Opinion ID: 1302728
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Authorship of Scholarly Articles in the Field of Endeavor

Text: Pursuant to 8 C.F.R. § 204.5(h)(3)(vi), Kazarian submitted proof of his six articles in Astrophysics and his e-print in the Los Alamos National Laboratory archives, but did not demonstrate that other scholars had cited to his publications. The AAO held that without evidence of such citations, Kazarian's articles did not meet the regulatory definition of evidence, because publication of scholarly articles is not automatically evidence of sustained acclaim and we must consider the research community's reaction to these articles. The AAO's conclusion rests on an improper understanding of 8 C.F.R. § 204.5(h)(3)(vi). Nothing in that provision requires a petitioner to demonstrate the research community's reaction to his published articles before those articles can be considered as evidence, and neither USCIS nor an AAO may unilaterally impose novel substantive or evidentiary requirements beyond those set forth at 8 C.F.R. § 204.5. Love Korean Church v. Chertoff, 549 F.3d 749, 758 (9th Cir.2008). While other authors' citations (or a lack thereof) might be relevant to the final merits determination of whether a petitioner is at the very top of his or her field of endeavor, they are not relevant to the antecedent procedural question of whether the petitioner has provided at least three types of evidence. 8 C.F.R. § 204.5(h)(3). If the agency intended to impose [peer citations] as a threshold requirement, we have little doubt that such records would have been included among the detailed substantive and evidentiary requirements set forth at 8 C.F.R. § 204.5[ (h)(3)(i)-(x) ]. Love Korean Church, 549 F.3d at 758.