbooks intended for college and university-level students between 2009 and 2015. The textbook 
I I includes him in its introduction to "the creation and ideology of some 
famous photographers," while .__ _________ ___. includes "numerous composition 
experience stories of prestigious photographers" and highlights examples from several of the 
Petitioner's portrait series and his commentary on photographic composition. 
published by I I University Press, mentions that "the realistic portra._i_t -in-th_e_m_o_s_t_a_b_s-tr_a__,ct 
environment has been spoken highly ~otlographr field in China and around the world" and 
references the Petitioner's I I andl___J' s series as representative works in that style. 
Based on the evidence of the Petitioner's achievements and earned recognition discussed above, the 
Petitioner has demonstrated his extraordinary ability as a photographer and established that he is 
regarded as having a "career of acclaimed work in the field." See H. Rep. No. 101-723, at 59 (Sept. 
19, 1990). The totality of the evidence establishes that he possesses a level of expertise that is 
consistent with a finding that he is one of a small percentage at the very top of the field of endeavor 
and that he has documented sustained acclaim. See section 203(b )(1 )(A) of the Act; 8 C.F.R. § 
204.5(h)(2), (3); Kazarian, 596 F.3d at 1119-20. 
III. CONCLUSION 
The Petitioner has established 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 
shown that he intends to continue working in his area of expertise and that he will substantially benefit 
prospectively the United States. He therefore qualifies for classification as an individual of 
extraordinary ability. 
ORDER: The appeal is sustained. 
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