dismissed EB-3 Case: Gymnastics

U.S. Citizenship 
and Immigration 
Services 
MATTER OF C-S- LLC 
Non-Precedent Decision of the 
Administrative Appeals Office 
DATE: SEPT. 28. 2017 
APPEAL OF NEBRASKA SERVICE CENTER DECISION 
PETITION: I-140, IMMIGRANT PETITION FOR ALIEN WORKER 
The Petitioner, a gymnastics trammg center, seeks to employ the Beneficiary as a supervisor of 
rhythmic gymnastics instructors. 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 of the Nebraska Service Center denied the petition. The Director found that the 
Beneficiary does not have a U.S. bachelor's degree or a foreign equivalent degree. and therefore does 
not meet the requirements of the labor certification and the professional classification. 
On appeal the Petitioner submits a brief and additional evidence. The Petitioner asserts that the 
Beneficiary has the foreign equivalent of a U.S. bachelor's degree. thus meeting the educational 
requirement of the labor certification and qualifYing her for classification as a professional. 
Upon de novo review, we will dismiss the appeal. 
I. LAW 
Employment-based immigration generally follows a three-step process. First, an employer obtains 
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. 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 the 
wages and working conditions of domestic workers similarly employed. See section 
212(a)(5)(A)(i)(I)-(II) of the Act. Second, the employer files an immigrant visa petition with U.S. 
Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS). See section 204 of the Act. 8 U.S.C. § 1154. Third, 
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The date the labor certification is filed is called the "priority date." S'ee 8 C.F.R. § 204.5(d). The Petitioner must 
establish that all eligibility requirements for the petition have been satisfied from the priority date onward. 
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Matter ofC-S- LLC 
if USCIS approves the petition, the foreign national applies 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 be accompanied by evidence that the beneficiary holds a U.S. 
baccalaureate degree or a foreign equivalent degree. 8 C.F.R. § 204.5(1)(3 )(ii)(C). A beneficiary 
must also meet all of the education, training, experience, and other requirements of the labor 
certification as of the petition's priority date. See Matter (~(Wing's Tea House, 16 l&N Dec. 158. 
159 (Acting Reg'l. Comm'r 1977). 
II. ANALYSIS 
The Petitioner's Form I -140, Immigrant Petition for Alien Worker. was accompanied by an ETA 
Form 9089, Application for Permanent Employment Certification (labor certification), with a 
priority date of October 19, 2015. Section H of the labor certification states the following with 
respect to the minimum requirements for the job of supervisor of rhythmic gymnastics instructors: 
4. 
4-B. 
5. 
6. 
7. 
8. 
9. 
10. 
10-A. 
10-B. 
13. 
Education: Minimum level required: 
Major Field of Study: 
Is training required for the job? 
Is experience in the job offered required? 
Is an alternate field of study acceptable? 
Is an alternate combination of education 
and experience acceptable? 
Is a foreign educational equivalent acceptable? 
Is experience in an alternate occupation acceptable? 
How long? 
Job title(s) of acceptable alternate occupation(s) 
Is knowledge of a foreign language required? 
Bachelor's degree 
Commerce or Business or 
foreign degree equivalency 
No 
No 
No 
No 
Yes 
Yes 
30 months 
Competitive rhythmic 
gymnastics (24 months) and 
management ( 
6 months) 
Yes 
As summarized in box H.14 of the labor certification, the minimum requirements for the job offered 
are a bachelor's degree or foreign degree equivalency in commerce or business. two years of 
experience in competitive rhythmic gymnastics and six months of management experience. as well 
as fluency in Russian and English. 
In section J of the labor certification the Beneficiary stated that she earned a bachelor's degree in 
commerce in 1998 at m Russia. 
