dismissed EB-3 Case: Aerospace

U.S. Citizenship 
and Immigration 
Services 
In Re : 15942181 
Appeal of Nebraska Service Center Decision 
Form 1-140, Immigrant Petition for Skilled Worker 
Non-Precedent Decision of the 
Administrative Appeals Office 
Date : SEPT . 30, 2021 
The Petitioner is a defense and aerospace business that seeks to employ the Beneficiary as a product 
line market manager - digital services . It requests classification of the Beneficiary as a skilled worker 
under the third preference employment-based immigrant visa category . Immigration and Nationality 
Act (the Act) section 203(b )(3)(A)(i), 8 U.S.C. § 1153(b )(3)(A)(i). This immigrant visa category 
allows a U.S . employer to sponsor a foreign national for lawful permanent resident status to work in a 
position that requires at least two years of education, training, or experience. 
The Director of the Nebraska Service Center denied the petition, concluding that the Petitioner did not 
establish that the Beneficiary possessed the required education for the offered position. The matter is 
now before us on appeal. 
The Petitioner bears the burden of establishing eligibility for the requested immigration benefit. See 
section 291 of the Act, 8 U.S.C. § 1361. Upon de novo review, we will dismiss the appeal. 
I. EMPLOYMENT-BASED IMMIGRATION 
Immigration as a skilled worker usually follows a three-step process . First, the prospective employer 
must obtain a labor certification approval from the U.S . Department of Labor (DOL) to demonstrate 
that there are not sufficient U.S. workers who are able, willing, qualified, and available for the offered 
position. Section 212(a)(5) of the Act, 8 U.S.C. § l 182(a)(5). 
Second, the employer must submit the approved labor certification with an immigrant visa petition to 
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS). Section 204 of the Act, 8 U.S .C. § 1154. The 
immigrant visa petition must establish, among other things, that the foreign worker qualifies for the 
offered position, that the foreign worker and the offered position are eligible for the requested 
immigrant visa category, and that the employer has the ability to pay the proffered wage. See 8 C.F.R. 
§ 204 .5. These requirements must be satisfied by the priority date of the immigrant visa petition . See 
8 C.F.R. § 204.5(g)(2); Matter of Wing's Tea House, 16 l&N Dec. 158, 159 (Act. Reg') Comm'r 
1977). 1 
1 For petitions that require a labor certification , the priority date is the date on which the DOL accepted the labor 
certification application for processing . See 8 C.F.R. § 204.S(d). 
Finally, ifUSCIS approves the immigrant visa petition, the foreign worker may apply for an immigrant 
visa abroad or, if eligible, for adjustment of status in the United States. Section 245 of the Act, 8 
U.S.C. § 1255. 
II. REQUIRED EDUCATION 
At issue in this case is whether the Beneficiary possesses the required education for the offered 
position. The Beneficiary must possess all of the required education, training, and experience for the 
offered position as set forth on the labor certification by the priority date of the petition. See Matter 
o_f Wing's Tea House, 16 I&N Dec. at 160. In this case, the priority date is October 28, 2019. USCIS 
examines the job offer portion of the labor certification to determine a position's mm1mum 
requirements. We may neither ignore a term on the labor certification nor impose additional 
requirements. See Madany v. Smith, 696 F.2d 1008, 1015 (D.C. Cir. 1983). 
The requirements of the offered position are set forth at section H of the labor certification: 
H.4. 
H.5. 
H.6. 
H.7. 
H.8. 
H.9. 
H.10. 
H.14. 
Education: Bachelor's degree in aeronautical engineering or similar field. 
Training: None. 
Experience in the job offered: 36 months. 
Alternate field of study: None accepted. 
Alternate combination of education and experience: None accepted. 
Foreign educational equivalent: Accepted. 
Experience in an alternate occupation: Accepted (36 months of experience as a commodity 
manager, procurement engineer, or similar position). 
Requires a bachelor's degree in Aeronautical Engineering or similar field plus 3 years of 
experience. 3 years of experience in aerospace industry negotiating, establishing and 
implementing contracts with domestic and foreign suppliers on the aerospace market. 3 years 
of experience managing complex project[s] within the highly regulated aerospace industry. 2 
years of experience working with different internal departments within a large corporation to 
fulfill business needs. 2 years of experience in market research in technology/market players 
and stakeholders within [the] aerospace industry. 2 years of experience working with other 
corporate divisions, 3rd parties, service providers and suppliers [ and] managing relationship[ s] 
with strategic partners within the Inflight Entertainment industry. 2 years of experience 
analyzing financial investment models and operational costs/processes in order to create 
business plans and measure their performance and effectiveness. 2 years of experience 
working in the Inflight Entertainment industry including experience with Inflight 
Entertainment and connectivity (IFEC) systems (hardware and software) as well as [a] strong 
understanding of the hardware and software development process within the highly regulated 
aerospace industry. Employer will accept educational equivalency evaluation prepared by 
qualified evaluation service or in accordance with 8 CFR § 214.2(h)(4)(iii)(D). 
