dismissed EB-3 Case: Agricultural Engineering

U.S. Citizenship 
and Immigration 
Services 
MATTER OF A-P-N-0-C-, LLC 
Non-Precedent Decision of the 
Administrative Appeals Office 
DATE: AUG. 5, 2016 
APPEAL OF NEBRASKA SERVICE CENTER DECISION 
PETITION: FORM 1-140, IMMIGRANT PETITION FOR ALIEN WORKER 
The Petitioner, a produce importer and distributor, seeks to employ the Beneficiary as an agricultural 
engineer. It requests classification of the Beneficiary as a professional under the third preference 
immigrant classification. See Immigration and Nationality Act (the Act), section 203(b )(3)(A)(ii), 
8 U.S.C. § 1153(b)(3)(A)(ii). This employment-based immigrant classification allows a U.S. 
employer to sponsor a professional with a baccalaureate degree for lawful permanent resident status. 
The Director, Nebraska Service Center, denied the petition on December 1, 2015, as the Petitioner 
had not established that the Beneficiary possessed the education specified in the job offer. The 
Petitioner has also not established that the Beneficiary has the education to be classified as a 
professional. 
The matter is now before us on appeal. The Petitioner asserts that the Director erred in concluding 
that the Beneficiary's studies did not satisfy the education requirements of the job offer. Upon de 
novo review, we will dismiss the appeal. 
I. PROCEDURAL HISTORY 
As required by statute, the petition is accompanied by an approved ETA Form 9089, Application for 
Permanent Employment Certification (labor certification), certified by the Department of Labor 
(DOL). 1 The priority date of the petition is June 11, 20 14? 
The required education, training, experience and skills for the offered position are set forth at Part H 
of the labor certification. In the instant case, the labor certification states that the position has the 
following minimum requirements: 
H.4. Education: minimum level required: Bachelor's degree. 
H.4-B. Major field of study: Agricultural engineering. 
1 See Section 212(a)(5)(0) ofthe Act, 8 U.S.C. § 1182(a)(5)(0); see also 8 C.F.R. § 204.5(a)(2). 
2 The priority date is the date the DOL accepted the labor certification for processing. See 8 C.F.R. § 204.5(d). 
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H.6. 
H.6-A. 
H.7. 
H.8. 
H.9. 
H.l4. 
Is experience in the job offered required for the job? Yes. 
If Yes, number ofmonths experience required: 24. 
Is there an alternate field of study that is acceptable? No. 
Is there an alternate combination of education and experience that is 
acceptable? No. 
Is a foreign educational equivalent acceptable? Yes. 
Specific skills or other requirements: None listed. 
On the labor certification, in Part J.11., J.l2., and J.13., the Beneficiary listed his education as a 
bachelor's degree in agricultural engineering from in Brazil, 
completed in 2010. The Petitioner submitted copies of the Beneficiary's diploma and academic 
transcript from the reflecting study from 2007 through 2008, "Link 
Enrollment" in 2009, and a curricular internship in 2010. The diploma shows that the Beneficiary 
was awarded "a degree of management technology of irrigated fruit production." 
The Petitioner submitted a credentials evaluation performed on April 23, 2012, by 
for After reviewing the Beneficiary's academic credentials and 
employment history, concluded that the Beneficiary "has completed the equivalent of 
three years of undergraduate study" and that when combined with his work experience from 
February 2004 to December 2005 and from June 2010 to November 2011 it formed the "equivalent 
to the U.S. degree of Bachelor of Science in Agriculture with a concentration in Agricultural 
Engineering Technology awarded by a regionally accredited university in the United States." 
In his decision , the Director noted that the labor certification requires applicants to possess a 
bachelor's degree in agricultural engineering and that the labor certification expressly states that the 
Petitioner would not accept a lesser degree combined with work experience in lieu of the bachelor's 
degree. The Director found that the Beneficiary's education did not satisfy the requirements of the 
labor certification. Therefore, the Director denied the petition. 
