dismissed O-1A Case: Figure Skating

U.S. Department of Homeland Security 
20 Mass. Ave. N.W.. Rm. A3042 
Washington, DC 20529 
U. S. Citizenship 
and Immigration 
FILE: LIN 04 16 52532 Office: NEBRASKA SERVICE CENTER Date: JUL 1 1 2a]S 
Nationality Act, 8 U.S.C. tj 1 101(a)(15)(0)(i) 
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. 
\J 
xobert P. Wiemann, Director 
Administrative Appeals Offtce 
- 
Page 2 
DISCUSSION: The nonirnmigrant visa petition was denied by the Director, Nebraska Service Center, and is now 
before the Administrative Appeals Office (AAO) on appeal. The appeal will be dismissed. 
The petitioner is a nonprofit corporation providing figure skating training. The petitioner seeks 0-1 classification 
of the beneficiary, as an alien with extraordinary ability in athletics under section 101(a)(15)(0)(i) of the 
Immigration and Nationality Act (the Act), 8 U.S.C. 9 1 101(a)(15)(0)(i), in order to employ her in the United 
States as an assistant coach for a period of two years at an annual salary of $25,125. 
The director denied the petition, finding that the petitioner failed to establish that the beneficiary meets the 
requirements of 8 C.F.R. 3 214.2(0)(3)(iii) to qualify as an 0-1 alien of extraordinary ability. The director further 
noted that although the petitioner sought to amend the job title from assistant coach to performer, the record of 
proceeding establishes that the petitioner seeks the services of the beneficiary as a coach, rather than as a 
perfomer. 
On appeal, counsel for the petitioner submits a brief and additional evidence. 
Section 10 1 (a)(15)(0)(i) of the Act provides classification to a qualified alien who has extraordinary ability in the 
sciences, arts, education, business, or athletics which has been demonstrated by sustained national or international 
acclaim, whose achievements have been recognized in the field through extensive documentation, and who seeks 
to enter the United States to continue work in the area of extraordinary ability. 
The regulation at 8 C.F.R. 5 2 14.2(0)(3)(ii) defines, in pertinent part: 
Extraordinary ability in the Jield of science, education, business, or athletics means a level of 
expertise indicating that the person is one of the small percentage who have arisen to the very top 
of the field of endeavor. 
The regulation at 8 C.F.R. 5 2 14.2(0)(3)(iii) states, in pertinent part, that: 
Evidentiaty criteria for an 0-1 alien of extraordinary ability in theJields of science, education, 
business, or athletics. An alien of extraordinary ability in the fields of science, education, 
business, or athletics must demonstrate sustained national or international acclaim and 
recognition for achievements in the field of expertise by providing evidence of: 
(A) Receipt of a major, internationally recognized award, such as the Nobel Prize; or 
(B) At least three of the following forms of documentation: 
(1) Documentation of the alien's receipt of nationally or internationally recognized prizes 
or awards for excellence in the field of endeavor; 
LIN 04 156 52532 
Page 3 
(2) Documentation of the alien's membership in associations in the field for which 
classification is sought, which require outstanding achievements of their members, as 
judged by recognized national or international experts in their disciplines or fields; 
(3) Published material in professional or major trade publications or major media about 
the alien, relating to the alien's work in the field for which classification is sought, which 
shall include the title, date, and author of such published material, and any necessary 
translation; 
(4) Evidence of the alien's participation on a panel, or individually, as a judge of the work 
of others in the same or in an allied field of specialization to that for which classification 
is sought; 
(5) Evidence of the alien's original scientific, scholarly, or business-related contributions 
of major significance in the field; 
(6) Evidence of the alien's authorship of scholarly articles in the field, in professional 
journals, or other major media; 
(7) Evidence that the alien has been employed in a critical or essential capacity for 
organizations and establishments that have a distinguished reputation; 
(8) Evidence that the alien has either commanded a high salary or will command a high 
salary or other remuneration for services, evidenced by contracts or other reliable 
evidence. 
(C) If the criteria in paragraph (0)(3)(iii) of this section do not readily apply to the beneficiary's 
occupation, the petitioner may submit comparable evidence in order to establish the beneficiary's 
eligibility. 
The beneficiary in this matter is a 20-year old native and citizen of Ukraine. According to the evidence in the 
record, the beneficiary has resided in the United States since 1997, and is currently working for the petitioning 
organization, but no information was provided as to her current visa classification, if any. 
After a careful review of the record, it must be concluded that the petitioner has failed to overcome the 
grounds for denial of the petition. The record is insufficient to establish that the beneficiary is an alien with 
extraordinary ability in athletics. 
First, there is no evidence that the beneficiary has received an award equivalent to that listed at 8 C.F.R. fj 
214.2(0)(3)(iii)(A). Nor is the record persuasive in demonstrating that the beneficiary met at least three of the 
criteria at 8 C.F.R. 5 214.2(0)(3)(iii)(B). 
LIN 04 156 52532 
Page 4 
Documentation of the alien's receipt of nationally or internationally recognizedprizes or awards for excellence 
in theJield of endeavor. 
The petitioner provided Citizenship and Immigration Services (CIS) with copies of the beneficiary's awards with 
translations, as follows: 
1. Third place in the International Tournament in Figure Skating, Regional Federation of Figure skating.' 
2. First place in the regional competition in figure skating - junior ladies, sponsored by the Ukrainian 
National Committee of Physical Culture and Sports. (1994) 
3. First Prize in the All Ukrainian Championship - young ladies' individual figure skating (Kiev, 1995). 
4. First place in the First Odessa Regional Winter Games in Figure Skating - junior ladies' individual 
skating (Odessa, 1996). 
