dismissed O-1B Case: Hairstyling

U.S. Citizenship 
and Immigration 
Services 
MATTER OF A-, INC. 
Non-Precedent Decision of the 
. Administrative Appeals Office 
DATE: APR. 23, 2018 
APPEAL OF CALIFORNIA SERVICE CENTER DECISION 
PETITION: FORM I-129, PETITION FOR A NONIMMIGRANT WORKER 
The Petitioner, a hair salon, seeks to temporarily employ the Beneficiary as a hairstylist artist. It seeks 
to classify her as an 0-1 nonimmigrant, a visa classification available to foreign nationals who can 
demonstrate their extraordinary ability through sustained national or international acclaim and whose 
achievements have been recognized in the field through extensive documentation. See Immigration 
and Nationality Act (the Act) section !Ol(a)(15)(0)(i), 8 U.S.C. § 1101(a)(l5)(0)(i). 
The Director of the California Service Center denied the petition, concluding that the Petitioner did 
not satisfy, as required, the evidentiary criteria applicable to individuals of extraordinary ability in 
the arts: a significant national or international award or at least three of six possible forms of 
documentation. 8 C.F.R. § 214.2(o)(3)(iv)(A)-(B). 
On appeal, the Petitioner maintains that the decision was based upon an erroneous conclusion of law 
and fact and that the evidence satisfies the regulatory requirements. 
Upon de novo review, we will dismiss the appeal. 
I. LAW 
As relevant here, section 10l(a)(l5)(0)(i) of the Act establishes 0-1 classification for an individual 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. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) regulations define 
"extraordinary ability in the tield of arts" as "distinction," and "distinction" as "a high level of 
achievement in the field of arts evidenced by a degree of skill and recognition substantially above that 
ordinarily encountered to the extent that a person described as prominent is renowned, leading, or well­
known in the field of arts." 8 C.F.R. § 214.2(o)(3)(ii). 
Next DHS regulations set forth alternative initial evidentiary criteria for establishing a beneficiary's 
sustained acclaim and the recognition of achievements. A petitioner may submit evidence either of 
nomination for or receipt of "significant national or international awards or prizes" such as "an 
Academy Award, an Emmy, a Grammy, or a Director's Guild Award," or at least three of six listed 
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Marter of A-. Inc. 
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categorie s of documents. 8 C.F.R. § 214.2(o)(3)(iv)(A)-(B). If the petitioner demon strates that the 
listed criteria do not readily apply to the benefi ciary's occupation, it may sub mit compar able evidence 
to establish eligibility. 8 C.F .R. § 214.2(o)(iv)(C). ' 
The submission of docum ents satisfying the initi al evidentiary criteria doe s not, in and of itself, 
establish eligibility for 0 - 1 cla ssification. See 59 Fed. Reg. 41818, 4 1820 (Aug. 15, 1994)(" The 
evidence submitted by the petitioner is not the standard for the class ification , but mere ly the 
mechani sm to establish whether the standard has been met. "). Accordingly , where a peti tioner 
provide s qualif ying evidence sati sfying the initial evidentiar y criteri a, we will determine whether the 
totalit y of the record and the qualit y of the evidence shows ex traordi nary abilit y in the arts. See 
sec tion I 0 I (a)( 15)( o )(i) o f the Ac t and 8 C.F.R. § 214 .2( o )(3) (ii), (iv). 
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Further , the regulation at 8 C.F.R . § 214.2( o )(2)(ii) provides tha t petitions for 0 foreign nationa ls 
shall be acco mpanied by a written advisory opinion(s) from the appropriate consulting ent ity or 
entities. 
II. ANALYSIS 
A. Introducti on 
The Petition er is a hair salon that seeks to emplo y the Beneficiary as a hair stylist art ist for a period 
of three years. The record shows that the Benefic iary has been emplo yed as a hair desig ner 
special izing in styling and coloring at the Peti tion er's affiliate in Japan, From 
Decemb er 2004 until Mar ch 2016 , she was employed by in .I apan. 
