O-1A AAO Appeal Outcomes

Last updated 2026-09-02

The AAO dismissed 91.6% of 286 published O-1A non-precedent appeals from 2001 to 2025 (sustained: 1.7%, remanded: 6.6%).

Outcome Trend by Year

Year	Dismissed	Sustained	Remanded	Total
2025	2 (—)	0	0	2
2024	11 (—)	0	1	12
2023	10 (—)	0	2	12
2022	9 (—)	0	1	10
2021	18 (—)	0	0	18
2020	5 (—)	0	0	5
2018	5 (—)	0	0	5
2017	8 (—)	0	0	8
2016	3 (—)	0	0	3
2015	11 (—)	0	1	12
2014	15 (—)	0	0	15
2013	11 (—)	0	1	12
2012	7 (—)	0	0	7
2011	12 (—)	1	3	16
2010	17 (—)	2	0	19
2009	7 (—)	1	1	9
2008	5 (—)	0	0	5
2007	17 (—)	0	0	17
2006	19 (90.5%)	1	1	21
2005	23 (92.0%)	0	2	25
2004	7 (—)	0	0	7
2003	4 (—)	0	0	4
2001	1 (—)	0	0	1

Top Fields

Athletics74 appealsDismissed: 93.2% Business & Entrepreneurship41 appealsDismissed: 87.8%

Other33 appealsDismissed: 84.8%

Martial Arts32 appealsDismissed: 87.5% Medicine22 appealsDismissed: 95.5%

Gymnastics17 appealsDismissed: —

Engineering14 appealsDismissed: —

Biology & Life Sciences11 appealsDismissed: —

Performing Arts9 appealsDismissed: —

Software Engineering6 appealsDismissed: —

Education4 appealsDismissed: —

Fashion & Design3 appealsDismissed: —

Biomedical Research3 appealsDismissed: —

Physical Therapy2 appealsDismissed: —

Finance & Accounting2 appealsDismissed: —

Criteria Frequency (Dismissed vs. Sustained)

Dismissed Sustained

Awards or prizes

218

Membership in associations

122

Published material

Judging

Sustained acclaim/extraordinary ability

Original contributions

Leading or critical role

High salary or remuneration

Authorship of scholarly articles

Significant recognition

Procedural/filing

Sample: published AAO non-precedent decisions collected from uscis.gov, 2001–2025. These are appeals, not all USCIS adjudications; approval rates here are not initial-filing approval rates. Read our full methodology.

Filing your own O-1A? See how your CV maps to the criteria — free strategy preview.
Get Your Free Strategy Preview →