dismissed EB-3 Case: Computer Science

U.S. Citizenship 
and Immigration 
Services 
In Re: 20291108 
Appeal of Nebraska Service Center Decision 
Form 1-140, Immigrant Petition for Professional 
Non-Precedent Decision of the 
Administrative Appeals Office 
Date: JUL. 19, 2022 
The Petitioner, an automotive glass repair and replacement company, seeks to employ the Beneficiary as 
a quality assurance leader. It requests classification of the Beneficiary under the third-preference, 
immigrant visa category for professionals. See Immigration and Nationality Act (the Act) section 
203(b)(3)(A)(ii) , 8 U.S.C. § l 153(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 of the Nebraska Service Center denied the petition, concluding that the minimum 
education requirements for the position, as described on the labor certification, do not meet the 
requirements of the requested classification. 1 
The Petitioner bears the burden of establishing eligibility for the requested benefit by a preponderance 
of evidence. See section 291 of the Act, 8 U.S.C. § 1361 (discussing the burden of proof); see also 
Matter of Chawathe , 25 I&N Dec. 169, 175 (AAO 2010) (discussing the standard of proof) . Upon de 
nova review, we will dismiss the appeal. 
I. LAW 
A. Employment -Based Immigrant Petition Process 
Immigration as a professional generally follows a three-step process. First, a prospective employer 
must apply to the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) for certification that: (I) there are insufficient U.S. 
workers able, willing, qualified , and available for an offered position; and (2) the employment of a 
noncitizen in the position won't harm wages and working conditions of U.S. workers with similar jobs . 
See section 212(a)(5) of the Act, 8 U.S.C. § 1182(a)(5). Second, an employer must submit an approved 
labor certification with an immigrant visa petition to U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services 
(USCIS) . See section 204 of the Act, 8 U.S.C. § 1154. Finally, if USCIS approves a petition , a 
designated noncitizen 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. 
1 The Director 's decision did not address the Beneficiary's qualifications . The sole issue on appeal is whether the minimum 
education requirements indicated on the labor certification supports the requested classification . 
TI. ANALYSIS 
To be eligible for professional classification, the labor certification must require, at a minimum, a U.S. 
bachelor's degree or a foreign equivalent degree. See 8 C.F.R. § 204.5(1)(3)(i). For the reasons 
discussed below, we agree with the Director that the labor certification does not support the requested 
classification. 2 
In order to determine what a job opportunity requires, we must examine "the language of the labor 
certification job requirements." Madany v. Smith, 696 F.2d 1008, 1015 (D.C. Cir. 1983). USCIS must 
examine the certified job offer exactly as completed by the prospective employer. See Rosedale Linden 
Park Company v. Smith, 595 F. Supp. 829, 833 (D.D.C. 1984). Our interpretation of the job's 
requirements must involve reading and applying the plain language of the labor certification form. Id. at 
834. Moreover, we read the labor certification as a whole to determine its requirements. "The [labor 
certification] is a legal document and as such the document must be considered in its entirety." Matter of 
Symbioun Techs., Inc., 2010-PER-10422, 2011 WL 5126284 (BALCA Oct. 24, 2011) (finding that a 
"comprehensive reading of all of Section H" of the labor certification clarified an employer's minimum 
job requirements). 3 
The education, training, experience, and other requirements for the proffered position are set forth at Part 
Hof the labor certification. In this case, Part H states that the position of quality assurance leader has the 
following minimum requirements: 
4. 
4-B. 
5. 
6. 
6-A. 
7. 
7-A. 
8. 
9. 
10. 
10-A. 
10-B. 
Education: Minimum level required: 
Major field of study: 
Is training required for the job opportunity? 
Is experience in the job offered required for the job? 
If Yes, number of months experience required 
Is there an alternate field of study that is acceptable? 
If Yes, specify the major field of study 
Is there an alternate combination of education 
and experience that is acceptable? 
Is a foreign educational equivalent acceptable? 
Is experience in an alternate occupation acceptable? 