II. LAW AND ANALYSIS 
A. Requirements for a Professional 
The regulation at 8 C.P.R. § 204.5(1)(3)(ii)(C) states, in part: 
If the petition is for a professional, the petition must be accompanied by evidence 
that the alien holds a United States baccalaureate degree or a foreign equivalent 
degree and by evidence that the alien is a member of the professions. Evidence of a 
baccalaureate degree shall be in the form of an official college or university record 
showing the date the baccalaureate degree was awarded and the area of 
concentration of study. 
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Matter of A-P-N-0-C-, LLC 
Section 101(a)(32) ofthe Act defines the term "profession" to include, but is not limited to, "architects, 
engineers, lawyers, physicians, surgeons, and teachers in elementary or secondary schools, colleges, 
academies, or seminaries." If the offered position is not statutorily defined as a profession, "the 
petitioner must submit evidence showing that the minimum of a baccalaureate degree is required for 
entry into the occupation." 8 C.F.R. § 204.5(1)(3)(ii)(C). 
In addition, the job offer portion of the labor certification underlying a petition for a professional "must 
demonstrate that the job requires the minimum of a baccalaureate degree." 8 C.F.R. § 204.5(1)(3)(i). 
The beneficiary must also meet all of the requirements of the offered position set forth on the labor 
certification by the priority date of the petition. 8 C.F.R. § 103.2(b)(l), (12). See Matter of Wing's 
Tea House, 16 I&N Dec. 158, 159 (Act. Reg. Comm. 1977); see also Matter of Katigbak, 14 I&N 
Dec. 45,49 (Reg. Comm. 1971). 
Therefore, a petition for a professional must establish that the occupation of the offered position is listed 
as a profession at section 101(a)(32) of the Act or requires a bachelor's degree as a minimum for entry; 
the beneficiary possesses a U.S. bachelor's degree or foreign equivalent degree from a college or 
university; the job offer portion of the labor certification requires at least a bachelor's degree or foreign 
equivalent degree; and the beneficiary meets all of the requirements of the labor certification. 
It is noted that the regulation at 8 C.F.R. § 204.5(1)(3)(ii)(C) uses a singular description of the degree 
required for classification as a professional? The regulation also requires the submission of "an 
official college or university record showing the date the baccalaureate degree was awarded and the 
area of concentration of study." 8 C.F.R. § 204.5(1)(3)(ii)(C) (emphasis added). In another context, 
Congress has broadly referenced "the possession of a degree, diploma, certificate, or similar award 
from a college, university, school, or other institution of learning." Section 203(b )(2)(C) of the Act 
(relating to aliens of exceptional ability). However, for the professional category, it is clear that the 
degree must be from a college or university. 
3 In 1991, when the final rule for 8 C.F.R. § 204.5 was published in the Federal Register, the Immigration and 
Naturalization Service (now USCIS or the Service), responded to criticism that the regulation required an alien to have a 
bachelor's degree as a minimum and that the regulation did not allow for the substitution of experience for education. 
After reviewing section 121 of the Immigration Act of 1990, Pub. L. 101-649 ( 1990), and the Joint Explanatory 
Statement of the Committee of Conference, the Service specifically noted that both the Act and the legislative history 
indicate that an alien must have at least a bachelor's degree: "[B]oth the Act and its legislative history make clear that, 
in order to qualify as a professional under the third classification or to have experience equating to an advanced degree 
under the second, an alien must have at least a bachelor's degree." 56 Fed. Reg. 60897, 60900 (November 29, 1991) 
(emphasis added). 
It is significant that both section 203(b)(3)(A)(ii) of the Act and the relevant regulations use the word "degree" in 
relation to professionals. A statute should be construed under the assumption that Congress intended it to have purpose 
and meaningful effect. Mountain States Tel. & Tel. v. Pueblo of Santa Ana, 472 U.S. 237, 249 (1985); Sutton v. United 
States, 819 F.2d. 1289, 1295 (5th Cir. 1987). It can be presumed that Congress' requirement of a single "degree" for 
members of the professions is deliberate. 
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Matter of A-P-N-0-C-, LLC 
Thus, the plain meaning of the Act and the regulations is that the beneficiary of a petition for a 
professional must possess a degree from a college or university that is at least a U.S. baccalaureate 
degree or a foreign equivalent degree. 