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Matter of C-S- LLC 
As evidence of the Beneficiary's educational credentials the Petitioner submitted the following 
documents: 
• A diploma, diploma supplement, and transcript from 
in Russia (Russian copies with English translations), stating that the Beneficiary 
enrolled at the school in 1996, completed an academic program lasting one year and 10 
months, and received a diploma in commerce on June 25, 1998. 
• An evaluation of the Beneficiary's education at by 
which concluded. based on the above three 
documents from the school, that the diploma awarded in June 1998 was equivalent to a 
bachelor of arts in commerce from an accredited U.S. university. 
In response 
to a request for evidence (RFE) from the Director, the Petitioner also submitted: 
• A transcript from the in Russia (Russian 
copy with English translation), listing the courses taken by the Beneficiary from September 
1995 through December 1996. 
• A graduation certificate and letter from the 
in Russia (Russian copies with English translations). listing the 
courses taken by the Beneficiary when she attended the '·order of honor·· institution for 1Oth 
and 11th grades in the years 1993-1995, and identifying specific courses which it claims 
were taught at the college level or unavailable in regular high schools. 
• A second evaluation of the Beneficiary's education by which concluded that the 
Beneficiary's combined studies at the three schools in - including the 
from 1993 to 1995, from 1995 to 1996. and 
from 1996 to 1998 - amount to the equivalent of a 
bachelor of arts in business administration from an accredited U.S. university. 
The Director concluded that the evaluations did not establish that the Beneficiary has the 
foreign equivalent of a U.S. bachelor's degree. The Director found that the Beneficiary's studies at 
in 1995-96 did not result in a degree. and concluded that the Beneficiary"s 
diploma from in 1998 was not equivalent to a U.S. bachelor's 
degree. 
On appeal the Petitioner asserts that the Director's analysis was faulty because it neglected to 
consider the Beneficiary's "collegiate level'' courses at the 
from 1993 to 1995. According to the '·explanatory letter·· from the school"s 
principal, half of the courses taken by the Beneficiary were either not available in regular high 
schools or taught at the college level. Consistent with the second evaluation, the Petitioner 
asserts 
that the Beneficiary's college level courses at her 15 months of coursework 
in philology at and her 22 months of study resulting in a diploma of 
commerce from amounts to the equivalent of a U.S. 
bachelor's degree in commerce or business administration. 
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Matter ofC-S- LLC 
A bachelor's degree in the United States generally comprises four years of study. See Maller o( 
Shah, 17 I&N Dec. 244, 245 (Reg'l Comm'r 1977). The record does not show that the Beneficiary 
completed four years of post-secondary study in Russia. The evidence submitted by the Petitioner 
indicates that the Beneficiary was enrolled for less than a year and a half at m 
1995 and 1996, and for two years at from 1996 to 1998. The 
Beneficiary's total time at these two institutions was less than four academic years. 
Moreover, there is no evidence that 
academic credit for any of her coursework at 
Beneficiary could have gained admission to 
coursework at and the academic 
diploma in commerce from 
her prior coursework in the field of philology at 
evidence that or 
gave the Beneficiary 
As far as the record shows, the 
without any prior 
worth of the Beneficiary's two-year 
was not enhanced in any way by 
Likewise, there is no 
any academic credit for the "collegiate level" courses she allegedly took 
gave the Beneficiary 
in secondary school at 
The Beneficiary's only post-secondary credential is the diploma in commerce she earned at 
upon completion of a two-year academic program in 1998. The 
Beneficiary's credential is a "diploma of occupational higher education" within the Russian 
educational system. As indicated in the Educational Database for Global Education (EDGE), 
created by the American Association of Collegiate Registrars and Admissions Officers (AACRA0), 2 
the entry requirement for this two-year program is a secondary school diploma, which is comparable 
to a high school diploma in the United States, and the "diploma of occupational higher education" 
credential is comparable to two years of university study in the United States. We consider EDGE to 
be a reliable, peer-reviewed source of information about foreign degree equivalencies. 
