In your initial filing, you submitted a letter from Syed Rasel, Bangladeshi cricket team. The letter asserted, "The beneficiary made his professional debut in 2007...He has played 13 matches in first class cricket and scored 479 runs. In list A cricket, he has played 17 matches and has scored 467 runs...The beneficiary has the potential and talent to help his team win several matches. He will be an integral part of the cricket team he joins, and will steer them to victory in all possible ways.
You submitted a letter from Paras Khadka, Nepalese cricket player that asserted, "The beneficiary is an Indian List A cricketer. He has had an exceptional career in first-class and has represented Gujarat in many domestic cricket tournaments. He has made many matches winning performances that have helped the different teams he has been part of to get titles...Similarly, he has played a major part in helping his team win matches."
You submitted an excerpt from a letter from Imrul Kayes, Bangladeshi cricketer that asserted, "Given his impressive performances, the beneficiary has been covered by a wide range of organizations like Khaleejtimes, ESPN Cricinfo, myRepublica, Cricket Graph, the Himalayans, and others. He has brought a lot of victories and fame to the teams he has represented and his country. The actual letter was not submitted as evidence.
You submitted an excerpt from a letter from Ricardo Powell, Jamaican cricketer that asserted, "The beneficiary has won many tournaments for his team. He is an exceptionally skilled batsman who has remained unbeaten and scored more runs through boundaries. His last over sixes and fours have won him and his team quite a few tournaments. His achievements have been discussed extensively in newspapers and other media organizations." The actual letter was not submitted as evidence.
However, these letters could have described how the beneficiary is internationally recognized. They only described his cricket career, including things such as how many games he has played, and how many runs he has scored. Further, you submitted their Wikipedia.com pages to show that the authors are considered recognized experts. Please note, evidence originating from Wikipedia.com webpages is not found to be reliable, absent additional supporting documentation. This is mainly because any individual who wishes to sign up, create an account, write, post, edit, and/or upload contents to these webpages may do so, regardless of his or her expertise or qualifications in a given field. Therefore, without supporting documentation, screenshots or other information originating from Wikipedia is insufficient.
In your response, you submitted a letter from Anand Patel, President Washington Cricket League. The letter asserted, "The beneficiary has also been a consistent top performer for Dhangadi Premier League, where his team won the championship title. The beneficiary was the highest runscorer between both the teams...Given his experience playing and winning so many high profile tournaments, his addition to Major League and Minor League will greatly boost the respective teams. Moreover, he will be a great role model and coach for the aspiring youth cricketers, including the U-19 boys, specially given his cricket coaching experience with kids back in India."
The submitted letter does not describe how the beneficiary or the team he played on is internationally recognized. Further, you have not submitted any supporting evidence to show that the author of the letter is considered a recognized expert.
You have not submitted a written statement from a member of the sports media or a recognized expert in the sport which details how the beneficiary or team is internationally recognized. Accordingly, you have not established that the beneficiary meets this criterion.
USCIS erred in response regarding significant awards for the beneficiary
The evidence you submitted is insufficient. In your initial filing, you submitted documentation to include an award to show that the beneficiary was a West Zone Cricket Team member which won the Vijay Hazare Trophy in 2003-2004. Further, the petitioner's letter of support asserted, "The Vijay Hazare Trophy also known as the Ranji One-Day Trophy, was started in 2002-2003 as a limited-overs cricket domestic competition involving state teams." However, this award appears to be a domestic award. You have not provided sufficient documentation to show that the award would be considered significant in the sport of cricket, and not just local to one area. You reference a decision in First Round Management. v. Alejandro Mayorkas, Ur Mendoza Jaddou, and Donna Campagnolo as supporting the facts of this case. The holdings of U.S. district courts are binding upon the parties in that particular case or controversy, but do not bind USCIS in other cases, even those arising in the same district. That said, the reasoning underlying a district judge's decision will be given due consideration when submitted, along with the evidence of record.
