DUNOAN

11 I. & N. Dec. 909

• Court: Board of Immigration Appeals
• Decided: July 1, 1966
• Docket: 1672
• Status: Published

Opinion

Interim Decision #1672

MATTER or DUZIOAN In Visa Petition Proceedings A-8848289 ' . Decided by Diatrict Director' Decemer 6, 1866 . . • .. A lecturer who has traveled extensively and has been lecturing on her travels since 1951, whose lectures have received widespread acclaim, and who has written a book and several magazine articles on her travels, is a person of exceptional ability in the arts who will benefit prospectively the cultural interests of *the United States and, therefore, is eligible for preference classification, as ,a lecturer, under section 203(a) (3) of the Immigration and Nationality Act,.as'ainefided' by P.L:'89-236,.'

Discussion: The beneficiary was born March 21, 1928,• in Mel- bourne, Australia, and is a citizen .of that country. She. was last admitted into the United States at . New York New York, on Sep- tember 10, 1263, under the provisions of section 101(a) (15) (B) of the linmigration and Nationality Act and is presently in Washing- ton, •.C. She is a widely acclaimed lecturer who bases her travel monologues upon a vast reservoir of experiences accumulated through extensive travels in Australia, Africa, the Middle .East, and Asia.. The -beneficiary,: on June-28, 1966, filed a petition in Washington, D.0„ under section 203 (a) (3) of the Act to, accord herself third. pre- ere'ace ,classification based upon .ber exceptional ability in the arts as a lecturer,. ,-Seetion 203(a) (3) of the ..A.ct provides thatIvisas shall be made available "to qualified immigrants who are members of the pro- fessions,, or :who .becanse of their 'exceptional ability the sciences .or . .the patio:* economy; thearswil'ubnyeftproscivl cultural interests, or ivelfare of the United States". In support of her application, the beppficiary has Aupplitted two categories of independen•evidence regarding her claim to exceptional ability in the 'arts. The first' consists of letters in her 'behalf from diverse philanthropic, religious; social, 'Ind cultural organizations. Among these are the Thomas A. Dooley Foundation, Inc., the South- ern School Assemblies Agency, the NatiOnal School Aisemblies Agency, the 'Cosmos Club (Wrishington, D.C.), and the School As- sembly Service, Inc. The second category consists of numerous news- paper reviews regarding her performance as a lecturer. All of this

909 Interim Decision #1672 malarial, without exception, is of a highly favorable nature. Invari- ably, the adjectives used to describe the impact upon her diverse audiences are "fascinating", "delightful", "interesting", and the like. She Is personally described as intelligent, enthusiastic, and with a "natural sense of humor". Her audiences are said to listen with "rapt interest" and are "spellbound.". It is estimated by one school agency alone that she has lectured to one quarter of a million stu- dents for that agency. A review of the record shows that she has been engaged in lecturing since approximately 1951 and that this is her primary occupation. It is evident from the critics' reviews and from statements by her employers that the beneficiary is able to impart to her audiences a good share of the personal enthusiasm she has in her work. She has earned widespread acclaim for the uniform excellence of her per- formances and by her recognized ability to capture and hold her audiences as she relates of her experiences in many far of lands. The beneficiary has also authored a book titled. "Two Wheels to Adventure" (George G. Harrap, Publishers, London, England, 1957, 222 pages). It is based upon her travels in Australia. Several mag- azine articles of the type found in newspapers' Sunday magazine sec- tions have been published. She also claims to have completed two years of study at Melbourne University. ' Section 212(a) (14) of the Immigration and Nationality Act pro- vides that preference immigrant aliens described in section 208(a) (3) of that Act, among others, are ineligible for issuance of immi- grant visas and for admission to the United States unless the Secre- tary of Labor has first issued a certification to the effect that qualified workers are not available in the United States and that the employ- ment of such aliens will not adversely affect the wages and working conditions of persons in the United States similarly employed. Un- der Part 204.2(f), Title 8, Code of Federal Regulations, a visa peti- tion to accord an alien third preference classification may not be approved until such certification has been issued. 111 the instant case, . the required. certification was issued by the Department of Labor on April 22, 1966. Upon careful consideration of the entire record, it is found that the beneficiary, as a lecturer, possesses exceptional ability in the arts which will substantially benefit prospectively the cultural interests of the United States. She is therefore qualified for preference classifi- cation under section 203(a) (3) of the Immigration and Nationality Act, as amended. Accordingly, the petition will- be approved. ORDER: It is ordered that the petition be and the same is hereby approved. 010