sustained EB-2 Case: Information Technology

U.S. Citizenship 
and Immigration 
Services 
MATTER OF A-C-S-, INC. 
Non-Precedent Decision of the 
Administrative Appeals Office 
DATE: MAY24,2017 
APPEAL OF NEBRASKA SERVICE CENTER DECISION 
PETITION: FORM I-140, IMMIGRANT PETITION FOR ALIEN WORKER 
The Petitioner, an information technology business, seeks to employ the Beneficiary as a "Software 
Consultant II." It requests classification of the Beneficiary as a member of the professions holding an 
advanced degree under the second preference immigrant classification. See Immigration and 
Nationality Act (the Act) section 203(b )(2), 8 U.S.C. § 1153(b )(2). This employment-based "EB-2" 
classification allows a U.S. employer to sponsor a professional with an advanced degree for lawful 
permanent resident status. A bachelor's degree alone does not qualify as an "advanced degree," but a 
bachelor's degree and an additional five years of post-baccalaureate progressive experience will suffice 
for EB-2 classification purposes. 
The Director of the Nebraska Service Center denied the petition, concluding that, based on the 
issuance date of the Beneficiary's bachelor's degree diploma, the Beneficiary could not show, as 
required, a minimum of five years of post-baccalaureate experience to establish that he possesses the 
equivalent of an advanced degree. 
On appeal, the Petitioner asserts that the Beneficiary's post-baccalaureate experience should be 
measured from the time he received a provisional certificate demonstrating his degree was complete 
and approved and not from when the diploma itself was later issued. 
Upon de novo review, we will sustain the appeal. 
I. LAW 
Employment-based immigration generally follows a three-step process. First, an employer must 
obtain an approved labor certification from the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL). 1 See section 
212(a)(5)(A)(i) of the Act, 8 U.S.C. § 1182(a)(5)(A)(i). By approving the labor certification, the 
DOL certifies that there are insufficient U.S. workers who are able, willing, qualified, and available 
for the offered position and that employing a foreign national in the position will not adversely affect 
1 
The date the labor certification is filed, in cases such as this one, is called the "priority date." A beneficiary must be 
eligible as of that date, and so in this case the Beneficiary must have had the five years' requisite experience by the date 
the labor certification was filed. 
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Matter of A-C-S-, Inc. 
the wages and working conditions of domestic workers similarly employed. Section 
212(a)(5)(A)(i)(I)-(II) of the Act. Second, the employer may file an immigrant visa petition with 
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS). See section 204 of the Act, 8 U.S.C. § 1154. 
Third, if USCIS approves the petition, the foreign national may apply for an immigrant visa abroad 
or, if eligible, adjustment of status in the United States. See section 245 of the Act, 8 U.S.C. § 1255. 
For this advanced degree professional position, the labor certification must provide that the job 
requires an advanced degree or its equivalent. See 8 C.F.R. § 204.5(k)( 4)(i). In pertinent part, 
Department of Homeland Security regulations define the term "advanced degree" as: "[A ]ny United 
States academic or professional degree or a foreign equivalent degree above that of baccalaureate. A 
United States baccalaureate degree or a foreign equivalent degree followed by at leastfive years of 
progressive experience in the specialty shall be considered the equivalent of a master's degree." 
8 C.F.R. § 204.5(k)(2) (emphasis added). To be eligible for this EB-2 classification solely on the 
basis of a foreign degree equivalent of a U.S. bachelor's degree, a beneficiary must also possess five 
years of qualifying post-baccalaureate experience. 8 C.F.R. § 204.5(k)(3). 
II. ANALYSIS 
The Beneficiary possesses a master's degree in applied mathematics from 
in India. The record establishes that this degree is equivalent to a U.S. bachelor's degree and 
that the Beneficiary's post-degree experience qualifies as progressive experience. The only question is 
when the university conferred the "degree" to the Beneficiary. At issue here is whether the 
Beneficiary's five years of experience is only measured from when he received the formal diploma 
itself, or earlier, when he completed all the requirements for the degree and received what is 
commonly termed a provisional cert~ficate reflecting that his degree was approved. We conclude 
that, based on the specific circumstances and evidence in this case, the provisional certificate 
constitutes the official academic record of his "degree" for purposes of calculating the five-year 
period of post-graduate experience. 
Several dates are important to this case. The Beneficiary's pnonty date (the date the labor 
certification was filed) is September 15, 2015. The university issued him a provisional certificate on 
May 24, 2003, but he did not receive his formal degree diploma until June 2010. The record contains 
evidence ofthe Beneficiary's employment experience with two different employers from August 2006 
to April2014, a period of over five years.· However, the Director held that only experience gained after 
the diploma was issued in June 2010 could be considered and accordingly found that the Beneficiary 
does not have the required five years of post-baccalaureate experience. On appeal, the Petitioner 
maintains that the Beneficiary did accrue the requisite five years of post-degree experience if we 
recognize that his degree was conferred on the earlier date of his provisional certificate, or 
May 24,2003. 
The statute and regulations governing the EB-2 classification speak in terms of "degrees," not 
diplomas. So, from the outset, it is clear that we cannot simply limit our analysis to the date on 
which a university confers a formal diploma. Applicable EB-2 regulations reflect this distinction. 
2 
Matter of A-C-S-, Inc. 
