sustained EB-1B Case: Academics

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U.S. Department of Homeland Security 
20 Mass. Ave., N.W., Rm. A3042 
Washington, DC 20529 
U. S. Citizenship 
and Immigration 
FILE: Office: NEBRASKA SERVICE CENTER Date: DEC (P 2 2005 
LIN 04 055 50734 
IN RE: Petitioner: UNWERSITY OF NOTRE DAME DU LAC 
Beneficiary: 
PETITION: Immigrant Petition for Alien Worker as Outstanding Professor or Researcher Pursuant to 
Section 203(b)(l)(B) of the Immigration and Nationality Act, 8 U.S.C. 9 1153(b)(l)(B) 
ON BEHALF OF PETITIONER: 
SELF-REPRESENTED 
INSTRUCTIONS: 
This is the decision of the Administrative Appeals Office in your case. All documents have been returned to 
the office that originally decided your case. Any further inquiry must be made to that office. 
u 
Robert P. Wiemann, Director 
Administrative Appeals Office 
Page 2 
DISCUSSION: The employment-based immigrant visa petition was denied by the Director, Nebraska Service 
Center, and is now before the Administrative Appeals Office on appeal. The appeal will be sustained and the 
petition will be approved. 
The petitioner is a university. It seeks to classifL the beneficiary as an outstanding professor pursuant to section 
203(b)(l)(B) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (the Act), 8 U.S.C. § 1153(b)(l)(B). The petitioner seeks 
to employ the beneficiary in the United States as an assistant professor. The director determined that the 
petitioner had not established that it had offered the beneficiary a tenure-track job as of the date of filing. On 
appeal, the petitioner submits a statement. 
Section 203(b) of the Act states, in pertinent part, that: 
(1) Priority Workers. -- Visas shall first be made available . . . to qualified immigrants who are aliens 
described in any of the following subparagraphs (A) through (C): 
(B) Outstanding Professors and Researchers. -- An alien is described in this subparagraph if -- 
(i) the alien is recognized internationally as outstanding in a specific academic 
area, 
(ii) the alien has at least 3 years of experience in teaching or research in the 
academic area, and 
(iii) the alien seeks to enter the United States -- 
(I) for a tenured position (or tenure-track position) with a university 
or institution of higher education to teach in the academic area, 
( for a comparable position with a university or institution of higher 
education to conduct research in the area, or 
(m) for a comparable position to conduct research in the area with a 
department, division, or institute of a private employer, if the 
department, division, or institute employs at least 3 persons full-time in 
research activities and has achieved documented accomplishments in an 
academic field. 
The regulation at 8 C.F.R. fj 204.5(i)(3)(iii) provides that a petition must be accompanied by: 
An offer of employment from a prospective United States employer. A labor certification is not 
required for this classification. The offer of employment shall be in the form of a letter from: 
(A) A United States university or institution of higher learning offering the alien a 
tenured or tenure-track teaching position in the alien's academic field; 
(B) A United States university or institution of higher learning offering the alien a 
permanent research position in the alien's academic field; or 
(C) A department, division, or institute of a private employer offering the alien a 
permanent research position in the alien's academic field. The department, division, or 
institute must demonstrate that it employs at least three persons full-time in research 
positions, and that it has achieved documented accomplishments in an academic field. 
The failure in the regulations to require a job offer "addressed to the beneficiary" does not imply that a letter 
to the director can be considered a job offer. Such language would be redundant as an offer can only be 
made to an offeree.' 
The regulation at 8 C.F.R. 204.5(i)(2), provides, in pertinent part: 
Permanent, in reference to a research position, means either tenured, tenure track, or for a term 
of indefinite or unlimited duration, and in which the employee will ordinarily have an 
expectation of continued employment unless there is good cause for termination. 
On Part 6 of the petition, the petitioner indicated that the proposed employment was a permanent position. The 
petitioner submitted a "Faculty Contract for Assistant Professors" signed by the beneficiary and the petitioner's 
president on February 14, 2001 and a May 3, 2003 salary notification. The contract does not address whether 
the position is tenure-track or not and limits the term to three years. If the petitioner intends not to renew the 
contract, however, it must provide the beneficiary with twelve-months notice. On February 9,2005, the director 
requested evidence that the petitioner had extended a permanent job offer to the beneficiary. 
In response, the petitioner submitted a January 19,2001 letter from-1- 
The letter advises the beneficiary that Professor is 
recommending to the Provost that the beneficiary be offered a tenure-track assistant professorship. 
The director denied the petition, concluding that the contract was for a specified term and did not indicate that 
the position was tenure or tenure-track. The director further concluded that the letter from Professor was 
not an offer as it indicates that only the Provost can issue such an offer. The director concluded that the record 
lacked evidence that the Provost had accepted the recommendation to offer the beneficiary a tenure-track 
position. 
assistant professor positions are tenure-track and that after the Chair of the department issues a job offer letter 
and it is accepted, the Provost's office executes the contract with the employee. 
ALM's online law dictionary, available at www.law.com, defines offer as "a specific proposal to enter into an 
agreement with another. An offer is essential to the formation of an enforceable contract. An offer and acceptance of the 
offer creates the contract." Significantly, the same dictionary defines offeree as "a person or entity to whom an offer to 
enter into a contract is made by another (the offeror)," and offeror as "a person or entity who makes a specific proposal 
to another (the offeree) to enter into a contract." (Emphasis added.) 
Page 4 
We find the assertions on appeal persuasive. In response to the director's request for additional evidence, the 
petitioner submitted the initial evidence required by the regulations, a job offer. While the offer was subject to 
the final approval of the Provost, the petitioner submitted evidence of that approval in the form of an executed 
contract for the exact job position referenced in professor letter. Unlike "permanent," "tenure-track" is 
not defined in the regulations. As such, we will accept the petitioner's definition of which positions constitute 
tenure track. Ms. has satisfactorily established that assistant professor positions at the petitioning 
university are tenure-track positions. While the contract is for a term of three years, the requirement for an 
unlimited or indefinite term only applies to research positions. The record satisfactorily establishes that the 
petitioner hired the beneficiary as a tenure-track assistant professor. Thus, the petitioner has established that it 
has offered the beneficiary a qualifling job. 
The burden of proof in these proceedings rests solely with the petitioner. Section 291 of the Act, 8 U.S.C. 
8 1361. The petitioner has met that burden. Accordingly, the appeal will be sustained and the petition will be 
approved. 
ORDER: The appeal is sustained and the petition is approved.