B. The Bcneticiary's Eligibility under the Evid entiary Criteria 
The Petiti oner seeks to demonstrat e the Beneficiary's sustained acclai m and reco gmuon of 
ach ievemen ts through evidence co rrespon din g to at least thre e of the six regu latory criteria at 8 
C.F. R § 214.2 (o)(3)( iv)( B). The Director determ ined that the Peti tioner met the criter ia at 8 C.F.R 
§ 214.2(o) (3) (iv)( B)(5) (signifi cant recogn ition for achieve ments). On appeal , the Petitioner 
maintain
s that the evidenc e a lso meets the criteri a a t 8 C.F.R § 214.2(o)(3 )(iv)(B)(l), (2), (3), and 
( 4). We asse ss all five criteri a below and conclude the Beneficiary has not sati sfied any of them. 
1 See also Maller oJChm1•athe, 25 I&N Dec. 369,376 (AAO 2010) , in which we held that, "truth is to be dete nnined not 
by the quantity of evidence alone but by its qualit y." 
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Malter of A-. Inc. 
Evidence that the alien has pet:formed, and will perform. services as a lead or 
starring par ticipant in productions or events which have a distinguished reputation 
as evidenced by critica l reviews, advertisements. publicity releases. publications 
contracts. or endorsements. 8 C.F. R. § 214.2(o)(3)(iv)(B)(/) . 
The Petitioner submitted the Beneficiary 's resume , position descri ption, and hair styling portfolio; 
photographs of her with clients; and letters of recommendation. In the app eal brief, the Petitioner 
contends that it has "subm itted ample documentation clearly demo nstr ating the Beneficiary's 
participation as a lead and/or starrin g a nd/or criti cal role in multiple events." It also conten ds tha t 
the Director's decision "capr iciousl y" selected only · portion s of evidence exclu ding that which 
demonstrates that the Benefi ciary "will occ upy a lead or starring role in her field ." 
First, we note that this criterion doe s not require a Petitioner to demonstrate that a Ben eficiary will 
hold a lead or starr ing role in her field. Rath er, it requires evide nce that the Beneficiary has 
perform ed as a lead or starring part icipant in productions or events which have a di sting uished 
reputation. Further , this evide nce must be in the form of critic al rev iews , adve rtise ment s, publicit y 
relea ses, publications contract s, or endor sements. As explai ned below, we agree with the Director 
that the Peti tioner has not orte rcd sufficien t evi dence to satisfy this criterion. 
The record includes a letter from the chief executive officer of where the 
Beneficiary wa~ employ ed as a stylist from 2004 until 2016. notes that the Beneficiary 
worked full-time" as a hair sty list as well as performing hair sty ling services on behalf of the salon for 
spec ific productions and eve nts. For examp le, he states that the Beneficiary wo rked as a hair and 
make up artist for the departm ent store, , for its 2016 New Year 's poster and commercial 
shooti ng work and as a h airstylist for a TV report er's hair on a commerci al broadcast production. 
He also indicated that the Beneficia ry styled hair for photo shoots for the beauty magazine, 
and for the o pening ce remon y of the 
In addition, the President of a manufactur er of beauty and hair 
care products, attests that his com pany works clos ely with and that he became acquaint ed 
with the Beneficiary 's work wh ile serving as a supplier to the salon. He states that the Benefic iary 
was a "le ader" who " alwa ys had a considerable infl uence on the entire environ ment of her salo n due 
to her high skill s." He also remarks that experienced a 120% increase in sales volume in 
the last year that the Bencti ciary was there and he attributes this increase to her professionalism. He 
does not offer add itional evide nce or informat ion to support his stateme nts. 
