O-1 / O-2 / O-3 · Approval statistics
Individual with extraordinary ability or achievement
Official USCIS statistics
OfficialDecision approval rate · FY2025
93.9%
Approved 29,733 · Denied 1,948
▼ 0.6 pts vs. same period a year earlier (FY2024: 94.5%)
Approved ÷ (approved + denied) in the same period. Pending cases are not counted. Decisions in a quarter can come from petitions filed earlier, so this is the share of decisions that were approvals — not the chance that a petition filed today will be approved.
Source: Nonimmigrant Worker Petitions by Case Status and Request for Evidence (RFE) (Fiscal Year 2024, Quarter 4) · Published Dec 16, 2024 · Retrieved Sep 27, 2026
Source: Nonimmigrant Worker Petitions by Case Status and Request for Evidence (RFE) (Fiscal Year 2025, Quarter 4) · Published Mar 24, 2026 · Retrieved Sep 27, 2026
O-1 / O-2 / O-3 by fiscal year (official)
Official| Period | Received | Approved | Denied | Decision approval rate |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| FY2025 | 33,808 | 29,733 | 1,948 | 93.9% |
| FY2024 | 29,672 | 26,535 | 1,558 | 94.5% |
| FY2023 | 27,898 | 26,425 | 1,927 | 93.2% |
| FY2022 | 28,195 | 26,291 | 1,497 | 94.6% |
| FY2021 | 20,674 | 19,329 | 1,822 | 91.4% |
| FY2020 | 22,304 | 19,903 | 2,280 | 89.7% |
| FY2019 | 26,511 | 23,084 | 2,336 | 90.8% |
| FY2018 | 25,202 | 22,736 | 1,767 | 92.8% |
| FY2017 | 24,294 | 24,175 | 1,515 | 94.1% |
Source: Nonimmigrant Worker Petitions by Case Status and Request for Evidence (RFE) (Fiscal Year 2024, Quarter 4) · Retrieved Sep 27, 2026
Source: Nonimmigrant Worker Petitions by Case Status and Request for Evidence (RFE) (Fiscal Year 2025, Quarter 4) · Retrieved Sep 27, 2026
Recent AAO decisions
OfficialAAO decisions only include cases that were denied and then appealed. They show why some petitions fail — they are not an approval rate.
No AAO decisions ingested for this category yet.
This information is for general informational purposes and is not legal advice. It does not create an attorney-client relationship and does not predict the outcome of any individual case.