In the instant case, the labor certification states that the position requires a bachelor's degree in 
agricultural engineering. A bachelor's degree is generally found to require 4 years of education. 
Matter of Shah, 17 I&N Dec. 244, 245 (Comm'r 1977). As the Petitioner's submitted evaluation 
shows, the Beneficiary does not have a bachelor's degree. 
The labor certification allows a petitioner numerous opportunities to indicate its willingness to 
accept alternatives to the minimum required education stated at Line H.4. The Petitioner in this case 
expressly stated that a combination of education and experience would not be accepted in place of a 
bachelor's degree in agricultural engineering. Further, the professional category requires that the 
petition require a bachelor's degree and that the beneficiary have a bachelor's degree. 
B. The Beneficiary's Education 
On appeal, the Petitioner cites the credentials evaluation performed by who relies 
on the Beneficiary's academic studies combined with his employment experience as being 
equivalent to a U.S. bachelor's degree. The Petitioner suggests that it was willing to accept less 
than a U.S. bachelor's degree or foreign equivalent; however, the professional category requires a 
bachelor's degree, the labor certification states the requirement of a bachelor's degree, and the 
Beneficiary claimed to have a bachelor's degree. However, the Petitioner's evaluation submitted 
states the Beneficiary has only 
three years of undergraduate studies. Nothing in the evaluation states 
that the Beneficiary has the full bachelor's degree required for the classification or by the labor 
certification. 
We have also reviewed the Electronic Database for Global Education (EDGE) created by the 
American Association of Collegiate Registrars and Admissions Officers (AACRAO), "a nonprofit, 
voluntary, professional association of more than 11,000 higher education admissions and registration 
professionals who represent more than 2,600 institutions and agencies in the United States and in 
over 40 countries around the world." http://www.aacrao.org/About-AACRAO.aspx (accessed 
August 1, 20 16). Its mission "is to serv~ and advance higher education by providing leadership in 
academic and enrollment services." Id. USCIS considers EDGE to be a reliable, peer-reviewed 
source of information about foreign credentials equivalencies. 4 
EDGE states that a degree in Brazil "represents attainment of a level of 
education comparable to two to three years of university study depending on entrance qualifications 
and the field of study. This represents "attainment of a level of education comparable to two or three 
years of university study in the United States. Credit may be awarded on a course-by-course basis." 
4 In Confluence Intern., Inc. v. Holder, 2009 WL 825793 (D.Minn. March 27, 2009), the court determined that we 
provided a rational explanation for our reliance on information provided by AACRAO to support our decision. 
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As we do not know the entrance qualifications, we cannot determine whether the Beneficiary's 
studies are equal to two or three years of study, Regardless, even based on the Petitioner's 
evaluation, the Beneficiary's education is not equal to a U.S. bachelor's degree. 
Counsel refers to letters dated January 7, 2003 and July 23, 2003, respectively, from 
of the Office of Adjudications to counsel in other cases, expressing his opinion about the 
possible alternative means to satisfy educational requirements.5 However, these letters are not on point 
in this case. The professional category clearly requires an actual degree. For classification as a 
member of the professions, the regulation at 8 C.F.R. § 204.5(1)(3)(ii)(C) requires the submission of 
"an official college or university record showing the date the baccalaureate degree was awarded and 
the area of concentration of study." Nothing in the regulation for this category allows for the 
substitution of a combination of education and experience in place of a bachelor's degree. 
The terms of the labor certification require a 4-year U.S. bachelor's degree in agricultural 
engineering or a foreign equivalent degree. The professional category requires a bachelor's degree. 
The Beneficiary does not possess such a degree. Thus, the Petitioner did not establish that the 
Beneficiary met the minimum educational requirements of the offered position set forth on the labor 
certification by the priority date. 
