sustained EB-2 Case: Engineering Education

identifyingdatadeletedto
preventclearlyunwarranted
invasionofpersonalprivacy
PUBLICCOPY
U.S.Department of HomelandSecurity
U.S.CitizenshipandImmigrationServices
AdministrativeAppealsOffice (AAO)
20 MassachusettsAve., N.W., MS2090
Washington,DC 20529-2090
U.S.Citizenship
. and Immigration
Services
DATE:0CT1 3 2011 OFFICE:NEBRASKASERVICECENTER
IN RE: Petitioner:
Beneficiary:
PETITION: ImmigrantPetitionfor Alien Workerasa Memberof theProfessionsHoldinganAdvanced
Degreeor anAlien of ExceptionalAbility Pursuantto Section203(b)(2)of theImmigration
andNationalityAct, 8U.S.C.§ 1153(b)(2)
ONBEHALFOFPETITIONER:
INSTRUCTIONS:
Enclosedpleasefind the decisionof the AdministrativeAppealsOffice in your case. All of the documents
relatedto this matterhavebeenreturnedto theoffice thatoriginally decidedyourcase.Pleasebeadvisedthat
anyfurther inquiry thatyoumight haveconcerningyour casemustbemadeto thatoffice.
Thankyou,
PerryRhew
Chief,AdministrativeAppealsOffice
www.uscus.gov
Page2
DISCUSSION: The Director, NebraskaServiceCenter,deniedthe employment-basedimmigrant
visapetition,which is nowbeforetheAdministrativeAppealsOffice (AAO) on appeal.Theappeal
will besustained.Thepetitionwill beapproved.
The petitioneris a public university. It seeksto employ the beneficiarypermanentlyin the United
Statesasan assistantprofessorpursuantto section203(b)(2)of the ImmigrationandNationalityAct
(the Act), 8 U.S.C.§ 1153(b)(2). As requiredby statute,an ETA Form 9089, Application for
PermanentEmploymentCertification, which the U.S. Departmentof Labor (DOL) approved,
accompaniedthepetition. Uponreviewingthepetition,thedirectordeterminedthatthebeneficiary
did not meet the specifiedjob requirements. Specifically,the director determinedthat the
beneficiarydid notpossesstherequisiteeducationin therequisitefield.
On appeal,counselsubmittedabrief andadditionalevidenceregardingthebeneficiary'seducation.
The AAO will reversethe director's decision. On May 4, 2011,the AAO requestedadditional
evidence.Thepetitionerresponded.For thereasonsdiscussedbelow,theAAO concludesthatthe
beneficiarypossessestherequisiteeducationin oneof therequisitefields for theprofferedposition.
In pertinentpart, section203(b)(2)of the Act providesimmigrant classificationto membersof the
professionsholding advanceddegreesor their equivalentand whoseservicesare soughtby an
employerin theUnitedStates.An advanceddegreeis a U.S. academicor professionaldegreeor a
foreign equivalentdegreeabovethe baccalaureatelevel. 8 C.F.R. § 204.5(k)(2). The regulation
furtherstates:"A UnitedStatesbaccalaureatedegreeor a foreignequivalentdegreefollowed by at
leastfive yearsof progressiveexperiencein the specialtyshall be consideredthe equivalentof a
master'sdegree.If a doctoraldegreeis customarilyrequiredby thespecialty,thealienmusthavea
U.S.doctorateor aforeignequivalentdegree."Id.
The beneficiaryearneda Bachelorof Sciencedegreein electricalengineeringfrom
in humanresourceseducationfrom the in 2008.
Theissueis whetherthosecredentialsmeetthe specifiedjob requirements.
Becausethe beneficiary has a U.S. advanceddegree,he does qualify for preferencevisa
classificationasanadvanceddegreeprofessionalundersection203(b)(2)of theAct.
Qualificationsfor theJob Offered
Relying in part on Madanyv. Smith,696 F.2d 1008(D.C. Cir. 1983),the U.S. FederalCourt of
Appealsfor theNinth Circuit (NinthCircuit) stated:
[I]t appearsthat the DOL is responsibleonly for determiningthe availability of
suitableAmericanworkersfor a job andthe impactof alien employmentuponthe
domestic labor market. It does not appearthat the DOL's role extendsto
determiningif the alien is qualifiedfor thejob for which he seekssixth preference
status. Thatdeterminationappearsto be delegatedto the INS undersection204(b),
Page3
8 U.S.C. § 1154(b), as one of the determinationsincident to the INS's decision
whetherthealienis entitledto sixthpreferencestatus.
