dismissed EB-3 Case: Business Operations

U.S. Citizenship 
and Immigration 
Services 
MATTER OF D-E-, INC. 
Non-Precedent Decision of the 
Administrative Appeals Office 
DATE: AUG. 18. 2017 
APPEAL OF NEBRASKA SERVICE CENTER DECISION 
PETITION: FORM I-140, IMMIGRANT PETITION FOR ALIEN WORKER 
The Petitioner, an electrical contracting company, seeks to employ the Beneficiary as a business 
operations specialist. It requests her classification as a professional under the third preference 
immigrant category. See Immigration and Nationality Act (the Act) section 203(b)(3)(A)(ii). 
8 U.S.C. § 1153(b)(3)(A)(ii). This category allows a U.S. business to sponsor a foreign worker with 
a bachelor's degree or its foreign equivalent for lawful permanent resident status. 
The Director of the Nebraska Service Center denied the petition. The Director concluded that the 
record did not establish, as required. that the Beneficiary's possessed the minimum education 
required for the offered position or the requested classification. 
On appeal, the Petitioner submits additional evidence and asserts that the Beneficiary has the 
required educational qualifications. 
Upon de novo review, we will dismiss the appeal. 
I. LAW 
Employment-based immigration generally constitutes a three-step process. First a prospective U.S. 
employer must obtain an approved ETA Form 9089. Application for Permanent Employment 
Certification (labor certification), from the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL). See section 
212(a)(5)(A)(i) of the Act, 8 U.S.C. § 1182(a)(5)(A)(i). Next. the employer tiles a Form 1-140, 
Immigrant Petition for Alien Worker, with U.S. Immigration and Citizenship Services (USCIS). S'ee 
section 204 of the Act, 8 U .S.C. § 1154. Finally, if USC IS approves the petition, a 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. 
A petition for a professional must document that a beneficiary holds a U.S. bachelor's degree or a 
foreign equivalent degree. 8 C.F.R. § 204.5(1)(3)(ii)(C). A petitioner must also establish a 
beneficiary's possession of all the education specified on an accompanying labor certification. 
Matter of'Wing"s Tea House. 16 I&N Dec. 158. 160 (Acting Reg'! Comm'r 1977). In evaluating a 
beneficiary's qualifications, we must examine the job offer portion of a labor certification to 
determine the minimum requirements of an offered position. We may neither ignore a term of the 
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Matter of D-E-. Inc. 
labor certification, nor impose additional requirements. S'ee. e.g. Mudany v. Smith. 696 F.2d I 008, 
1012-13 (D.C. Cir. 1983). 
II. ANALYSIS 
At issue is whether the Beneficiary meets the requirements of the oftered position certified by the 
DOL and the education requirements of the requested classification 
In this case, the labor certification states the minimum educational requirements of the offered 
position of business operations specialist are a bachelor's degree in accounting or economics. The 
labor certification also states the Petitioner's alternate acceptance of a bachelor's degree with three 
years of experience that "must be related to accounting and financial management economic 
analysis and production management." 
On the labor certification , the Beneficiary attested to her receipt of a bachelor's degree in economics 
from Romania, in 2000. The Petitioner submitted a copy of a 2000 
diploma de absolvire from the university, awarding the Beneficiary the title of economist based on 
her major area of study in economics. The diploma and a copy of a corresponding transcript indicate 
that the Beneficiary completed six semesters of study (three years), in order to obtain the degree; 
however, a U.S. bachelor's degree generally ref1ects the completion of four years of studies. Matter 
o,(Shah, 17 I&N Dec. 244, 245 (Reg'! Comm'r 1977). 
The Petitioner also submitted an evaluation tl·om 
According to the evaluator, he had reviewed the Beneficiary's foreign educational credentials and 
concluded that she had attained the equivalent of a Bachelor of Arts degree in Economics from an 
accredited institution of higher education in the United States. The evaluator stated that the 
Beneficiary completed the generalized and specialized coursework equivalent to the requirements 
for attainment of a bachelor of arts degree in economics from an accredited institution of higher 
education in the United States. However, the evaluator did not discuss the specific courscwork 
requirements for a bachelor's degree in economics at any particular U.S. college or university. nor 
did he provide a course-by-course comparison of the Beneficiary's studies to show how her 
completed coursework is equivalent to that required for a U.S. bachelor's degree in economics. 
Accordingly, the evaluation lacks sutlicient details to demonstrate that the Beneficiary's foreign 
three-year degree in economics is the equivalent of a U.S. bachelor's degree. 
In denying the petition, the Director consulted the Electronic Database for Global Education 
(EDGE), published by the American Association of Collegiate Registrars and Admissions Officers 
(AACRA0). 1 Federal courts have found EDGE to be a reliable, peer-reviewed source of foreign 
educational equivalencies. See, e.g. Viraj. LLC v. US. Att 'y Gen.. 578 Fed. Appx. 907. 910 (lith 
1 
AACRAO is a nonprofit association of more than II ,000 higher education admi ssions and registration professional s. 
representing about 2600 institutions worldwide . AACRAO , at http ://www.aacrao .org/home /about (last visited June 29, 
2017). 