The Petition er also contends. that the Beneficiary performed in a lead ing role for a professional 
support and teac hing netw ork in the salon industry, the CEO of 
explains that the co mpany uses approximately 500 instructors to provi de video training 
footage to stu dents in Japan and abroad. He indic ates that the Benefici ary was asked to appe ar in the 
compa ny's footage as an instructor where she earned the dist inction of h av ing the "best viewing 
rating." Simil ar ly, the chief art director of an advertising company, , states 
that he and the Beneficiary we re involv ed in a commercial shooting project for the department 
store adver tising campaign in Novembe r 20 15 shooting in 24 separa te locat ions over a three day 
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Maller of A-. Inc. 
period. l-Ie commends her professionalism stating that she "developed an awesome technique, 
profe ssiona l sense, and vital understan ding of how personality , phy sical details, and one's head 
shape must be viewed as one when styling a person's hair and makeup." 
The record also includ es a letter from o f Japan, statin g that his 
company held an event at the Petitioner's sa lon and the Beneficiar y was helpful in promoting 
the event on soc ial media and offe ring "great leaders hip" and "ex traordinary skilled contr ibution s," 
and the record includes photographs of the Beneficiary sty ling client's hair at this event. On appeal, 
the Petitioner. maintains that enjoy s a distinguished reputation. While we agree that the 
record corroborates the organi zatio n's reputati on, we find that the Petitioner has not provided 
sufficient ev idence that eit h~r the Beneficiary 's role in the event was lead or starring or 
that the even t enjoye d a distinguished reputati on as req uired und er this regu latory criterion. 
Overall , while the Petitioner submitted photog raphs, online informat ion, and other material s relating 
to the aforemen tioned project s in which the Beneficiary part icipated as a hair sty list, the 
documentation is not sufficient to demonstrate that she performed servifes as a lead or starr ing 
participant in productions or eve nts which have a distinguished rep utation as evidenced by critical 
review s, advert isements , publicity releases, publi cations contracts, or endorsement s. 
Furthermo re, in addition to her past position s, this criterion requ ires tha t the Beneficiary "will 
perform" services as a lead or starr ing particip ant in productions or events with a d istinguished 
reputation. On ap peal , the Petit ione r state s that "ev idence was submitted that the Beneficiary will 
perform as a lead role for the [Petit ioner]. " The posi tion descriptio n offered by the Petit ione r lists 
the respon sibilities associated with the Ben efic iary's position at the salon and disc usses the 
Petiti one r's business inten tions, it does not identify speciti c product ions or eve nts in which she will 
particip ate or offe r evidence that wo uld denote her role as leadin g or starrin g w ithin tho se upcom ing 
events , and demonstrate their di stinguished reput ation. Thus, the Petitioner has no t estab lished that 
the Beneficiary satisfi es the requireme nts of this evide ntiary criterion. 
Evidence that the alien has achieved national or international recognition .fhr 
achievemen ts evidenced by critical reviews or other publish ed materials by or about the 
individual in major newspapers. lrade journ als. magazines. or other publications. 
8 C.F .R. § 214.2(o)( 3)(iv)(B)(2) . 
We conclude that the Petiti oner has not established that the evidence meets the plain lan guage of this 
criterion. The Petitioner provide d an article from a magazin e 
While the Petitioner con tend s that this a rticle pert ains to the Beneficiary 's work, it is 
not accompanied by a certified English tran slation . See 8 C.F.R. § 103.2(b)(3). Because the record 
does not include a properl y certifie d English language tran slation · of the document , we cannot 
meaningfull y detennine whether the ·submitted materia l supports the Petitioner's claim s. Further, the 
magazin e's edi tor , provide s a letter in which he maintains that the Benetic iary 's 
work was dis played in the March 20 14 issue and that it "affected a lot of young people in .Japan." 
Howeve r, he also state s tha t the publication enjoy s a readership of 500 readers per mon th and that it 
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Maller of A-. Inc. 
is currently suspended. The Petitioner · does not offer evidence that this level of readership IS 
commensurate with a major publication. 