Part J of the labor certification states that the beneficia} possesses a bachelor's degree in aeronautical 
engineering froml~-------------~ Spain in 2012. The record contains a copy of 
the Beneficiary's diploma and transcripts. 
2 
The Petitioner submitted a single-page credentials evaluation from World Education Services stating 
that the Beneficiary's three-year degree is equivalent to a U.S bachelor's degree. The Director issued 
a request for evidence which instructed the Petitioner to provide, in part, a detailed explanation for the 
evaluation's conclusion and information about the qualifications of the evaluator. In response to the 
RFE, the Petitioner submitted a new[ more detailed evaluation of the Beneficiary's educational 
credentials prepared b~ I of I stating that the Beneficiary's foreign 
degree is the equivalent of three years of study towards a U.S. bachelor's degree in aeronautical 
engineering technology. This second evaluation is based on the Electronic Database for Global 
Education (EDGE), which is a web-based resource for the evaluation of foreign educational 
credentials created by the American Association of Collegiate Registrars and Admissions Officers 
(AACRAO). 2 See https://www.aacrao.org/resources/ AACRAO-Intemational/about-edge. USCIS 
considers EDGE to be a reliable source of information about foreign credentials equivalencies. 
Section K of the labor certification states the Beneficiary's claimed qualifying experience as follows: 
in the position offered as product line market manager - digital services with the Petitioner from 
August 7, 2016 until the filing of the labor certification on October 28, 2019; commodity manager 
with the Petitioner from December 16, 2013 until August 7, 2016; and as a procurement engineer 
trainee with I I from October 1, 2008 until January 31, 2010 ( for 25 hours a week as part of 
his college studies, according to the accompanying experience letter). 
The Director's decision states that the Petitioner did not establish that the Beneficiary possessed the 
foreign equivalent of a U.S. bachelor's degree in aeronautical engineering or similar field as required 
by the terms of the labor certification. On appeal, the Petitioner states that the requested skilled worker 
classification does not require a four-year degree, and a three-year degree bachelor's degree satisfies 
the requirements of the labor certification. 
We disagree. Section H.4 of the labor certification states that the minimum educational requirement 
of the offered position is a bachelor's degree. The labor certification does not permit an alternate 
combination of education and experience in section H.8. The labor certification also states that the 
Beneficiary has a bachelor's degree in section J.11. It does not state that the Beneficiary possesses a 
lesser degree. 3 
Since it is not disputed that the Beneficiary's three-year bachelor's degree in aeronautical engineering 
from.__ _____________ _, Spain in 2012 is not the foreign equivalent of a U.S. 
2 AACRAO is a nonprofit professional association of more than 11,000 higher education admissions and registration 
professionals who represent more than 2,600 institutions in over 40 countries. See http://www.aacrao.org/who-we-are. 
3 The Petitioner does not claim on appeal that the Beneficiary qualifies for the offered position based on a combination of 
education and experience that is equivalent to a U.S. bachelor's degree under 8 C.F.R. § 214.2(h)(4)(iii)(D) (the H-lB 
regulatory provision referenced at section H.14). Instead, counsel's brief claims that the labor certification in this case 
permits any bachelor's degree, including a foreign bachelor's degree that is not the equivalent of a U.S. bachelor's degree. 
The Petitioner has not supported this interpretation of the labor certification with evidence such as documents generated 
during the recruitment process that informed U.S. workers that they could quality for the offered position with less than a 
U.S. bachelor's degree. Assertions of counsel do not constitute evidence. Matter of Obaigbena, 19 l&N Dec. 533. 534 
n.2 (BIA 1988) (citing Matter of Ramirez-Sanchez, 17 l&N Dec. 503, 506 (BIA 1980)). We do not agree with the 
Petitioner's assertion regarding the requirements of the offered position stated on the labor certification. 
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bachelor's degree, we must dismiss the appeal. 4 The fact that the Petitioner requested classification 
in the skilled worker category does not change the requirement that the Beneficiary must possess all 
of the education, training, and experience for the offered position set forth on the labor certification. 
III. CONCLUSION 
The Beneficiary's three-year foreign degree is not the equivalent of a U.S. bachelor's degree. Since 
the Petitioner did not establish that the labor certification in this case could be satisfied by a foreign 
degree that is less than a U.S. bachelor's degree, the Director correctly denied the petition. 
ORDER: The appeal is dismissed. 
4 Although not the basis of this decision, we also note that the evidence in the record does not establish that the Beneficiary 
possessed 36 months of qualitying employment experience and special skills prior to working for the Petitioner. First, 
experience and skills gained with the Petitioning employer in a substantially comparable position may not be used to 
qualify for the offered position without additional justification. See 20 C.F.R. § 656. l 7(i)(3). Second, the Beneficiary's 
prior employment as a trainee withc=J was part-time for only one year and four months, and it was part of his university 
studies and completed prior to the issuance of his degree. 
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