5. First place in the First Winter Games -junior ladies' program of master of sports nominee (Odessa, 
1996). 
6. First place during the Regional Championship among junior ladies, sponsored by the Specialized Youth 
Sports School of Olympic Fund on Figure Skating of the Odessa Regional Sports Committee (Odessa, 
1996). 
7. First place in the Championship of Ukraine -junior ladies, sponsored by the Specialized Youth Sports 
School of Olympic Fund on Figure Skating of the Odessa Regional Sports Committee (Odessa, 1996). 
8. First place in the First Winter Games -junior ladies, sponsored by the Specialized Youth Sports School 
of Olympic Fund on Figure Skating of the Odessa Regional Sports Committee (Odessa, 1996). 
9. Fii-st Place in the open regional championship -junior ladies. (Odessa, 1997) 
10. First place in the City Championship -junior ladies. (Odessa, 1997) 
11. Second place in the All Ukrainian Competition of young female figure skaters (Kiev, 1997). 
12. Second place during the regional championship -junior ladies, sponsored by the Odessa Regional Sports 
Committee. (Odessa, 1997) 
13. Third place in the Championship for the Cup of the Ukraine -junior ladies, sponsored by the specialized 
youth sports school of Olympic Fund on figure skating of the Odessa Regional Sports Committee 
(Odessa, 1997). 
1 No date or place of issue was evident on the award. 
LIN 04 156 52532 
Page 5 
The petitioner submitted the beneficiary's resume to CIS, which lists the following competitions: 
1998: Wissahickon Junior Nationals Qualifying Round, Cherry Blossom Junior Level. 
1996: National Junior Champion of Ukraine 
1995: Second Place on Warsaw European Criterium Competition. 
Second Place on Ukraine Champion. 
1994: First Place on Ukraine Champion. 
First Place on Krakov, Poland. 
1993 : First Place Petrenko International Award. 
Second Place on Ukraine Champion. 
First Place Brno European Criterium. 
Third Place Ceije Slovenia. 
First Place Warsaw European Criterium. 
1992: First Place Open Finland. 
The petitioner also submitted a letter written by her coach, Valentin Nikolayev, that states that the beneficiary has 
won fifteen gold, seven silver, and five bronze medals while skating at national and international competitions. 
In review, the petitioner has failed to establish the significance of these awards. It is further noted that the 
beneficiary has not won an award since 1998, approximately six years ago. An alien of extraordinary ability must 
demonstrate sustained acclaim. The petitioner failed to establish that the beneficiary has continuously won 
competitions. The beneficiary does not satis* this criterion. 
Documentation of the alien's membership in associations in the Jield for which classzjications sought, which 
require outstanding achievements of their members, as judged by recognized national or internati~nal expert in 
their disciplines or$elds. 
Initially, the petitioner did not submit evidence relating to this criterion. In respo 
additional evidence, the petitioner submitted to CIS an undated letter from 
President, Ukrainian Figure Skating Federation, which states that the beneficiary is "a leading skater of the 
National Ukrainian team in Figure Skating. Since 1997 she has been living in USA . . . with . . . her coach." The 
petitioner failed to submit evidence establishing that the National Ukrainian Figure Skating team requires 
outstanding achievements of their team members. The record contains scant evidence to establish that the 
beneficiary has skated as a member of the National Ukrainian Figure Skating team. The beneficiary does not 
satisfy this criterion. 
LIN 04 156 52532 
Page 6 
Published material in professional or major trade publications or major media about the alien, relating to the 
alien's work in theJield for which class$cation is sought, which shall include the title, date, and author of such 
published material, and any necessaiy translation. 
The petitioner submitted a partial translation of an article titled "The Figure Skaters from Odessa were Beyond 
Competition," published in the Verchernyaya Odessa newspaper on April 23, 1996. The petitioner failed to 
submit evidence of the newspaper's circulation so the AAO cannot determine whether the article was published 
in major media. 
The record also contains a copy of an advertisement for a news program, which features the beneficiary's picture 
adjacent to the following text: "What are your plans for the year 2002? This thirteen year old knows. It's a 
dream she works on everyday right here in Richmond. She's one of Ukraine's top prospects for the 2002 Winter 
Olympic Games in Salt Lake City." 
The record indicates that the beneficiary began skating at the age of 4 and began winning competitions at the age 
of 8. She is now 20-years old. The petitioner submitted scant media coverage of the beneficiary's skating career. 
This evidence is insufficient, without more, to establish eligibility for this restrictive visa classification, which 
requires extensive documentation of extraordinary achievement. The beneficiary does not satisfy this criterion. 
The documentation submitted in support ofa claim of extraordinary ability must clearly demonstrate that the alien 
has achieved sustained national or international acclaim and is one of the small percentage who has risen to the 
very top of the field of endeavor. Review of the record, however, does not establish that the petitioner has 
achieved sustained national or international acclaim or to be within the small percentage at the very top of the 
field of figure skating coaching. The evidence indicates that the petitioner earned national acclaim as a junior 
figure skater, but that she has not won any competitions in the past six years. While she entered the field of 
coaching so close to the filing date that there was simply no opportunity for the petitioner to establish any 
reputation as a coach, let alone earn sustained national or international acclaim. Therefore, the petitioner has not 
established eligibility pursuant to section 101(a)(15)(0)(i) of the Act and the petition may not be approved. 
The burden of proof in these proceedings rests solely with the petitioner. Section 29 1 of the Act, 8 U.S.C. 9 136 1. 
Here, the petitioner has not met that burden. 
ORDER: The appeal is dismissed.