The evaluations from on the other hand, do not offer a specific analysis of the Beneficiary's 
coursework in any of her three schools, do not provide a substantive rationale for the conclusion that 
her education amounts to the equivalent of a U.S. bachelor's degree, and are inconsistent with each 
other. The first evaluation, dated October 2, 2013. concluded that the Beneficiary's two-year 
diploma in commerce from was equivalent to a U.S. bachelor 
of arts in commerce. The second evaluation, dated November 7, 2016, looked not only at the 
diploma in commerce, but also gave general consideration to the Beneficiary's studies at 
and in secondary school. It concluded that the Beneficiary's graduation from advanced 
2 AACRAO is described on its website as "a nonprofit, voluntary, professional association of more than II ,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.'' AACRAO, http://www.aacrao.org/about (last accessed September 26. 
20 17). "The mission of [AACRAO] is to provide professional development, guidelines, and voluntary standards to be 
used by higher education officials regarding the best practices in records management, admissions, enrollment 
management, administrative information technology, and student services." !d. EDGE is ··a valuable resource for 
evaluating educational credentials earned in foreign systems." AACRAO EDGE, http://aacrao.org/aacrao­
solutions/aacrao-international/aacrao-edge/edge (last accessed September 26. 20 17). 
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Matter o(C-S- LLC 
secondary school was equivalent to an associate's degree in the United States. and that the sum total 
of her Russian education was equivalent to a U.S. bachelor of arts in business administration. The 
Petitioner offers no explanation for why concluded in one 
evaluation that the Beneficiary's 
two-year diploma in commerce alone is equivalent to a U.S. bachelor's degree, and in the other 
evaluation concluded that this two-year credential in combination with 15 months of courses in a 
different field of study and an advanced secondary school education is, when considered together. 
equivalent to a U.S. bachelor 's degree. Evaluations of academic credentials by evaluation services 
are utilized by USCIS as advisory opinions only. Where an opinion is not in accord with other 
information or is in any way questionable, USCIS is not required to accept it or may give it less 
weight. See Matter ofSea. Inc .. 19 I&N Dec. 817 (Comm'r 1988). For the reasons discussed above, 
we find that the evaluations do not establish that the Beneficiary possesses a degree that is the 
foreign equivalent of a U.S. bachelor's degree. 
As previously discussed, the Beneficiary's "certificate of secondary (complete) general education" is 
evaluated by EDGE as comparable to a high school diploma in the United States, not an associate's 
degree; and the Beneficiary 's "diploma of occupational higher education" which followed the 
secondary school certificate is evaluated by EDGE as comparable to two years of university study in 
the United States, not a bachelor's degree. It is not sutlicient for the Beneficiary to have a 
combination of lesser education that, when combined together, is equivalent to a U.S. bachelor's 
degree. Instead, in order to meet the terms of the labor certification and the requested professional 
classification, the Beneficiary must possess a single degree that is a U.S. bachelor's degree or a 
foreign equivalent degree. 
In accord with the Director's decision, therefore , we tind that the Beneficiary's diploma in 
commerce from is not a foreign equivalent degree to a U.S. 
bachelor's degree. 
Ill. CONCLUSION 
The Petitioner has not established that the Beneficiary has the foreign equivalent of a U.S. bachelor's 
degree, as required to meet the terms of the labor certification and to quality for classification as a 
professional under section 203(b)(3)(A)(ii) of the Act. Accordingly, we will dismiss the appeal:' 
ORDER: The appeal is dismissed. 
Cite as Matter (~fC-S- LLC ID# 636533 (AAO Sept. 28, 2017) 
' The Petitioner answered "Yes" to the question at C.9 of the labor certification: "'Is the employer a closely held 
corporation, partnership, or sole proprietorship in which the alien has an ownership interest, or is there a familial 
relationship between the owners, stockholders, partners, corporate otTicers. or incorporators, and the alien?" In any 
future proceedings the Petitioner should provide further details about its ties with the Beneficiary. 
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