For these EB-2 "bachelor plus five" petitions, the "initial evidence" rule requires submission of an 
"official academic record" showing the beneficiary has a foreign equivalent "degree." 8 C.F.R. 
§ 204.5(k)(3)(i)(B). An "official academic record" is not limited to a formal diploma. 2 In fact, in 
the very next provision - relating to EB-2 exceptional ability petitions - the initial evidence rule 
expressly distinguishes between degree and diploma: "[a]n official academic record showing that 
the alien has a degree, diploma, certffzcate, or similar award from a college, university, .... " 
8 C.F.R. § 204.5(k)(3)(ii)(A) (emphasis added). 3 
Accordingly, we must conduct a case-specific analysis to determine whether the Beneficiary has 
completed all substantive requirements to earn the degree and the university has approved the 
degree. We must consider the individual nature of each university's or college's requirements for 
each program of study and each student's completion of those requirements. A petitioner will bear 
the burden to establish that all of the substantive requirements for the degree were met and that the 
degree was in fact approved by the responsible university body.4 
Here, the record demonstrates that, by issuance of the provisional certificate in May 2003, the 
Beneficiary had completed all substantive requirements of his degree and the university had in fact 
approved the degree that is equivalent to a U.S. bachelor's degree. The record contains the 
following university documents contemporaneous with the relevant events: (1) a copy of the 
Beneficiary's statement of marks showing he passed the final exams; (2) a copy of the Beneficiary's 
provisional certificate issued on May 24, 2003, which states that the Beneficiary "ha~s qualified 
himself for the degree of Master of Science in Applied Mathematics ... having passed the M.Sc., 
Degree Examination held in July 2000 and having done all that is necessary for the formal 
presentation for the Degree of Master of Science;" and (3) a copy ofthe Beneficiary's diploma dated 
June 23,2010. 
Finally, we have turned to information publicly available from the American Association of 
Collegiate Registrars and Admissions Officers (AACRAO) Electronic Database for Global 
Education (EDGE), 5 and note that it accords with the Petitioner's claim and evidence. On the matter 
of provisional certificates issued by Indian universities, AACRAO EDGE states: 
2 
See also USC IS Adjudicator's Field Manual, Appendix 22-1, Memorandum from Michael D. Cronin, Acting Associate 
Commissioner, USC IS HQ 70/6.2, Educational and Experience Requirementsfor Employment-Based Second Preference 
(EB-2) Immigrants (March 20, 2000), https:/ /usc is.gov /i I ink! doc View I A FM/HTM Ll A FM/0-0-0-1 /0-0-0-265 73/0-0-0-
31107.html (last visited May 11, 20 17) ("Whether the alien beneficiary possesses the advanced degree should be 
demonstrated by evidence in the form of a transcript ji-om the institution that granted the advanced degree. An 
adjudicator must similarly consider the baccalaureate transcript .... ") (emphasis added). 
3 
While this provision helps clarify that the terms degree and diploma are not equivalent, we note generally that, in 
contrast to the advanced degree category, the EB-2 exceptional ability category is not grounded entirely in an academic 
award and thus its initial evidence rule is more expansive than that of the advanced degree category. 
4 
Along with any other proffered evidence, petitioners must also submit a copy of a beneficiary's statement of marks or 
transcript to demonstrate years of study and coursework completed. See 8 C.F.R § 204.5(k)(3) (requiring the submission 
of an official academic record as evidence of a beneficiary's possession of an advanced degree or equivalent of an 
advanced degree). 
5 
AACRAO is "a nonprofit, voluntary, professional association of more than I I ,000 higher education professionals who 
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Matter of A-C-S-, Inc. 
The Provisional Degree Certificate is evidence of completion of all requirements for 
the degree in question, the name of the degree and the date upon which it was 
approved by the responsible university governing body, and is comparable to an 
official US academic transcript with a degree statement certifying completion of all 
requirements for the degree, the name of the degree and the date upon which it was 
approved by the academic senate at universities in the United States. 6 
In addition, EDGE notes that some students never receive their "final Degree Certificate" but instead 
rely on a provisional degree certificate as evidence of degree completion. !d. 
III. CONCLUSION 
The provisional certificate, together with the statement of marks, demonstrates that the Beneficiary 
completed all the substantive requirements and that the university approved his degree. The final 
diploma here was simply a delayed formality. We find that the issuance of the provisional certificate 
conferred on the Beneficiary the foreign equivalent of a bachelor's degree. Applying the provisional 
certificate date, we also find that he obtained at least five years of qualifying post-baccalaureate 
experience. Accordingly, the Petitioner has established that the Beneficiary meets the minimum 
education and experience requirements ofthe labor certification and ofEB-2 classification. 
ORDER: The appeal is sustained. 
Cite as Matter of A-C-S-, Inc., ID# 388207 (AAO May 24, 2017) 
represent approximately 2,600 institutions in over 40 countries." http://www4.aacrao.org/centennial/about.htm (last 
visited May II, 20 17). According to its registration page, EDGE is "a web-based resource for the evaluation of foreign 
educational credentials." http://edge.aacrao.org/info.php (last visited May II, 20 17). 
6 See India: Provisional Degree Certificate, AACRAO, http://edge.aacrao.org/country/credential/provisional­
degreecertificate (last visited May I I, 20 17). 
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