K.R.K.Irvine,Inc. v.Landon,699F.2d1006,1008(9thCir. 1983).Thecourtreliedon anamicusbrief
fromDOL thatstatedthefollowing:
The labor certification made by the Secretaryof Labor ... pursuantto section
212(a)[(5)]of the ... [Act] ... is bindingasto thefindingsof whetherthereareable,
willing, qualified,andavailableUnitedStatesworkersfor thejob offeredto thealien,
and whetheremploymentof the alien underthe termssetby the employerwould
adverselyaffect the wagesand working conditionsof similarly employedUnited
Statesworkers. Thelabor certification in no way indicatesthat the alien offered the
certifiedjob opportunity is qualified (or not qualified) to perform the duties of that
job.
(Emphasisadded.)Id. at1009.TheNinthCircuit,citingK.R.K.Irvine,Inc.,699F.2dat 1006,revisited
thisissue,stating:"The INS,therefore,maymakeadenovodeterminationof whetherthealienis in
factqualifiedto fill thecertifiedjob offer." TongatapuWoodcraftHawaii,Ltd. v. Feldman,736F.
2d 1305,1309(9'"Cir. 1984).SeealsoMatterof Wing'sTeaHouse,16I&N Dec.160(ActingReg'l
Comm'r 1977).
Thekey to determiningthejob qualificationsis foundon ETA Form9089PartH. This sectionof
the applicationfor alien employmentcertification,"Job OpportunityInformation," describesthe
termsandconditionsof thejob offered. It is importantthattheETA Form9089bereadasawhole.
Moreover, when determining whether a beneficiary is eligible for a preferenceimmigrant visa,
USCISmay not ignorea term of the alienemploymentcertification,nor may it imposeadditional
requirements.SeeMadany,696 F.2d at 1015. USCISmustexamine"the languageof the labor
certificationjob requirements"in orderto determinewhat thejob requires. Id. The only rational
mannerby which USCIScanbe expectedto interpretthe meaningof termsusedto describethe
requirementsof a job in an alien employmentcertification is to examinethe certifiedjob offer
exactlyas it is completedby the prospectiveemployer. SeeRosedaleLinden Park Companyv.
Smith,595F. Supp.829,833(D.D.C. 1984)(emphasisadded).USCIS'sinterpretationof thejob's
requirements,asstatedon the alienemploymentcertification mustinvolve readingandapplyingthe
plain languageof the alien employmentcertification application form. Seeid. at 834. USCIS
cannot and should not reasonablybe expectedto look beyond the plain languageof the alien
employmentcertification that DOL has formally issued or otherwise attempt to divine the
employer's intentions through some sort of reverse engineeringof the alien employment
certification.
In this matter,PartH, lines4 and7, of thealienemploymentcertificationreflectthata Ph.D.degree
in engineeringeducation,engineering,or a "closely relatedfield" and a master'sdegreeand/or
bachelor'sdegreein electricalengineeringis the minimum level of educationrequired. Line 6
reflectsthatno experiencein theprofferedpositionis required. Line 8 reflectsthatno combination
Page4
of educationor experienceis acceptablein the alternative. Line 9 reflectsthat a foreign educational
equivalentis acceptable.
As statedabove,thebeneficiaryearneda Bachelorof Sciencedegreein electricalengineeringfrom
degreein electrical engineerin from the
in humanresourceseducationfrom the
In his November23, 2010decision,the directorconcludedthat the beneficiarydoesnot meetthe
requirementssetforth on thelaborcertificationbecausethebeneficiarypossessesa Ph.D.degreein
humanresourceseducationwhile thealienemploymentcertificationrequiresa Ph.D.in engineering
education,engineering,or acloselyrelatedfield.
On appeal,counselassertedthatthebeneficiary'sPh.D.degreein humanresourceseducationis in a
closelyrelatedfield to engineeringeducation. On May 4, 2011,the AAO issueda requestfor
evidence(RFE)askingfor informationregardinghow thepetitionerhadexpressedits intentfor the
parametersof acloselyrelatedfield to theDOL duringthealienemploymentcertificationprocessing
period. OnMay 13,2011,theAAO receivedthepetitioner'sresponseto theRFE.
The petitioner's responsedemonstratedthat the DOL had actually auditedthe underlyingalien
employmentcertificationon November6, 2009,seekingthe petitioner'sintent with the above
aforementionedissue. In responseto the DOL's audit notification,the petitionerhad submitted
variousmaterials,which thepetitionerincludeswith its submissionto theAAO in responseto the
AAO's RFE. Thesematerialsincludedthe petitioner's posting notices,advertisementsfor the
profferedposition, and prevailing wagedocumentationas well as informationdemonstratingthe
beneficiary'seducationalqualifications.