The Petitioner further avers that the Beneficiary meets this regulatory criterion through her 
appearance on a variety show called . amng on 
Television. general program director of TV program production for otTers a 
letter stating that the Beneficiary appeared on the program in December 20 II and March 20 12 when 
it featured a competition among hair salons and the Beneficiary's model won first place in both 
competitions. . states that is a "private local TV channel" and that the "au dience rating 
went up to 8% whereas its usual rate is 5 to 6% since it is broadcast at midnight. " Based upon her 
success, he contends that he otTered the Beneficiary a spot to appear as a commentator in the same 
project in hnuary 2013. also states that the Beneficiary appeared on a "morning regional 
infor mation show" for a project discussing what visitors to Asian countries do when they co me to 
The record include s s till shots purportedly of the tele vision program s with the Petitioner 
styling hair, but the Petitioner did not provide a transcript of the program and the one-sentence 
captions are not accompanied by certified translations. 2 Thus , we cannot meaningfully deter mine 
whether the translated material is accurate and supports the Petitioner's claims. Further, the 
Petitioner has not established how coverage on two episodes of a local television station broadcast is 
indicative of national or international recognition for achievements in the field ofhairstyling. 3 
Additionally , the record includes interviews appearing on the mobile application, . in which the 
Bene ticiary discusses her work as a sty list. The Petitioner also provides a screenshot of the 
Beneficiary 's profile page within the application indicating tha t it has recei ved 2 million views. The 
Petitioner has not shown that is a major newspaper, trade journal, magazine, or other publication 
or that this coverage or views of her profile page demonstrate national or international "recognition tor 
achievements." 
Finally, the Petitioner also contends that the Beneficiary's work appeared in hair cata logues s uch as 
and The Petition er has not shown that 
photographs in these catalogues featuring many different stylists' work are published material about 
the Beneficiar y or that they are indicative of her national or interna tional recogn ition , as required. 
Similarly, the record include s hair styling photographs from the magazine , along with a 
poster advertisement entitled but neither publication is about the Beneficiary or her work. 
Also, the record does not contain probative evidence showing that the publications noted above 
qualify as a major newspaper s, trade joumals, or other publications. 
2 See 8 C.F.R. § 103.2(b)(3). 
3 In response to the Director's RFE, the Petitioner maintains that the Beneficiary also meets the requirements of this 
criterion through her work in a commercial shooting project for the department store advertising campaign in 
November 2015. However, since this was an event in which the Beneficiary worked as a hairstylist and make-up artist 
and the coverage was not about her, it is appropriately discussed under 8 C.F.R. § 21:U( o)(3 )(iv)(B)(/), as we did above. 
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MatTer of A-. Inc. 
Evidence that the alien has pe1:(ormed. and will perform, in a lead, starring, or critical 
role .fhr organizations and eslablishmenls !hat have a disfinguished reputation 
evidenced by arlicles in newspapers. trade journals, publications. or testimonials. 
8 C.F.R. ~ 214.2(o)(3)(iv)(B)(J). 
To meet this criterion, the Petitioner cited the Beneficiary's past work for orga nizations including 
, and and submitted employment recommendation letters from 
representatives of those companies. Upon revie w, the evidence does not establish that the Beneficiary 
has held a lead or critic al role with respect to an organ ization or establishment , or t hat she will hold 
such role with the Petition er. 
While the Benefic iary has been able to provide hairstyling expertise within the companie s that have 
employed her , the evidence docs not establish that her role as a hairstyl ist was a lead or critical role 
for tho se companies as a whole . For example , praises the Beneficiary's 
abilities and professiona lism as hairstylist and hairstyling instructor notin g that she "mad e 
contribution s of continuing , ongoing , and advanced complexity to the work of my gro up." 