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Matter qf D-E-, Inc. 
Cir. 2014) (holding that USCIS may discount educational evaluations that differ from repmis m 
EDGE, which is "a respected source of information"). 
EDGE reports that Romanian institutions award a diploma de ahsolvire upon completion of a 
three-year college program and that this credential compares to three years of U.S. undergraduate 
studies. Based on the EDGE report, the Director concluded that the record did not establish the 
Beneficiary's possession of the required U.S. bachelor's degree or foreign equivalent degree. 
On appeal, the Petitioner proffers copies of previously submitted documents from the 
According to the is an agreement between 
various European signatory countries to engage in an ongoing process to reform and harmonize their 
higher educational systems, but is not a completed event. The documents from generally 
conclude that considers the three-year degree awarded following the to be 
equivalent to a U.S. bachelor's degree. However, the general explanations from do not reflect 
that the organization reviewed the Beneficiary's transcripts and credentials and found her specific 
degree to be equivalent to a four-year, U.S. bachelor's degree or that her degree is a 
·compliant degree. 
The Petitioner also includes several Forms I-797, Notice of Action, showing that USCIS approved 
two prior H-1 B nonimmigrant worker petitions tiled by the Petitioner on behalf of the Beneficiary 
for what it claims is a position with the same degree requirements. The Petitioner contends that 
because USCIS considered the same academic evaluations before approving the other H-1 B 
petitions, the Director erred as a matter of law in failing to accept the Beneficiary's education as 
equivalent to a U.S. degree within the context of this petition. The Petitioner contends that it 
reasonably relied on the prior H-1 B approvals to its detriment, and that the prior nonimmigrant 
petitions approvals are sufficient to support a finding that the Beneficiary possesses a qualifying 
degree for purposes of this immigrant petition. 
The H-1 B nonimmigrant worker petitions that the Petitioner references are not part of this record 
and were for an unrelated, temporary visa classification with separate statutory and regulatory 
evidentiary requirements. Although the approval notices show that USCIS approved one such 
petition in 2009 and an extension petition in 2012, the approval of those H-1 B petitions is not 
evidence that the agency also determined that the Beneficiary's degree is a single-source foreign 
equivalent to a U.S. bachelor's degree that is required for the proffered position. The H-1 B 
classification permits the alternate equation of three years of relevant experience for one year of 
education. See 8 C.F.R. § 214.2(h)(4)(iii)(D)(5). Consequently, the agency may approve an H-1 B 
petition based on a review of a beneficiary's relevant experience in a certain occupation in addition 
to their education. But that equivalence applies to the adjudication of H-1 B nonimmigrant worker 
petitions and not to immigrant petitions such as this. In this case, the Petitioner indicated on the 
labor certification that the Beneficiary was required to have a U.S. bachelor's or foreign equivalent 
degree. Classification as a professional likewise requires a U.S. bachelor's or foreign equivalent 
Matter of D-E-, Inc. 
degree. Neither the terms of the labor certification nor the requirements of the professional 
classification can be met with a combination of a lesser degree and experience. 2 Therefore, the prior 
nonimmigrant approvals do not establish that the Beneficiary"s three-year foreign degree is 
equivalent to a U.S. bachelor's degree for purposes of this petition. 
The Petitioner also contends that notions of fundamental fairness and due process apply in this case 
because the Petitioner should have been given notice that the Beneficiary's degree evaluation would 
not be sufficient to establish that she has the equivalent of aU .S. bachelor's degree. ·'at the very least 
in 2012" during adjudication of the prior H-1B petition. As discussed, the prior H-1B petitions are 
not part of this record of proceeding and were adjudicated under different statutory and regulatory 
provisiOns. Moreover, the Director gave notice to the Petitioner that the Beneticiary"s foreign 
degree was not a qualifying U.S. bachelor's or foreign equivalent degree for purposes of this petition 
when the Director issued a request for evidence (RFE). The Petitioner's response to the RFE and its 
evidence on appeal do not establish that the Beneficiary"s degree is equivalent to a U.S. bachelor's 
degree. 
Finally, the Petitioner requests that the agency change the requested classification of the Beneficiary 
to a skilled worker under section 203(b)(3)(A)(i) of the Act. a classification for which no degree is 
required. However, a petitioner may not make material changes to a petition in an effort to make a 
deficient petition conform to USCIS requirements. See Matter ol Izwnmi, 22 I&N Dec. 169. 176 
(Assoc. Comm'r 1998). The Petitioner's request to change the requested classification cannot be 
approved. 
III. CONCLUSION 
The record does not establish the Beneficiary's possession of the minimum education required for 
the offered position or the requested classification. 
ORDER: The appeal is dismissed. 
Cite as Matter <dD-E-. Inc., ID# 595227 (AAO Aug. 18, 20 17) 
2 In professional and advanced degree professional cases, where the beneficiary is statutorily required to hold a 
bachelor's degree, USCIS properly concludes that a single foreign degree is required. Snapnames.com, Inc. v. Afichael 
Chert off, 2006 WL 349 I 005 (D. Or. Nov. 30, 2006). 
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