sustained EB-2 Case: Software Engineering

U.S. Citizenship 
and Immigration 
Services 
MATTER OF A-, INC. 
Non-Precedent Decision of the 
Administrative Appeals Office 
DATE: MAR. 29, 2017 
APPEAL OF NEBRASKA SERVICE CENTER DECISION 
PETITION: FORM I-140, IMMIGRANT PETITION FOR ALIEN WORKER 
The Petitioner, a developer of application performance management software, seeks to employ the 
Beneficiary as an automation engineer (software test engineer). 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 q~alify 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 his provisional certificate 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-, 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 ofthe 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 hy at least five years ql 
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 bachelor's degree in computer engineering from 
in India. There is no question that this degree qualities him for 
EB-2 classification and that his 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 can be 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 certificate reflecting that his degree was approved . We conclude that, based on the 
specific circumstances and evidence in this case, the provisional certificate constitutes the Beneficiary's 
official academic record of the Beneficiary's "degree" for purposes of calculating the five-year period 
of post -graduate experience. 
Several dates are important to this case. The Beneficiary received his provisional degree certificate 
on July 16, 2008, from but he did not receive his 
formal diploma until July 25, 2009. The record contains evidence of Beneficiary's employment 
experience with two different employers from July 21 , 2008, to October 8, 2013, a period of over five 
years. However, the Director held that only experience gained after the diploma date, July 25, 2009, 
could be considered and accordingly found that the Beneficiary does 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 ofhis provisional certificate, or July 16,2008. 
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 on its newest ·alumni. Applicable EB-2 regulations 
reflect this distinction. For these EB-2 " bachelor plus five" petitions , the "initial evidence
" rule 
2 
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Matter of A-, Inc. 
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 "ofticial academic record" is not limited to a 
formal diploma. 2 In fact, in the very next provision- relating to EB-2 e)(ceptional 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. certificate, or similar award from a college [or] 
· 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, at the time a 
provisional certificate is issued, the individual 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 a beneficiary's provisional 
certificate reflects that, at the time the certificate was issued, all of the substantive requirements tor 
the degree were met and 
the degree v.·as in fact approved by the responsible university body.4 
Here, the record demonstrates that the Beneficiary had completed all substantive requirements of his 
degree by the time the provisional certificate was issued in July 2008. The record contains the 
following university documents contemporaneous \\tith the relevant events: (1) a copy of the 
Beneficiary's statement of marks showing he passed the final exam; (2) a copy of the provisional 
certificate issued on July 16, 2008, which states that the Beneficiary passed the final examination for 
the degree of computer engineering and "has become entitled for" this degree; and (3) a copy of the 
Beneficiary's .diploma issued by on July 25, 2009. 
In addition, t~e record contains a certificate from the Principal of 
stating that the Beneficiary completed the course of study for the bachelor's degree in 
engineering and passed the final exam in the summer of 2008. 
Finally, we have turned to information publicly available from the American Association of 
Collegiate Registrars and Admissions Officers (AACRAO) Electronic Database tor Global 
2 See also USCIS Adjudicator's Field Manual, Appendix 22-1, Memorandum from Mich ae l D. Cronin, Acting Associate 
Commissioner, USC IS HQ 70/6.2, Educational and Experience Requirements for Employment-Based Second Prt;(erence 
(EB-2) Immigrants (March 20, 2000), https: i/uscis.gov /ilink/docView /AFM /HTMLIAFM /0-0-0-I /0-0-0-26573 /0-0-0-
311 07.html (last visited Mar. 27, 20 17) (" Whether the alien beneficiary possesses the advanced degree should be 
demonstrated by evidence in the form r~f a transcript fi'om £he 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 course work completed, along with a copy of the provisional certificate. 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 We note that is aftiliated with 
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Matter (?fA-, Inc. 
Education (EDGE), 6 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: 
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. 7 
EDGE additionally notes that some students never receive their "final Degree Certificate'' but 
instead rely on the provisional degree certificate as evidence of degree completion. !d. 
III. CONCLUSION 
The provisional certificate, together with his 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 ha;; established that the Beneficiary meets the minimum 
education and experience requirements of the labor certification and of EB-2 classification. 
ORDER: The appeal is sustained. 
Cite as Matter of A-, Inc., ID# 96220 (AAO Mar. 29, 2017) 
6 
AACRAO is "a nonprofit, voluntary, professional association of more than I 1,000 higher education professionals who 
represent approximately 2,600 institutions in over 40 countries." http://www4.aacrao.org/centennial!about.htm (last 
visited Mar. 27, 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 Mar. 27, 20 17). 
7 See India: Provisional Degree Certificate, AACRAO, http://edge.aacrao.org/country/credentiallprovisional­
degreecertificate (last visited Mar. 27, 20 17). 
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