, noted that the Beneficiary provided "great leader ship" and 
"extraordinarily skilled contributions" to his company's event. The reco rd shows that she was 
assigned projects as part of her normal responsibiliti es, and achiev ed results that met or exceede d h er 
employer's expec~a tions. The focus of this criterion, based on the plain language of the regulation, 
is the Beneficiary's role itself. We conc ur with the Director that the document atio n does not 
establi sh the sig nificance of the Beneficia ry's role within the above companies to a degre e cons isten t 
with the meaning of"lcad , starring, or critical role." 
Further, the evidence docs not establish that the Beneficiary's prospective role with the· Petitioner 
would satisfy the requirement that she will be performing in a-lead, starring, or critical role for the 
organization. It has not offered information that would elucidate where her proposed position falls 
in the overall hierarch y of its organization or her proposed impact on the company. Finally, while 
on appeal, the Petitioner maintains that its organization has a distingui shed reputation , it does not 
provide document ation supporting that claim . 
Evidence thai the alien has a record <~(major commercial or critically acclaimed 
successes as eviden ced by such indicators as Iitle. rating, sranding in the field , box 
office receipts. mofion picture or television ratings, and orher occupational 
achievemenls reported in trade journals, major newspapers. or other publications . 
8 C.F.R. § 2 14.2(o)( 3)(iv)(B)(4). 
The Dire ctor determined that the Petitioner' s evi dence doe s not satisfy thi s evidentiary criterion. 
The Petiti oner did not provid e sufficient infonn ation or evidence to establi sh that the Beneficiary has 
achieved "major com mercial or critica lly accla imed success " in the hairdressing industry. 
offered evidence relating to the Beneficiary's earnings from March 2014 until March 2016 , stati ng that 
she generated the seco nd highest sales revenue in the salon, but it did not offer comparative statistics to 
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Ma/ler of A-. Inc. 
establish that earnings at this level constitute a record of major commercial success. Thu s, we agree 
with the Director that the Petitioner has not met the requirements of this criterion. 
Evidence thai the alien has received sign(ficant recognition for achievements ji-om 
organizations. crilics. government agencies , or other recognized 
experts in the field 
in which the alien is engaged. Such testimonials must b e in a form which clearly 
indicates the author's authority. expertise , and knowledge of the alien's 
achievemel1ls. 8 C.F.R. § 214.2(o)(3)(iv)(B)(5). 
As noted above , the Petitioner submitted numerous testimonial letters in support of the petition. The 
Director determined, without discussion , that the Petitioner met this criterion. We find, however, 
that the submitted testimonial s and other documentary evidence do not satisfy this criterion , and we 
will withdraw the Director' s favorable determination on this issue . 
The letters primarily discuss the Beneficiary's innate talent, work ethic, personal traits , and artistry 
rather than her achievements as a hairstylist. While some letters did address her spec ific achiev ements , 
such as her participation in marketing productions for or they do not explain how 
the Beneficiary 's achievements to date have received significant recognition from organizations, 
critics, government agencies or other recognized expert s in the field, nor has the Petitioner shown 
that the letters themselves constitute such recognition. 
Although many of the testimonials menti on the Beneficiary's winning of the competitiOn, 
as discussed above, the Petitioner has not corroborated the scope and significance of this competition 
in the field of hairstyling. It is the Petitioner's burden to establi sh the recognition that accrues from 
an awa rd. The testimonial letters do not meet this burden, nor has the Petitioner provided other 
documentation evidencing "significant recognition for achievements from organi zations in the field," 
pursuant to the plain language of the criterion. Overall , while the Beneficiary has earned the respec t 
of her colleagues and employers in the hairstyling field, the exhibits are insufficient to dem onstrate 
that she has received significant recognition for achievements in the field. 
Ill. CONCLUSION 
For the reasons discussed above, the Petitioner has not established that the Beneficiary is eligib le for the 
0-1 visa classification as a foreign national with extraordinary ability in the arts. 
ORDER: The appeal is dismissed. 
Cite as Matter of A-. Inc., ID# 1182901 (AAO Apr. 23, 2018) 
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