dismissed EB-3 Case: Information Technology

U.S. Citizenship 
and Immigration 
Services 
MATTER OF H-C-, INC. 
Non-Precedent Decision of the 
Administrative Appeals Office 
DATE: DEC. 12,2017 
APPEAL OF NEBRASKA SERVICE CENTER DECISION 
PETITION: FORM I-140, IMMIGRANT PETITION FOR ALIEN WORKER 
The Petitioner, an information technology consulting and staffing company, seeks to employ the 
Beneficiary as a computer systems analyst. 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, concluding that the labor 
certification does not support the requested professional classification. 
On appeal, the Petitioner submits a brief and asserts that the Beneficiary meets the minimum 
requirements for the proffered position and the requested classification. 
Upon de novo review, we will dismiss the appeal. 
I. LAW 
Employment-based immigration generally follows a three-step process. First, an employer must 
obtain an approved 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). 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. Section 
212(a)(5)(A)(i)(I)-(II) of the Act. Second, the employer may tile an immigrant visa petition with 
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS). See section 204 of the Act, 8 U.S.C. 
§ 1154. Third, if USC IS approves the petition, the foreign national 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. 
Matter of H-C-, Inc. 
II. ANALYSIS 
A. Labor Certification Does Not Support Requested Classification 
For professional classification, the Petitioner must establish that the job offer portion of the labor 
certification requires, at a minimum, a single bachelor's degree or a foreign equivalent degree. 
8 C.F.R. § 204.5(1)(3)(i). In this case, the labor certification states that the offered position of 
computer systems analyst has the following minimum requirements: 
H.4. H.4. Education: Bachelor's degree in ''CompSci, Comp Engg, 
InfoSys, Any Engg, Sci, Math or Rltd Field'' 
H.6. Is experience in the job offered: no 
H.8. Is there an alternate combination of education and experience that is 
acceptable? No. 
H. 9. Is a foreign educational equivalent acceptable? Yes. 
H.l 0. Is experience in an alternate occupation acceptable? No. 
H.14. Specific skills or other requirements: "Minimum requirement: 
Bachelor or foreign equivalent in Computer 
Science/ Applications/Engineering, Computer/Management 
Information Systems, any Engineering, Mathematics, or related field. 
Any suitable combination of education, training, or experience is 
acceptable i.e., three years of experience for each missing year of 
university/college education in lieu of a Bachelor Degree or foreign 
equivalent. ... " 
USCIS 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 Infra-Red Commissary of Massachusetts, Inc. v. Coomey, 661 F .2d 1 (I st 
Cir. 1981 ). US CIS interprets the meaning of terms used to describe the requirements of a job in a 
labor certification by "examin[ing] the certified job offer exactly as it is completed by the 
prospective employer." Rosedale Linden Park Company v. Smith, 595 F. Supp. 829, 833 (D.D.C. 
1984) (emphasis added). USCIS' interpretation of the job's requirements, as stated on the labor 
certification, must involve "reading and applying the plain language of the [labor certification]" 
even if the employer may have intended different requirements than those stated on the form. !d. at 
834 (emphasis added). 
The terms of the labor certification allow an applicant to qualify for the job with less than a U.S. 
bachelor's degree or a foreign equivalent degree. Specifically, Part H.l4 permits an applicant to qualify 
for the proffered job with any combination of education, training, and experience in lieu of a 
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Matter of H-C-, Inc. 
bachelor's degree, providing the example of substituting three years of experience for each year of 
college education that an applicant is lacking. Because the labor certification does not require at least 
a single U.S. bachelor's degree or a foreign equivalent degree, the petition cannot be approved under the 
professional classification. See 8 C.F.R. § 204.5(1)(3)(i) (the labor certification underlying a petition for 
a professional must require at least a U.S. bachelor's degree or a 
foreign equivalent degree). 
On appeal, the Petitioner submits an educational evaluation stating that the Beneficiary possesses a 
bachelor's degree that is the foreign equivalent to a U.S. bachelor's degree and claims that the 
petition should be approved based on the Beneficiary's degree and experience. However, the issue 
here is not the Beneficiary's personal qualifications. Instead, the Petitioner has not established that 
the proffered position, as described on the labor certification, has the minimum educational 
requirement of a U.S. bachelor's degree or foreign equivalent degree. The Petitioner's evidence, 
including the evaluation submitted on appeal regarding the Beneficiary's educational qualifications, 
does not address the minimum educational requirements for the position, as described on the labor 
certification. 
Accordingly, the evidence submitted does not establish that the offered position requires, at a 
minimum, a single U.S. bachelor's degree or a foreign equivalent degree. As such, the labor 
certification does not support the requested professional classification and, therefore, the petition cannot 
be approved. 
B. Beneficiary's Education 
As an additional matter , the record does not demonstrate that the Beneficiary possesses the minimum 
educational requirements of the classification , i.e., a single U.S. bachelor 's degree or a foreign 
equivalent degree. 