On appeal,the petitioner had submitteda copy of the beneficiary'sdissertationentitled
from
This letter statesin pertinentpart that:
BecauseEngineeringand TechnologyEducationis a relatively new academic
field, most university faculty in the United Stateswho teach in the field of
EngineeringEducationdo nothavedoctoratesin EngineeringEducation.Instead,
many of them have degreesin educational psychology, human resource
development,or technologyeducation.. . .
While therearecurrentlyonly a few programsnationallythat offer a Doctorate
that is specificallyentitled"EngineeringEducation"(i.e.,
, other programssuchas ours focus on
engineeringeducation through our Doctoral program in Human Resource
Page5
Education. Within this degreeis an emphasisin technologyeducationin K-12
schoolsandperformanceimprovementin engineeringand technicalsettingsin
corporateenvironments.As such, we offer a doctorate in Human Resource
Education for doctoral students who wish to specializein the filed of
Engineeringand TechnologyEducationupon their graduation.
(Emphasisin original.) TheAAO findsthefactthatonlythreeuniversitiesin theUnitedStatesoffer
Ph.D.programsin engineeringeducationto be probativeevidencethat an individual may needto
havea Ph.D.in a relatedfield in orderto be qualifiedfor theprofferedposition. Thepetitioneralso
submitteda certificatedemonstratingthat the AmericanSocietyfor EngineeringEducationgavethe
beneficiaryan awardfor his recentresearchin 2009,work thatappearsto build on his dissertation
work.
Thematerialsthatthepetitionerhadsubmittedto theDOL in responseto theaudit(andto theAAO
in responseto theAAO's RFE)hadalsoincludedanoriginalrecruitmentletterdatedNovember13,
2009from
. He speci y state at e petitionerin or a c y
related as iste on e a ien employmentcertificationto includehumanresourceseducation.
furtherstates:
[The beneficiary's] doctorate in Human ResourcesEducation satisfies the
requirementof beinga closelyrelatedfield to EngineeringEducationbecausehehas
beentrained in cognitive sciencesand pedagogy,both of which are essentialto
teachingengineeringcoursesanddoingengineeringeducationresearch.I notethat
[thebeneficiar 's] doctoraldissertationentitled
The professorfurther assertsthat only sevenindividuals in the world possessa Ph.D. in this
relativelynewfield of studyof engineeringeducation. recruitmentletterdemonstrates
that, during the underlyingalien employmentcertificationapplicationprocess,the petitionerhad
explicitly andspecificallyexpressedits intentto includehumanresourceseducationasoneof the
closely related fields to the engineeringeducationrequirementstatedon the DOL certified alien
employmentcertification. The AAO also finds that the topic of the beneficiary's doctoral
dissertationdemonstratesthatthebeneficiary'sstudieswerefocusedon engineeringeducation. At a
minimum, the beneficiary'sPh.D. in humanresourceseducation,which built upon his Bachelorof
SciencedegreeandMasterof Sciencedegreein electricalengineering,appearsto be a relatedfield
to engineeringeducation.
On September26,2011,counseladditionallysubmittedinformationto theAAO demonstratingthat
theNationalScienceFoundation's(NSF)Division of EngineeringEducationandCentersrecently
awardedthebeneficiarya careergrantin orderto engagein an engineeringeducation
Page6
researchproject to understandthe connection between students' metacognition and how they
developtheirabilitiesin engineeringdesign.
TheAAO finds that the petitionerhasestablishedthatthe beneficiary'sparticularPh.D.degreein
humanresourceseducationfocusedon a closelyrelatedfield to engineeringeducationandthatthe
beneficiarymeetsthe educationalrequirementsset forth on the alien employmentcertification.
Thus,asof thepetition's priority dateof December31, 2008,thebeneficiarywasqualifiedfor the
profferedpositionof assistantprofessor.
Thebeneficiarydoeshavea U.S.Ph.D.degree. Thus,thebeneficiarydoesqualify for preference
visaclassificationundersection203(b)(2)of theAct. In addition,thebeneficiarydoesmeetthejob
requirementson the alien employment certification. For these reasons,the petition may be
approved.
Theburdenof proof in theseproceedingsrestssolelywith the petitioner. Section291 of theAct,
8 U.S.C.§ 1361.Thepetitionerhasmetthatburden.
ORDER: Theappealis sustained.Thepetitionis approved.