If Yes, number of months experience in alternate 
Occupation required 
Identify the job title of the acceptable alternate occupation 
Bachelor's degree 
Computer Science 
No 
Yes 
60 months 
Yes 
Computer related degree 
No 
Yes 
Yes 
60 months 
Any computer related occupation 
2 On the Form I-140, Immigrant Petition for Alien Worker, the Petitioner checked the box at pa1i 2.1.e. which specifies 
that the petition is being filed for "[a] professional ( at a minimum, possessing a bachelor's degree or a foreign degree 
equivalent to a U.S. bachelor's degree)." 
3 Although we are not bound by Board of Alien Labor Ce1iification Appeals decisions, we may neve1iheless take note of 
the reasoning in such decisions when considering issues that arise in the employment-based immigrant visa process. 
2 
At Part H, Box 14, the Petitioner provided the following additional language regarding the "[s]pecific 
skills or other requirements:" 
[M]ust have a Bachelor's degree in computer science or computer related degree and 5 
years of overall progressive IT experience, which includes 2 years of experience in the 
skill set listed in the job description. Bachelor's equivalency may be met by a combination 
of degrees (emphasis added). 
On appeal, the Petitioner requests that we "examine the language exactly as it appears on the labor 
certification," indicating that we "need not 'divine the employer's intentions' as [its] intentions are 
clear." The Petitioner further explains that "[b]]achelor' s equivalency may be achieved by a 
combination of foreign degrees, if necessary, but only formal education will be considered for 
bachelor's equivalency." 
In Snapnames.com, Inc. v. Michael Chertoff, No. 06-65-MO, 2006 WL 3491005 (D. Or. Nov. 30, 
2006), the court held that, in professional and advanced degree professional cases, where the 
beneficiary is statutorily required to hold a baccalaureate degree, users properly concluded that a 
single foreign degree or its equivalent is required. See also Maramjaya v. USCIS, eiv. Act No. 06-
2158, 2008 WL 9398947 (D.D.e. Mar. 26, 2008) (for professional classification, users regulations 
require the beneficiary to possess a single four-year U.S. bachelor's degree or foreign equivalent 
degree). Thus, for purposes of the requested immigrant visa category, a foreign equivalent of a U.S. 
bachelor's degree must constitute a single degree. 
Because a plain reading of the language in Part H, Box 14 and the Petitioner's own statements on appeal 
clearly indicates it would accept a combination of unspecified degrees to meet a bachelor's degree 
equivalency, the labor certification does not support the requested classification. The allowance of "a 
combination of degrees" to satisfy the bachelor's degree requirement results in the "equivalent" of a 
bachelor's degree rather than a "foreign equivalent degree." Compare 8 C.F.R. § 214.2(h)(4)(iii)(D) 
( defining "equivalence to completion of a United States baccalaureate or higher degree" for purposes of 
H-lB classification.) Where combinations of education or experience may equate to baccalaureate 
degrees, the Act and regulations state so explicitly. See section 214(i)(2)(e) of the Act, 8 U.S.C. 
§ l l 84(i)(2)(C) ( allowing H- lB workers to have "experience in the specialty equivalent to the completion 
of such [bachelor's] degree"); see also 8 C.F.R. § 214.2(h)(4)(iii)(e)(4) (H-lB workers may have 
"education, specialized training, and/or progressively responsible experience that is equivalent to 
completion of a United States baccalaureate ... degree"). The regulations pertaining to the immigrant 
classification sought in this matter do not contain similar language. 
Neither the Act nor users regulations allow a position to be classified as a professional position if 
the minimum educational requirement can be met with anything other than a single academic degree. 
Therefore, the provided labor certification does not support the requested classification of professional 
under section 203(b )(3) of the Act. 
3 
III. CONCLUSION 
The Petitioner's allowance of a combination of unspecified degrees to meet the bachelor's degree 
equivalency prohibits us from concluding that the labor certification supports a request for professional 
classification under section 203(b)(3) of the Act. 
ORDER: The appeal is dismissed. 
4