C. The Beneficiary's Employment Experience 
Beyond the decision of the Director, the Petitioner has also not established that the Beneficiary has 
the experience required for the position offered. The petitioner must establish that the beneficiary 
possessed all the education, training, and experience specified on the labor certification as of the 
priority date. 8 C.F.R. § 103.2(b)(l), (12). See Matter of Wing's Tea House, 16 I&N Dec. 158, 159 
(Acting Reg'l Comm'r 1977); see also Matter of Katigbak, 14 I&N Dec. 45, 49 (Reg'l Comm'r 
1971). In evaluating the beneficiary's qualifications, USCIS must look to the job offer portion of the 
labor certification to determine the required qualifications for the position. users may not ignore a 
term of the labor certification, nor may it impose additional requirements. See Madany v. Smith, 696 
F.2d 1008 (D.C. Cir. 1983); K.R.K. Irvine, Inc. v. Landon, 699 F.2d 1006 (9th Cir. 1983); Stewart 
1nfra-RedCommissaryofMassachusetts, Inc. v. Coomey, 661 F.2d 1 (1
5
tCir.1981). 
In the instant case, the labor certification states that the offered position requires 24 months of 
experience in the offered job of agricultural engineer. On the labor certification, the Beneficiary 
claims to qualify for the offered position based on experience as an agricultural engineer for 
m Brazil, from July 1, 2010, until August 31, 2012. 
He did not list any other experience. 
5 It is noted that private discussions and correspondence solicited to obtain advice from USCIS are not binding on us or other 
USCIS adjudicators and do not have the force of law. Matter of!zummi, 22 I&N 169, 196-197 (Comm'r 1968); see also, 
Memorandum from Thomas Cook, Acting Associate Commissioner, Office of Programs, U.S Immigration & Naturalization 
Service, Significance of Letters Drafted By the Office of Adjudications (December 7, 2000). 
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Matter of A-P-N-0-C-, LLC 
The beneficiary's claimed qualifying experience must be supported by letters from employers giving 
the name, address, and title of the employer, and a description of the beneficiary's experience. See 
8 C.P.R. § 204.5(1)(3)(ii)(A). The record contains a letter dated April 20, 2012, from 
who identified himself as a packinghouse manager for 
and who stated that the Beneficiary worked there as an agricultural quality control 
manager from June 1, 2010, until November 30, 2011. The record also contains a letter dated April 
20, 2012, from who identified himself as a packinghouse manager for 
and who stated that the Beneficiary worked there as 
an agricultural quality control manager from February 2, 2004, until December 31, 2005. 
The employment dates on the letters submitted by the Petitioner do not match the employment dates 
claimed by the Beneficiary on the labor certification. The experience claimed on the letter 
was not listed on the labor certification. In Matter of Leung, 16 I&N Dec. 2530 (BIA 1976), the 
Board's dicta notes that the beneficiary's experience, without such fact certified by DOL on the 
beneficiary's labor certification, lessens the credibility of the evidence and facts asserted. It is 
incumbent upon the petitioner to resolve any inconsistencies in the record by independent objective 
evidence. Any attempt to explain or reconcile such inconsistencies will not suffice unless the 
petitioner submits competent objective evidence pointing to where the truth lies. Matter of Ho, 19 
I&N Dec. 582, 591-92 (BIA 1988). 
The evidence in the record does not establish that the Beneficiary possessed the required experience 
set forth on the labor certification by the priority date. For this reason, the Petitioner has also not 
established that the Beneficiary satisfies the requirements for the offered position stated on the labor 
certification. 
III. CONCLUSION 
In summary, the Petitioner did not establish that the Beneficiary possesses the educational 
credentials required by the labor certification. Further, the Petitioner did not establish that the 
Beneficiary possesses the minimum employment experience required by the labor certification. 
The appeal will be dismissed for the above stated reasons, with each considered as an independent 
and alternate basis for the decision. In visa petition proceedings, it is the petitioner's burden to 
establish eligibility for the immigration benefit sought. Section 291 of the Act, 8 U.S.C. § 1361; See 
Matter of Brantigan, 11 I&N Dec. 493 (BIA 1966); Matter of Otiende, 26 I&N Dec. 127, 128 (BIA 
2013). The Petitioner has not met that burden. 
ORDER: The appeal is dismissed. 
Cite as Matter of A-P-N-0-C-, LLC, ID# 11866 (AAO Aug. 5, 2016)