On the labor certification , the Beneficiary attested to his receipt of a bachelor of science degree from 
the in India in 1991. The Petitioner submitted a copy of a 1991 certification 
from the university , acknowledging the Beneficiary has a bachelor's of science after completion of a 
three-year program based on his major in mathematics. The certificate and a copy of corresponding 
certificates of marks indicate that the Beneficiary completed three years of study in order to obtain 
his foreign degree ; however, a U.S. bachelor's degree generally reflects the completion of four years 
of studies. Matter (~(Shah , 17 I&N Dec. 244, 245 (Reg'! Comm 'r 1977). 
On appeal, the Petitioner submits a credential evaluation which concludes that the Beneficiary's 
three-year degree is equivalent to three years of university study in the United States. In order to 
evaluate the Beneficiary's education, we have consulted the Electronic Database for Global 
Education (EDGE), published by the American Association of Collegiate Registrars and Admissions 
Officers (AACRAO). 
1 
EDGE reports that Indian institutions award a bachelor of science upon 
1 
AACRAO is a nonprofit association of more than II ,000 higher education admis sions and registration profes sionals, 
representing about 2600 institutions worldwide. AACRAO, at http://www.aacrao .org/home/about (last visited Dec. I, 
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Matter of H-C-, Inc. 
completion of two or three years of post-secondary study and that this credential compares to three 
years of university study in the United States. Based on the Petitioner's evaluation and the EDGE 
report, the record does not establish that the Beneficiary's three-year degree is the required single 
U.S. bachelor's degree or foreign equivalent degree. 
On appeal, the Petitioner does not assert that the Beneficiary has a single U.S. or foreign degree 
equivalent. Rather, the Petitioner contends that the Beneficiary has the equivalent of a bachelor of 
science in management information systems and more than five years of work experience based on a 
combination of his three-year degree and 22 years of experience . However, the professional 
classification requires a single U.S. degree or foreign degree equivalent and does not permit a 
beneficiary to qualify on the basis of a combination of education and experience. In 
Snapnames.com. Inc. v. Michael Cherto.ff, 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 at least a baccalaureate degree, USCIS properly concluded that a single foreign 
degree or its equivalent is required. Where the analysis of the beneficiary's credentials relies on a 
combination of education and work experience or a combination of multiple lesser degrees , the 
result is the "equivalent" of a bachelor's degree rather than a "foreign equivalent degree.'' 2 
The Petitioner also provided a certificate from the 
India, and an accompanying transcript showing that the Beneficiary was 
conferred a diploma in Business 
Management. The credential evaluation submitted by the Petitioner 
does not address this credential or make 
any claims as to its equivalency. Upon review of the 
transcript, it appears that this diploma represents part of a master of business administration 
program. The transcript states "[t]he student is declared to have successfully completed Stage I of 
MBA Program. The student is yet to complete Stage II and Stage III to be eligible for MBA 
Degree." Absent additional information on the length of the Beneficiary ' s studies or the total length 
of time required for the master's degree, we cannot determine this diploma's equivalency. 
Therefore, based on this information, the Petitioner has not established that this diploma is a single 
degree equivalent to a U.S. bachelor's degree, as required for the classification. Moreover, in as 
much as the Petitioner may seek to combine this diploma with the Beneficiary's three-year 
bachelor's degree to meet the requirements, as was explained above , the professional classification 
does not allow for a combination of lesser degrees. 
Classification as a professional requires a single U.S. bachelor's or foreign equivalent degree. The 
requirements of the professional classification cannot be met with a combination of a lesser degrees , 
20 17). Federal courts have found EDGE to be a reliable, peer-reviewed source of foreign educational equivalencies. 
See, e.g., Viraj, LLC v. U.S. All'y Gen., 578 Fed. Appx. 907 , 910 (11th Cir. 2014) (holding that USCIS may discount 
educational evaluations that differ from reports in EDGE, which is "a respected source of information"). 
2 
Compare 8 C.F.R . § 214.2(h)(4)(iii)(D)(5) (defining for purposes of H-18 nonimm .igrant visa classification. the 
''equivalence to completion of a college degree' ' as including , in certain cases, a specific combination of education and 
experience). The regulations pertaining to the immigrant classification sought in this matter do not contain similar 
language. 
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Matter of H-C-, Inc. 
experience, and training. As the Petitioner has not established that the Beneficiary has a single U.S. 
bachelor's degree or foreign equivalent degree, he is not eligible for classification as a professional 
III. CONCLUSION 
The Petitioner has not established that the position qualifies for professional classification, and that 
the Beneficiary possesses the minimum educational requirements for this classification. For these 
reasons, the petition may not be approved. 
ORDER: The appeal is dismissed. 
Cite as Matter of H-C-, Inc. 10# 887275 (AAO Dec. 12, 2017)